Racquetball

The Racquetball Show

admin — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 01:07:56 +0000

The Racquetball Show

A sporting event wont be complete without the objects that allow the players to enjoy the game. Basketball has the rectangular court and the ring with backboard, golf has the green and a club, and baseball has the diamond-shaped field with a ball and bat. These games provide a breathtaking experience for both the players and the fans because their particular equipment has evolved quite well through the years. Lets take a peep at the racquetball show and identify the things that make it exciting.

First up is the racquetball court. It can be described as a fully enclosed area with a front wall. This court can either be situated in an outdoor or indoor venue. The standard dimensions of this rectangular play area are 40 feet in length, 20 feet in width, and 20 feet in height. Red lines can be found on the court signifying the service and serve reception areas.

Now lets move closer and take a look at the members of the courts roster. There is a certain service box that is accentuated by the short line. The short line is a solid red line that covers the courts width parallel to the back and front walls at a specific distance of 20 feet. The service line then parallels the short line having a 15-feet distance from the front wall. There are also two sets of lines perpendicular to the short and service lines located within the service box.

The first set of lines is parallel to the side wall with a distance marked by 18 inches. These lines along with the service line, side wall, and short line forms the doubles box wherein the doubles partner that is not in serving position stands during the actual serve. The other set of lines is 36 inches from the side wall. These lines combine with the service and short lines in order to mark an area that the server must not enter if he intends to make a drive serve between himself and the nearest side wall. A receiving line is also defined by parallel dashed lines 5 feet behind the short line.

Apart from the court the game take into full gear with a racquetball racquet and eyeguards. The racquet should not be longer than 22 inches. Eyeguards are a must during competitions and even in recreational events as a single hit can bring about permanent vision impairment.

Gloves are optional for the sport but most of the competitive players make use of them particularly on the racquet hand so as to produce a better grip. Shoes are very important as they can dictate the footwork quality of a player especially for lateral movements. In terms of clothing, comfort and ease of movement is very vital so a short sleeved shirt and shorts are usually utilized.

Now lets go to the very core of racquetball, the ball itself. This is what spectators follow with each hit and bounce. It is commonly made of rubber having a diameter of 2.25 inches. It is produced in varying colors and specific purposes. The ball is not indestructible as it may lose its bounce or at times even break.

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Racquetball Check

admin — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 18:07:50 +0000

Racquetball Check

The game of racquetball has had a growing number of players over the past decade. This is because the sport offers a lot of fun and exciting moments. It can also help an enthusiast stay in tip-top condition. But just like any other physical activity you should know the imperatives in order to keep yourself free from any sort of injury.

The body is a machine that needs to heat up in order to function at optimum levels. A good warm-up session is your ticket in ensuring that youre on top of your game while on the court. Moreover, you have the assurance that you are free from any sort of sores and aches after a well fought battle. Remember even the simplest strain or sprain can eat up your racquetball time.

The principle of warming up is based on increasing the flow of blood across the muscles so as to promote readiness and strengthen their capacity in withstanding the workload during a game. Stretching and jogging are the common methods used. You only need to allot 10 to 15 minutes. At this point you can let your body have a feel of what the court condition is like.

Full slow motion stretches are ideal. Perform a full stretch and then hold your position for around a minute. But be sure not to overstretch especially if you feel pain. Fast and jerky motions are a no-no since they can result into counter-productivity and injury susceptibility. Put in mind that when muscles undergo excessive amounts of pressure they can be torn leading to loss of strength and even permanent damage.

Make sure that your session covers all body parts to be utilized during the game. Prepare your arms by engaging in slow and wide circular movements which is termed as the windmill. Loosen up your back and the back of your legs by bending over to reach your toes. Foot abduction and adduction can also be used to strengthen your ankles. Another warm-up routine you can perform is bouncing lightly on the ball of your feet to loosen you lower leg muscles.

Warm-up exercises are extended to the court before the game kicks off. You can start on the right track by casually hitting some balls. You can then move up by performing some of your favorite moves. Tyr increasing the power and velocity of each strike as you go along.

