When I look back on all the lessons I learned playing racquetball, the most bitter, yet rewarding were from watching and unfortunately getting beat by better players. Any pro will tell you the toughest part of becoming a top player is having to tear down your game and rebuild it. Very few players come on the pro tour and are consistent their first couple of years. One can win at the amateur, top state or regional level by learning how to utilize his strengths effectively. However, at the pro level you must learn to eliminate your weaknesses, that results in the systematic breaking down of your game. Playing the same guys week in and week out doesn’t leave too many surprises come match time, I will share with you some things that I learned from the pro’s that will hopefully ease your learning curve.
We have all heard about a Hollywood actor getting type cast in a certain type of role? Well the same thing happens to athletes of all levels. Mike Yellen was the master of not falling prey to this dilemma. Mike is widely known as the best control player ever to play racquetball. However, he never let himself stagnate by reading his own press clippings. After winning his 3rd national title in 1985 he saw Cliff Swain, Bret Harnett and an army of young guns coming up. So what did he do? He spent the summer (this was before the tour was a year round season) developing a devastating drive serve and a power splat. This diversity allowed him to become the only player in racquetball history to win 5 consecutive national titles. Everybody still called Mike strictly a control player, but he could rip with the best of them.
The lesson to be learned is to always be looking to develop your weaknesses and diversify your game. Being the best B player only means your not an A player, being a consistent semi-finalist only means your not consistently in the finals. Don't be satisfied.
I remember in l989, Arlington Va., when myself and Drew Kachtik had recently began playing the tour regularly. Drew had just lost a gut wrenching 11-10 tiebreaker to Marty Hogan, while trying to console him and explain what a great showing his performance was, he looked at me and said "everybody takes Hogan to a tiebreaker, now I'm just another guy that could have won but didn't" Well, not everyone took Hogan to a tiebreaker but Drew’s attitude is what catapulted him to the National Title in 1991, in only his 3rd year on the tour. Drew despised the thought of being one of the gang of up and coming players. So he distinguished himself the best way possible - becoming #1.
The lesson to be learned is don't allow yourself to fall into the mode of being competitive with a group of guys and stopping there. In the game King of the Hill there is only one left standing at the end- you want to be King.
On Sunday at most tournaments you can sit around and listen to some of the most creative stories on why people lost on Saturday; my knee hurt, I ate right before I played, the Advil never kicked in and so on and so forth After Cliff Swain lost a close tiebreaker to Mike Ray, in which Cliff was the recipient of many questionable calls, a 10 year old kid walked up to Cliff immediately after the match and said, “the ref cost you that one Cliff”. Cliff quickly turned to the youngster (at this point I feared for the young man's safety) and replied "No, I cost myself this one, if you let yourself get close enough to allow the ref to influence a match, it is your own fault. I'm just going to have to go home and get better”. Unfortunately for the rest of us Cliff heeded is own advice and because of him I am practicing law, rather than racquetball (only partially kidding).
The lesson to be learned is that if you are busy blaming others for your losses you never get a chance to fix what is really broken.
Home: Houston, Texas...Plays: Right Handed...1st Year on Tour:1987
Born:
12/24/63...Height:5'11"...Weight:180
Career Highlights: 1993 Las Vegas Finalist
After finishing law school, passing the Bar, and having shoulder surgery in 1994, Aaron Katz played the best racquetball of his career this past season. As the Tour's "Most Improved Player" Katz earned long overdue respect for his controlling gamestyle.
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