Your objective when you are playing is to make your opponent uncomfortable, end of story. The more uncomfortable you make them feel, the more mistakes they will make. The more mistakes they will make; the more opportunities you will get. The more opportunities you will get, the more you can take advantage of those situations by going offensive to end the rally and/or score a point, or force your opponent to go defense.
Bouncing back after losing a match is not easy to do, but it is a MUST if you want to be successful and build your championship game. It’s inevitable that we ALL win and lose matches, but it is what we do when we lose a match that counts the most. Losing should be a learning experience, NOT beating yourself up experience. Just ask yourself, “Did I play well and lose? Or did I play poorly and lose?” The key is to learn from your mistakes and remember your successes. Let go of all the negative thoughts, and remember your great
“Playing the Percentages” is what I teach, preach and live by. It is how I coach Rocky Carson and Paola Longoria and how I coached Jason Mannino and Sudsy Monchik and ALL my other students. No matter what level of player you are, pro or amateur, “playing the percentages…in other words playing the odds” is a philosophy I have always supported and encouraged players to play by. It not only works in racquetball, but in many other sports…let’s take a quick look: 1-Basketball – If you had one second left in a game and you were down by one point
NO ONE is exempt from injury as it is part of being involved in sports. It can range from minor, like a light strain or pulled muscle, to severe, like a torn ligament/meniscus or major tendinitis. Racquetball is a racquet sport that is quick with lots of change of direction and explosion so be as prepared as possible. In my career I have been a witness to so many injured racquetball players (including myself with a slight tear in the rotator cuff) who took the necessary steps to comeback from their injury as strong, if not stronger than before: -Rocky
ERP stands for Early Racquet Preparation, one of the most critical parts of a proper stroke. The idea is to get your racquet up as soon as the ball hits the front wall (or on the way to the front wall) when you know whether you'll be hitting a forehand or backhand shot. "Racquet up" means your elbow should be in line with your shoulder and racquet pointing up to the ceiling. (more…)
[caption id="attachment_1646" align="alignright" width="200"] Coach Fran Davis[/caption] A strategy is a method of achieving a specific goal or end result, which is to play your best to win the match. Your strategy helps you carry out your plan. If you just step out on the court without a plan and a particular strategy, you will be doomed from the start. You will always be reacting to the situation rather than creating the situation. You are in a much better position to win when creating the situation right from the beginning of the match. (more…)
[caption id="attachment_5674" align="alignright" width="300"] Rocky in return of serve position during the 2014 US Open UnitedHealthcare championships. Photo by restrungmag.com[/caption] After you return a serve, one of your goals is to get back into center court (behind the dotted line that marks the safety zone and in a box about 6' x 6' toward the back) by moving forward as quickly as possible to regain control of that key area and the match. Basically, your returns should be ceiling balls and passes to get the server out of the middle and so you can cover the return to your shot. Where you stand in the
When you are good center court position, down and ready, you are on defense and your opponent who is hitting the ball is on offense. You have put yourself in the best possible position to get to whatever ball your opponent hits that is left up and getable. Remember good center-court position is located approximately in a 6-foot-by-6-foot area behind the dotted line because 80 to 90 percent of all balls that are hit wind up in the back half of the court. Therefore, center court is in the middle of the back half of the court. There are a
When you return the serve you are positioned in the back of the court about 2-3 feet from the back wall. You are as far away from the front wall as possible, which is the target and you are on defense. Unlike the Server, who is positioned in the middle of the court approximately 20 feet from the front wall, and is hitting the ball out of their hand. The server is in total control and is on offense. (more…)
In the August issue I discussed you MUST make your opponent pay for their mistakes. …NO AND’S, IF’S or BUT’S about it. In this issue we will discuss how to go about about “Creating Your Opponent’s Mistakes." You want to stay calm and pay attention to your opponent’s weaknesses, what they like, and what they dislike to capitalize on what they DO NOT LIKE. This is done in EVERY sport and racquetball is no different. (more…)