At this point dont get too excited. Take your time as you focus more on increasing the range of your swing gradually until you reach the point of maximum extension. Afterwards you can start working on your forehand and backhand making sure to utilize both sides of the court.

You should not forget to hydrate yourself. During a competitive match around two to four quarts of water is lost. Once this is not replaced you will suffer in terms of endurance reduction and energy loss. Never trade water with supplements like salt and potassium tablets.

Avoid protein rich and fatty foods like beef before stepping onto your racquetball battlefield as it will make your body busy digesting such consumption and will leave you with less energy to work with. Whole wheat bread and macaroni which are rich in complex carbohydrates are the ones to ingest since they can be easily digested and converted to energy.

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Promote Racquetball In Your Facility

admin — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 12:05:29 +0000

Promote Racquetball in Your Facility

Are you working in a physical fitness facility or a club membership for sports aficionados? If racquetball is not yet offered in your facility, you might start the idea of introducing it to members and catering to existing fanatics and players of the ballgame. You would surely not go wrong with it. Racquetball has always been among the popular ballgames around other than handball and tennis.

Do you intend to introduce the game in your facility? Here are the top guidelines that could give you practical and effective ideas to do so.

1. Go on with your plans if your facility is under a manager who is very sensitive to the special and specific needs of startup programs. The manager should be open to allow certain considerations to build the court for racquetball and arrange concessions for program dates and times, especially because there might be conflicts with the interest of several existing members.

2. Before you proceed, make sure your facility has a membership base that comprises of a significant number of people who are interested in playing racquetball. If the members are already contented with their personal fitness activities like weights, tennis, dance, aerobics, and so on, you might find it difficult to introduce and startup a new sports program like racquetball.

3. It would help if the facility is allowing non-members to participate even at a nominal additional fee. Members could take the opportunity to bring with them friends and family members who might be truly interested in playing the ballgame.

4. Convince other staff instructors to take initial efforts to offer programs around schedules of your prospective member-participants.

5. Strive to know your facilitys membership. Determine the members seasonal habits. Adults might be more inclined to play golf at some season, kids might be busy at school, and others might not like to take too much physical activities at certain months of the year.

6. Promote your racquetball program. It would help if you would put up signs and posters in the facility area that has heavy traffic. Make flyers and distribute them to members. You may ask the help of several other facility staff in pushing the program to members. You may also use the facilitys program guides and newsletters as a way to reach more members.

7. Facilitate free clinics on times and days that the program would be offered (at least during initial days). During the free clinic, get members names and contact information that you may use to get in touch with them to promote your racquetball program further.

8. Use the mom network of youth programs. Moms of those kids often interact with each other to talk about their childrens activities.

9. Try to be flexible. Remember that most of the best and most popular programs in your facility now were actually accidental. If registration for your program is lackluster, do not lose hope and keep your determination.

10. Adapt a program plan that facilities growth.

When you aim to introduce racquetball as one of the ballgame programs in your facility, remember not to surpass or step on toes of the facilitys other departments. Keep an open relationship with other key facility staff as well as members.

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Tips For Racquetball Instructors

admin — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 06:10:24 +0000

Tips for Racquetball Instructors

It is not easy being an instructor. If you are teaching racquetball, you are up for more challenges. There are many people who might enlist in your program who actually do not know how to play the game to begin with. It would be really tough explaining to them the mechanics of racquetball and teaching them the main positioning and techniques in playing. It is best if you would try harder not to lose your cool. Here are some effective tips that would surely help you succeed in your endeavor.

First, explain to your students the concepts of missing the ball and crowding the ball. Most players worry too much about missing the ball but they end up crowding the ball (being inappropriately hit by the ball in any part of the body). Encourage each individual to take trials by error in determining the best key strategies. Toss some balls into the student to jam him. When she learns the difference between crowding and getting jammed, she could open herself to discovering and learning her own devised way in correct positioning and swinging.

