Four factors to improve your game! Height, angle, speed and proximity are the four factors that once understood can improve your game. For example, when your opponent contacts the ball seven feet off the ground above his head and is standing approximately 2 feet from the back wall, what are his or her options? First, we know the height and proximity of the shot. Now we must register what angle will they use, up or down? Once this has been determined then the speed of the shot will be given. Once, you can understand these four factors, either 2 at a time if the situation warrants it or all at the same time you will see more points and more checks in the winners column. But first, let's take one factor at a time and explain it in detail.
Height of the ball on contact will give many clues as to what to expect in return. As a rule of thumb, any ball that is contacted above the waist will usually be a ceiling ball. Ceiling balls are contacted at about one to two feet above the head and to the side. The ceiling ball is considered a defensive shot. Most ceiling balls are taken because a player has been forced deep into the backcourt, 30 to 40 feet deep.
Balls taken below the waist should be considered offensive shot opportunities. Usually, going for a pinch, kill, or pass shot. As with the case in the previous paragraph. The height of the ball and your opponents attempt at to contact the ball at seven feet would normally indicate a ceiling ball return. This information would allow you set-up in the appropriate position for the return. If you remember from a previous article (the bullet) good position set-up would be center court at about 27 to 29 feet from the front wall. Now be aware that your opponent may consider a more aggressive shot. The overhead drive. This shot is contacted over the head and approximately 1 foot in-front of the body. Your position should change only slightly, center court at about 26 to 28 feet from the front wall. How do understand these situation? Look back to another article written in the FOCUS. The 3 K's, Know where you are, Know where your opponent is, and Know where the ball is, this means using your EYES, to see what's happening around you!
This brings us to the next factor. Angle of the shot !
Angles are very important when playing racquetball. Just imagine that the racquetball court is a pool table. You should now see all the angles that are possible. These angles can be applied to your racquetball game.
In the last article we discussed the ceiling ball and height. There are three main shot selections to choose from! The first being the ceiling ball, hit at approximately a 45 degree angle to the ceiling. Contact on the ceiling should be roughly 3 to 5 feet on the ceiling from the front wall. This shot will force your opponent to retrieve the ball from the back court. The second shot is an around the world selection. The ball is angled towards the side wall at approximately a 45 degrees. The ball will contact the side wall then front wall and the other side wall before hitting the floor. This will force your opponent to the back court area. The third shot is an overhead drive, straight into the front wall. This shot is meant to keep your opponent off balance and force them into the back court. The ball should be contacted about a foot in-front of your body just above your head. The ball should contact the front wall at about 2 to 3 feet high. There are other options to consider, but leave them to a later date after you have mastered these three basic selections.
Balls taken from the waist down are considered offensive shots. There are so many angles and options that we will discuss a couple of reminder tips that are very basic. If you are going for a front wall contact first, ie., pass or kill shot, then consider these recommendations. The higher you contact the ball with your racquet, waist to mid-thigh, the higher the target should be on the front wall, approximately 2 to 3 feet off the floor on the front wall. The lower the contact point with the ball and racquet, mid-thigh to ankle, the lower your target should be on the front wall, 6 inches to 2 feet off the floor on the front wall. Other options to consider are side wall splats and pinch shots. Splat shots are shots that are hit into the side wall no farther than 5 feet in-front of you. The desired effect will be the ball flattening out and die on the front wall. The pinch shot is also hit into the side wall but now the side wall contact point is 5 feet from the front wall. If hit at a low enough height and at the right angle the ball should not be retrievable before two bounces. With angles comes speed and the proximity of the shots origin. These factors will be discussed in later articles.
