I’m just starting to play racquetball seriously. Any tips?
December 14, 2009 by
Filed under racquetball equipment
I’ve been playing with rental equipment for about 3 months now but I just recently got a racquet and glove for my birthday. I’ve got down reading the ball and placing myself to get it back to the front wall and I can place my shots with moderate consistency. What specific skills should I start working on?
Glad to hear about your enthusiasm for this great game! As you practice and play more you will develop endurance and quickness. You don’t have to be a super athlete to dominate the court. The skills that you practice and more importantly the anticipation you develop will give you a competitive edge. Here are some tips on what skills to practice to up your game.
1. Make sure to stretch out for about 10-15 minutes prior to playing. Seems trivial, but cold muscles do not operate correctly in any sport.
2. Keep your racquet arm in a square like manner no matter if you are hitting a forehand or backhand. Your racquet should held at a 90 degree ankle relative to your forearm. Your forearm should be at a 90 degree angle to your upper arm. If you hold your upper arm parallel to the floor, then you should see that you have formed sort of a square with your head being the last side. Make sense? This formation is the most efficient way to hold the racquet. It generates a lot of power and more importantly accuracy. I played a lot of folks who had amazing power and ball speed, but couldn’t not keep the ball off the ground.
3. Use tip #2 to practice hitting the ball. First go with your forehand shot. Stand about 3-4 feet from the side wall. You can stand closer to the wall as long as you have enough clearance, so you don’t smack with your racquet. With slightly bent knees, gently toss the ball into the wall with your non-racquet hand. Let the ball bounce once or twice and give it a good whack with the sweet spot of your racquet. Make sure the ball is about 4-8 inches off the ground when you strike it. You can hit it at higher distance, if you are just trying to warm up. The lower you can strike the ball the better. You will start to hit more “kills” with the ball or at least make it very difficult for your oppenent to return, which is the name of the game. Don’t try to over power this practice technique. Start out slowly, so that you get the feel of your swing and how the ball responds off your racquet. You will tend to hear a loud “crack” when you strike the ball correctly. This is good!
4. Now that you have worked on your forehand for about 20-25 reps, then you need to move on to your backhand. You essentially do the same thing but now still using tip #2, you will continue to strike the ball low and with some force. The backhand is crucial to playing racquetball. You don’t necessarily have to hit it 150 mph +, but have some control when returning a shot. If you practice tip #2, keeping your arm in a square shape, then you will hit consistent shots. I always practiced more reps with my backhand. Keep the racquet high and in a tight square and turn your hips and shoulders into the ball. Keep your feet in a stationary position as much as possible, when you strike the ball. This gives your maximum power. Of course, racquetball is fast and ever changing so keeping feet stationary may not always be in order. Some improvisation is required.
5. Now you want to move into the corners. It basically what you did earlier, but now you want to gently toss the ball into the corner about 2-3 feet up the wall. Use the same arm technique to hold your racquet. You still want to drive into the ball and follow through. This helps with digging the ball out of the tight corners and hitting kill shots from the longest part of the court. Work on both forehand and backhand.
6. Work on the exotic shots. Hit ceiling shots and either kill them before they hit the back wall or after. HIt splat shots. This is where you drive the ball into one side wall of the court and “drive” it through the front wall. You know when you hit this shot correctly, because the ball will make a “splat” sound and become elliptical. Try hitting the ball into one side wall, hit the other side wall and then the front wall. It takes a lot of ball pace, but then the ball with suddenly “die” and cuff your oppenent.
7. Always protect your self. Wear racquetball approved eye-wear and shoes. Make sure you know where your opponent is at all times. Do not look at them when they are about to tee off on a shot, especially when they are behind you. Know where the ball is going and where they might be, so you can avoid a collision. Unless, you are getting paid to play then it’s better to play it safe. Stay away from your opponent’s racquet striking range. My father got 4 teeth knocked out. because some clown over swung his racquet and hit him in the mouth. Thank goodness he had brace at the time, so the dentist pushed them back in and he was good to go.
8. Don’t worry about getting the best equipment right now. I played with a $5 racquet from Wal-mart and beat a lot of people down with it. It’s all about fundamentals and technique. You will learn to generate power and accuracy with any racquet out there. I would stay away from over size racquets as they tend to have more surface area, which makes tw