Second, remember that your students would always tend to concentrate or focus on the order in the way they are taught. If you teach gripping before swinging, they would end up blaming the grip. If you teach swinging before positioning, they would end up blaming the swing or grip. The best sequence is to teach proper positioning before gripping and swinging. This way, the students would surely understand your critiques. Instructors who usually teach grip, stroke, and mechanics before court positioning are often having a tougher time. This is because students tend to worry much about their grip, stroke, and mechanics rather than about pre-positioning so they could hit using the correct mechanics.

What is the easiest, yet fastest way to teach students not to crowd the ball? As an instructor, you have to be strategic enough in removing their fears of possibly missing the ball. To do this, have them play the ball on three or two bounces. This is teaching the off backwall return. It works best for beginners who are learning how the ball is bouncing off various sidewalls at differing speeds and heights. As your students get more skilled in the technique, shift to using two and then one bounce. This way, you are stepping up the challenge and sharpening their skills.

Lastly, racquetball could be about positioning. Let the students practice positioning as well as stroke mechanics. Make them be aware that weak or poor positioning could lead to weak or poor return shots. Remember that if the students would understand the importance of their court positioning over stroke or grip mechanics, they would be more able to slowly but surely teach themselves the ways to get away or far from the ball. In the process, they would learn how not to crowd the ball but not miss it at the same time. In the end, practice makes perfect.

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Racquetball And Mentoring

admin — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 23:02:41 +0000

Racquetball and Mentoring

It would not take too much for you to realize that racquetball and mentoring are matched for each other. There is definitely no guarantee that a student or mentee would even like the ballgame at all. Fortunately, racquetball is almost instantly and abruptly addicting as a sport. If you are an instructor who likes to play the role of a mentor, playing racquetball at least weekly with your mentee would be an easy and instant way for you to remove any barrier between yourself and him.

The main goal you should set when mentoring a racquetball player or beginner is to encourage him to get more involved into the sport. It would be hard to mentor a mentee who is not really that interested into the sport. But as a good mentor, you could shift that view and make the mentee like and love the ballgame eventually. Encouragement is very important. You could do so by emphasizing and highlighting the persons potential. You may also analogize the game with practical life experiences.

Every mentoring program should focus at showing mentees that someone truly cares. The relationship between the mentor and the mentee should be beyond the game, but there should be no malice to it. You could show your mentee that you care if you give him good advice about his other life aspects, especially if your advice is sought. It would also help if you would constantly show your compassion and interest in his development. It may not be exclusive to racquetball, as mentioned.

Help the mentee further develop socially and emotionally. Racquetball could be a good outlet for doing so. You may arrange for racquetball games with other mentors and players. This way, you and your mentee would get to socialize with other racquetball players. In terms of emotions, motivate your mentee to make him further love the sport. Explain how racquetball is very enjoyable and why you think it is better than other ballgames. Also explain to your mentee how racquetball superstars are serving as role models to other players not just within the sports but also in other aspects. As a mentor, you should also set yourself as a good role model or example.

It is important to keep your cool whenever you are mentoring. Some mentees would not be comfortable being shouted at. Do not force the sport into the mentee. You have to always show patience and compassion even if your cool is being tested. As mentioned, it would help if you would develop a positive relationship with the mentee. You may opt to treat each other as friends rather than as mentor and mentee. Hang out with him for some time and make him feel that you are a person he could always approach.

If you want to be a formal racquetball mentor, you may enlist in formal racquetball mentoring classes and trainings. Attending such programs could help you understand the game and the players more. You would learn a lot more insights about understanding your mentees perceptions, views, and beliefs.

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Racquetball Tips — Getting The Right Grip

admin — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 17:03:09 +0000

Racquetball Tips Getting The Right Grip

Racquetball as a healthy indoor sport is getting to be popular once again, this time the number of enthusiasts growing slowly but steadily. Gym courts are now filled up and tournaments, clubs and leagues are sprouting once more.