PROXIMITY means 2 things, where the ball is coming from and where it is going. where the ball is coming from is a factor of where the opponent decides to initiate contact with the ball. Is the opponent in the deep court or the front court. Is the opponent in center court or on the right or left side of the court. Once you have identified your opponents proximity then the other factors can be considered. For instance, the opponent is positioned to return the ball from the deep left area of the court. Proximity has been identified. Now comes the height in which the opponent is setting up to return the ball. Are they taking the ball at shoulder height or waist height or maybe knee height. The height can be identified more specifically and quickly than angle and speed. Clues to angle can come from the opponents proximity and where they finally make contact. For example, players in the deep left side of the court making contact with the ball at waist height, will usually try and pass the ball, down the line or cross court. The more advanced players will follow this same game plan but will utilize the side wall more with splat shots. This will keep their opponent slightly off balance. As long as the splat shot is executed properly. Speed can only be identified alter the fact and can help determine your next shot. Example, same scenario, the opponent is in deep left court and blasts a 150 mile an hour cross court pass three feet off the ground. That would be considered a setup off the backwall. Now from the same proximity and the same speed but the height is two inches off the ground. The result is a successful kill shot.
PROXIMITY of where the ball is coming from, can help determine where the ball will be going. where you decide to contact the ball is crucial to success. Are you in the front court, middle court or deep court. Your proximity when initiating contact with the ball can help determine the type of shot taken! Ideally, you will be using passing shots from the deep court, kill shots from the middle court and pinch shots from the front court.Depending on your level of play will determine your ability to execute these shots. Lower level players may not be comfortable with the pinch shot in the front court so they will have to go with the kill shot. Once PROXIMITY is understood then the other three factors become manageable and functionable with each other.
With the increase in racquet head size has come an increase in ball speed. The Racquet manufactures have developed the technology to construct oversize racquets that are lighter than ever, remember MASS x SPEED VELOCITY. Mass being the racquet size and body, speed being the lighter the racquet the faster a player can bring the head of the racquet around. This is the formula for increasing ball speed. The only problem with this is that you are not a lab experiment and this is not the class mom. Most players understand this concept but cannot apply it to their games. Here are some tips to help solve the problem.
First, notice how when warming up or practicing your strokes the ball seems to be moving faster than when playing a match. Why is this? Answer, your feet are set. When practicing the ball is dropped out in-front of the body, feet are set, the player then takes a small step pushing off the back leg and transferring body weight to the front leg, or transferring balance from back to front leg. In a match, unfortunately players have a tendency to continue to move their feet when they are hitting the ball. This is due to the fact that they have not used the 3k's (Know where the ball is, Know where your opponent is, Know where you are), check back to previous articles. Players are unaware of where they may need to be going to get set-up for their next shot. These players are constantly chasing the ball trying to catch-up to it rather than seeing and knowing where the ball is going and moving to the area for a set-up shot. The key is Know where the ball will end up so you can set-up.
Second depending on how high the contact point with the racquet and ball, will also depend on how much speed to put on the ball. If you notice we are getting into a little bit of angle. For example, if you make contact with the ball one foot off the ground and it hits the front wall at about six inches off the ground and you have swung as hard as you can. The result will be the ball taking it's second bounce at approximately the short line. Now, if you bring the contact point up to about stomach to chest height and the balls contact point on the front wall has come up to about three feet off the floor, and you contact the ball as hard as you can. The result is a set-up for your opponent off the back wall. The balls second bounce would not come until it has slowed down considerable off the back, making it an easy set-up for your opponent.
Third, when you are in the front court, set your feet and let the ball drop low, one foot
to six inches. Take an aggressive kill or pinch shot, six inches off the floor on the front
wall. This means a fast pace ball. If you are in the back court, 30 to 36 feet deep and
your feet are set, let the ball drop to about waist, bottom of shorts height before contact.
Contact on the front wall should be approximately two feet off the front wall for a down
the line pass shot or a cross court passing shot. The balls second bounce should be at
approximately the 35 foot mark. This means taking a little speed off the ball so it will not
come off the back wall. Speed and angle work closely together. A lot of times you
cannot use one without the other!
Martin McDermott can be reached at (214) 827-9994.
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