Taking the right shot at the right time means making your opponent run the farthest distance to get to the ball. When many get into the heat of the battle, they don’t think about shot selection—but just bang away and play what we call survival racquetball. Or, they go for a favorite rather than one that can win the rally, putting their opponent on the defense. Here's how to determine your best shot, and how to make it when you need to most. (more…)
Question: "I’ve been watching videos and shadow rehearsing in a tiny office the back crossover vs the front crossover for covering shots. The videos go so fast, even in slow mo, that often I can’t tell if it's a back or front crossover. In old school, with slow balls, there was only front crossover. I’m guessing that now it’s more back crossover and hitting shots off both wings in an open stance… Will u educate me?" - Bo Keeley (more…)
As simple as it may seem, keeping your opponent back and out of the middle of the court is effective because 30 percent of all balls can be killed from the dotted line, so the odds undoubtedly go down the farther back one hits. Controlling your opponent’s court position keeps them as far away from the front wall, the target, as possible. You can implement the strategy of controlling your opponent's court position, whichever level you play. Here’s how: (more…)
Watching the ball at all times may seem like a simple and elementary strategy that everyone does automatically, but you will be amazed at how many players do not watch the ball. By watching the ball, you gain valuable information and more time so you can better determine your opponent’s shot, serve or return of serve and react faster to the ball. (more…)
Playing the percentages, or in other words, playing high-percentage racquetball, gives you the edge. When you play high-percentage racquetball, you make more shots than you miss; when you play low-percentage racquetball, you miss more shots than you make. If you play the percentages, you make it more difficult for your opponent, causing them to make more mistakes that lead to your easy points. If you shoot the ball prematurely or consistently try to kill balls that you cannot successfully kill, then you do not give your opponent the chance to miss. (more…)
This is a strategy that most people don’t think about. Often players either do not like their opponent for one reason or another or they are playing a friend who they like very much. Unfortunately, if they cannot get these thoughts out of their heads, they generally overplay, want to win too badly, or play too nice because they do not want to hurt their friend’s feelings. These thoughts are crippling. (more…)
Ideally, you want to get into a state of total concentration and focus on the court because that is when you play your best and develop a winning game. Concentration is total awareness, giving your undivided or fixed attention to the game. Focus is the narrowing of concentration onto a specific thought, idea, or object to a central point. In other words, you concentrate on the game and focus on the ball and your opponent. (more…)
In every sport, positioning is everything and racquetball is no different. In racquetball, being in the right place at the right time is critical to giving yourself the best chance of getting to the ball a majority of the time and doing something with it once you get there, whether to defend or to score. Generally, the person who owns and controls center court has a greater chance of winning the match. This strategy is key. (more…)
In sports, the past is gone and the future never comes, so in racquetball you have to learn that there is only one ball, one shot, one serve, and one point at a time. Time is always now. That is truly the real beauty: every shot you hit only happens in the now. (more…)
Detectives investigate a situation and gather information before they can make a determination of what happened or what they need to do to solve the mystery. A “racquetball detective” is no different. You, the racquetball detective, must analyze your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses as well as your own strengths and weaknesses, which will determine the game plan you need to put together in order to beat your opponent. Here’s a simple formula: (more…)