For beginners and those virtual greenhorns to the game who want to improve their games, here are some tips on some very important basics on racquetball. One of these is the all-important way of getting a grip on your racquet handle.

Finger formation

Without the right knowledge on the proper and consistent grip of your racquet, you will remain clueless to the real feel of what a racquet is. The end result can be serious control problems in the future.

For beginners, this can be a source of great frustration that can drive one away from the game altogether.

An important point is having the proper grip size on your racquet a ¼ inch or so of space between fingers and palm. This happens quite often to women who are sold racquets with grips too large for their hands.

Handshake formation

Your grip on your racquet should begin with a V formation of your thumb and forefinger. Make it so like you are going to do a handshake, only this time you are going to do it with your racquet.

Most often, beginners hold their rackets like they are holding a baseball bat or a club. The wrong way of holding it is to create a round hand shape (the tips of the forefinger and the thumb meet) around the handle instead of the V formation of the thumb and forefinger.

Clock formations

From your perspective, the forehand stance would look like a one oclock position while the backhand would look like an eleven oclock position.

Here is a little demonstration.

Hold the racket like you are shaking hands with somebody, only that you are holding the handle of your racquet. Looking straight at your thumb you will see that together with your forefinger, they form a V.

Again, for demonstration purposes treat your thumb as the 12 oclock position. The forefinger is at 1 oclock position in the forehand perspective.

In the backhand perspective, your thumb is still at the 12 oclock position. This time, however, your forefinger is now in the 11 oclock position.

The swings

From this backhand perspective, you can swing your racquet in a regular motion. The grip should make it so that the racquet face is parallel with the sidewall of the court.

If you will not change the swing from forehand to backhand, the racquet face will be slightly tilted backwards and hit the ball with an under-spin, just like in tennis. (You will have to torque your wrist if you want to hit the ball flat.)

Another grip to head off potential problems would be placing your forefinger up the grip pointing towards the racquet face on the forehand stroke, inhibiting a wrist snap.

On the backhand stroke, place your thumb on the handle as though you are pushing an imaginary button. This will hold back again proper wrist snap and causing a pushing stroke.

Racquetball is not rocket science, as the cliché goes. However, just like any other sport, you need to practice and play to perfect your winning moves.

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The Racquetball Way

admin — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 09:00:10 +0000

The Racquetball Way

Rules and standards are significant not only in ensuring fair play but also to enhance the quality of a particular game. These are also vital so as to provide safety to both the players and the spectators. In lieu with this lets take a glimpse at how the racquetball way is delivered.

The fast-paced action is kicked off by a service. The designated server must initially bounce the ball on the floor before hitting it directly to the direction of the front wall. The player must make sure that the hit is made beyond the short line to avoid a fault. The ball must then make contact with only one side wall before reaching the floor again as when both side walls are hit a fault called three wall serve is committed. Another fault tagged as long serve occurs when the ball directly hits the back wall without touching the floor after service is performed.

A ceiling serve is another way of going against the rules. This occurs when the ball touches the ceiling after hitting the front wall. The receiving player must be ready before service takes place. The server commits a fault serve if he comes off the service box even before the ball passes the short line. A player loses his turn to serve whether it is the first or second when the ball comes into contact with any other surface other than the front wall.

The ball is in play when two scenarios take place. These are when the ball passes the receiving line or after the ball bounces at the back of the short line. The opposing player or team may then counteract the play of their opponents. The common practice is that two serves are allowed which are identified as the first and second serve. During highly competitive tournaments and events the one serve rule takes into effect.

During the point of live play the competitors take alternate strikes at the ball making the front wall the prime target. The player receiving a service may hit the ball after allowing it to bounce once on the floor or he may also choose to make a return while the ball is in flight. He must make it a point to get a direct hit on the front wall before the ball comes in contact with the floor. Unlike during service, players are allowed to utilize as many walls including the ceiling during return plays.

Due to the competitive nature of the sport there are times when each player battle for positioning. This can then lead to one participant hindering the others chance to hit the ball. In such cases hinders or penalty hinders can be called. Hinder is defined as the repetition of the present rally. On the other hand, a penalty hinder is marked by a players effort to not execute an avoidable obstruction which leads to the stoppage of a rally.

