RACQUETBALL Magazine ONLINE

March - April 1997: Volume 8, Number 2


WILSON GAME PLAN: Start the New Year Right!

by Lynn Adams


Happy New Year !! I love the beginning of each new year. To me, it signals the fact that life is constantly moving forward, changing and growing. In terms of racquetball, the new year can be a time to look at your game and see if it too is moving forward, changing and growing. As with any part of life, change and growth are essential to keeping us stimulated, excited and alive. If your game has his a plateau, or you feel the thrill is gone, then now is the time to act. Add something new to your game, change a bad habit and see how far you can take your racquetball skills.

This will be a two part series, focusing on bad habits we all seem to have in common, and some ideas on new skills to add to your game.

We'll start by looking at our bad habits, and what we can do to correct them. Please believe me when I say that you are not alone if you see yourself committing one or more of these "bad habits." These are the mistakes that the majority of us have in our game, but they can be changed.

So how can one change a bad habit? If I had a pill that could do the trick, I would be a rich woman. But no, there is only one way to change a habit, and that is through repetition. There is this concept called muscle memory, which means your body keeps doing whatever it is used to doing, because you have been doing it for a long time. Your body has a memory, so it keeps doing what it knows, hence, muscle memory. The only way to change that memory, is to do something different over and over and over until you have a new muscle memory. Time and repetition is the formula for success in changing a habit or adding a new skill.

What are some of the most common "bad habits" that we see in racquetball? Listed below are some of my observations and some hints on what we can do differently:

SHORT SWING
Some players dream of generating more power, and some players wish they could play without elbow or shoulder pain. Both of these scenarios can be helped by taking a full swing, as opposed to a short swing.

A short swing is a swing that has very little backswing, and the follow through doesn't come all the way around your body. If you want to visualize a big backswing, think of a power hitter in baseball. He holds his bat up high off his shoulder, so he can generate a lot of bat speed coming into the ball. If you want to maximize your power potential, you need a big backswing so you have plenty of time to generate racquet head speed.

Quick tip: When you lift your racquet to the backswing position, turn your head and look at the position of your racquet. If your eyes are even with the strings in your racquet, your backswing isn't high enough. Your eyes should be even with your hand, with the racquet face up above your head.

Your follow through should wrap around behind your body if you want to generate maximum power and take the pressure off your elbow. If your racquet is in full sight after you swing at the ball, its a pretty good bet you've stopped your follow through. OUCH!! It hurts just thinking about it. So, think big when you swing at a ball. Big backswing, big follow through.

PLAYING TOO FAR FORWARD
Center court theory dictates being in the position that will get you to most of the balls, most of the time. I don't care how fast you are, you will never get to all the shots. You have to give up something. That is a hard concept for us to embrace, but if you can get comfortable with the fact that you can't get everything, you will feel less pressure and become able to focus positively on the shots you can get to.

When you play in front of the five foot line you put yourself closer to the front wall (duh). What that does is give you less reaction time and render you vulnerable to passing shots, ceiling balls and balls coming right at you. If your opponent hits a good pinch or rollout, it's highly unlikely that you'll get to the shot even playing too far forward.

If you want a chance to get to more shots and have more time to get ready for those shots, pull your court position back to right behind the five foot line.

NOT TURNING SIDEWAYS TO THE BALL
Imagine you are at a baseball game. It is a beautiful day. Your favorite player comes up to bat. He steps in to the batter's box, and instead of standing sideways to take the pitch, he stands facing the pitcher. Wait a minute, what is this? If he stands that way, how can he step into the pitch? He'll lose power. He'll poke at the ball. If he takes a full swing, he send it foul. What is he doing?!!

A lot of us play facing the front wall, toes pointed forward. When we play that way, several things happen. One, we poke at the ball, losing power. We can't step into the ball and use leg and body power to give us some extra "oomph" on our shots. Two, it is a difficult stance to move from, because we don't have a pivot foot to push off into the flow of play, consequently, we are slower. And third, you can't see what's going on behind you, so you lose reaction time and you are in the way a lot because you don't know when its time to move.

The best stance to be in when you are hitting the ball is sideways with your toes pointing towards the side wall just like when you are in a batter's box. That way you can step into your shot and use your whole body.

The best stance to be in when your opponent is hitting the ball, is slightly sideways, so you can peek over your shoulder to see what's going on behind you and you'll also have a push off foot to propel you into the rally.

HIT, WATCH, ADMIRE, MOVE
You hit a shot -- a great shot maybe -- and you stand there and watch it. You say to yourself "Wow, what a great pinch." Then all of a sudden, your opponent gets to that great pinch, you start to run for the ball, but alas, it is too late. I see this happen to all players, no matter what skill level. Instead of standing and watching your shot, play "hit and move" racquetball. That means after you hit your shot, immediately start moving to center court, watching your shot as you move. That way, you are in good court position and on your toes, ready for anything. No more standing around!!! Hit and move, hit and move.

Good luck making positive changes and next time we'll talk about new shots you can add to your game. Have fun !!


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