The racquetball way can be influenced by the say of the referee. It is the responsibility of the official to determine whether a hinder or penalty hinder took place. The difference between the two lies on the opportunity to gain a winning point during a rally. Hinders do not feature a player loosing a chance to take a point while penalty hinders show that there is clear obstruction of another player in order to prevent his opponent from lighting up the scoreboard.

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Racquetball Defense Strategies

admin — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 03:00:20 +0000

Racquetball Defense Strategies

Like other sports games, there are two main things that matter in racquetball: offense and defense. Offense is a series of moves initiated by one combatant to help him win the fight.

Defense on the other hand is the series of moves in reaction to the opponents offensive moves. The following are some tips on defense strategies.

Center court

In racquetball, the center court is the strongest position. In the center court, you are in control. If your opponent is occupying it, you are in a defensive position. You must strive to take it away.

Getting your opponent out of the center court can be done by hitting a ceiling shot or a pass shot. Stay out of the side walls at all times. Your opponent dominates the court if you are on the side walls.

Kill shot

The kill shot is hitting the ball low enough to the front wall without hitting the side walls. Done perfectly, this can make the ball bounce twice on the floor making it impossible to be returned.

The best way to do a kill shot is hitting the ball a couple of inches off the floor straight to the front wall.

Pass shot

In racquetball, the pass shot is one very good defensive shot. The reason is simple: Anyone can execute it, whether you are a pro or a beginner.

Hit the ball toward the front wall making it come as far away from your opponent as possible. Choose hitting it down the line or cross court.

Down the line means hitting the ball parallel to the side wall and making it come straight back between the side wall and you.

A cross court hit means hitting the ball against the side wall farthest from where you are. The ball will fly between your opponent and the side wall.

To be considered a good defensive shot, slam the ball fast enough as you can muster. Make it go with such speed that your opponents slow reaction time will cause the ball to bounce twice before hitting the back wall.

The Z-ball shot

This is the shot that hits the front wall first, then one side wall and finally the other side wall and returns parallel with the back wall. The ball gathers enough spin as it hits the three walls.

Done correctly, the ball rolls alongside the back wall which makes it difficult for your opponent to return.

Around the world

Another defensive shot can be executed in times when you are out of position. This should be done with enough force.

Hit the ball hard enough into a side wall with enough momentum to rebound on the front wall and still have enough energy to hit the other side wall as high as possible. The ball will bounce to the floor nearly behind the center court heading to the other back corner.

From there, it will make a second bounce after hitting the back corner wall.

Other defenses

There are other defensive moves done usually by the pros of the game. Some are combinations of these popular ones and some are variations.

Racquetball is like any other sport where the fun resides in the struggle between players. Of course, as everyone knows, the best defense is offense.

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Joining Racquetball Gyms

admin — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 20:00:16 +0000

Joining Racquetball Gyms

One of the many advantages of racquetball is the availability of playing courts. There seems to be one in every high school gym or some park.

Unfortunately, outside weather is sometimes not on your side. Or sometimes, your usual public courts might just be too hot for your playing comforts.

What are your alternatives? A private gym is one great idea if you want to join for the sole purpose of having a convenient, year-round access to racquetball courts. However, there are some considerations to check out before you join in one.

First, let us look at the disadvantages.

Fees

One of the big complaints about private members-only gyms is the price. Some would allow you to sign up for a racquetball-only membership.

The sad part is you will still have to fork out a pricey initiation fee that can run up to hundreds of dollars. This is on top of your monthly due which is around $10 to $40 depending on the area where you live.

Availabilities

This can get tricky. Your gym might only have a limited number of courts. During peak business hours, you may have to wait for a vacant court even if you had scheduled your play time in advance.

The busiest times are early morning, early evening and lunch time. The best times on weekdays are between 8 and 10 a.m., 1 and 4 p.m. and after 7 p.m. Avoid morning hours on weekends. Afternoons or evenings are good.

If your gym has seasonal racquetball leagues and you are not participating, you will have a tough time getting a court for the whole season.

Here are the advantages of joining a gym.

Conveniences

If your gym does not offer racquetball-only memberships, you will have to buy a full membership. Happily, this grants you access to an array of fitness classes, weights and cardio machines.

They may even have you use their basketball courts, the sauna and the swimming pool. Using these additional facilities will help you get in better shape to play racquetball. Some gyms also offer free child care allowing you and your partner to enjoy your game.

Friends

Many gyms have racquetball leagues. If you are new in town, joining the league affords you to meet fellow players and new friends.

These guys are just as die-hard as you are in the game and they are more than willing to share their insights and pointers.

Facilities

One good thing about exclusive gyms is the quality of the courts clean, and regularly well-maintained. They are often located indoors to make sure members can play all year round. Since you are paying good money, damages on the floor are quickly repaired.

Choices

Before committing to anything, you can look around for free, public racquetball courts in your area as well as the popularity of the sports. Check online any facilities that offer discount play and other perks.

As always, identify your pros and your cons in choosing gyms to play racquetball. If you sign in, make sure you understand your gym contract so you get the most for your money while enjoying your favorite sports.

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Racquetball Offense

admin — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 13:00:10 +0000

Racquetball Offense

Like any other sports, racquetball has its own array of offensive and defensive moves that players use extensively. Like what the best athletes and sportsmen said, offense is still the best defense.

The following are some of the best offensive racquetball moves used by the better players. The best moves are those that fit your style and becomes your own.

Go offensive

In winning sports games, it pays to be the first to go offensive. In racquetball, going offensive means studying and mastering the types of shots that win tournaments. These are the dreaded kill shots and passing shots.

Passing shots are those that can bring your opponent to the back court where he might make a weak shot or he just cannot return it. If your opponent plays the center court area more than you can, you need to do more passing shots and kill shots.

Passing shots

For an offensive move, the best passing shot is done down the line. Here the ball travels down the side of the court from the front wall to the back corner. Aim 4 feet to 8 feet out from the side wall, and not any higher.

If it is high enough, the ball rebounds off the back wall where your opponent can return it. Do not hit the ball too close to the side wall, either. It pops out and can give your opponent a great set up.

Cross court pass shot

Another good offensive shot is the cross court pass shot. Hit the front wall about 1 to 2 feet above the floor and about 4 feet from either side wall.

The ball returns exactly to the other side of the back corner. If the shot was accurate enough, the ball bounces at least twice before arriving at the back corner.

What is difficult (for all players) is to be unable to hit the ball close enough to the center of the front wall. If done badly, however, this shot will give your opponent the chance to return it big time.

You need to practice this shot at all points in the court until it becomes second nature to you.

Pinch shots

This is one of the most popular shots in racquetball but also the most difficult to execute. The plan is to hit the ball low enough from the side wall to the front wall in a way that it bounces twice before reaching the service line.

The shot is harder to do if you are too far out back. It is also more likely that the ball will skip into the floor. If you do your pinch shot too high, the ball will bounce once from the front wall and sets up your opponent for his own kill shot.

On the reverse, hit the ball at the other side wall about 2 feet (or less) and within 1 to 2 feet from the front wall. The ball will bounce twice because it hits the front wall low.
Make the reverse pinch shot very low to the floor so the ball will bounce twice.

Practice

The key to these offensive racquetball moves is practice. A practice partner might set you up on these shots until they feel like reflex actions. These takes some time but, as they say, practice makes perfect.

Racquetball

The Racquetball Show

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Racquetball Check

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Promote Racquetball In Your Facility

Read More

Tips For Racquetball Instructors

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Racquetball And Mentoring

Read More

Racquetball Tips — Getting The Right Grip

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The Racquetball Way

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Racquetball Defense Strategies

Read More

Joining Racquetball Gyms

Read More

Racquetball Offense

Read More