Background: Basically I have a wide feet and currently use Hi-Tec 4:Sys shoes. They are starting to fall apart after about a year of use. I always felt though they did not fit quite right. I would get turf toe every once in awhile and recently started getting blisters on the bottom of my feet (the insert was worn on out though).
So anyway I decided to go with my favorite shoe brand New Balance and get their basketball shoes. They fit perfectly and much more comfortable. Just wanted to get some feedback from other players who have experience with basketball shoes. Two players that have not played in years and are starting up again that I play against use basketball shoes just because they already had them. I wanted to know if anyone has ever made the switch from racquetball shoes to basketball and what differences they have noticed if any.
Thanks
Hi I will be traveling for work to North Caroline the week 10/18. I am looking to see if there are any places to play and players near Wake Forest. Thanks.
Over a week ago I was playing and during my match up 14-6 I somehow twisted my back funny and felt a muscle in them middle/side of my back pull. I could not continue with the match. I took aleve, put ointment on and used a heating pad etc... Everytime I sneezed I had to hold my back because of the pain.
I thought my back was better a week later, becuase the pain was finally gone. I decided to play. I started having issues and the pain started coming back. I could not even do an effective drive serve. Everytime the ball went in a certain spot I could not retrieve it because the pain was too intense.
I am filling up my wait time with running, but I really miss playing. Has anyone ever hurt their back like this? How long was the recovery time? How will I know I will be ready to go back? I am going to see my chiropractor soon so hopefully she will give me some good news.
I see a lot of posts on what to do on playing lesser opponents, but what can you do if you are the lesser player playing a higher level player? I play with one guy who can kill the ball pretty easily. He also can get to the ball pretty quickly and place his shots. He is a great tennis player and a good racquetball player. He is the only guy I know personally that can switch between the sports. I have gotten better against him, but he can end the rally with a killshot pretty easily. Anyway to prevent him from killing it? I also play in some challenge courts with higher level players. They also seem to have the placement down.
I like to wear a bandana when I play and I am in the market for some new ones. Any suggestions? Maybe something that will intimidate my opponents. :) Let me know. Nothing that would get me shot though please.
I have been demoing four Gearbox racquets the last few days with a couple of other players. I liked the 170T teardrop the best at first, but now I am starting to like the 170 quad more. I know I have to decide for myself which one I like better, but does anyone have any tips on how to decide? Should it be based on serves or returns or something else? I know being a new player a quad might be better because it is forgiving. Sorry if this is a redundant question I just want to make sure I will make the right choice. Thanks in advance.
Okay I have been playing for almost a year now and have improved quite a bit in that year. However I can't seem to get past the mental stress part of the game. If I am relaxed and patient I look like I have been playing for years. if I start getting stressed my game gets progressively worse from there. I can't hit the easy shots and I start to get really frustrated. :evil: I have noticed my stress levels get higher when either my opponent gets ahead of me, I get ahead of my opponent and start thinking he is going to catch up to me or I make a bad mistake. So anybody have advice on how to get over it? I watched some racquetball videos that helped, but still need to move past it. It is not as bad when I first started, but it reappears more often than not.
So my opponent has this serve that he seems to get an ace on me most of the time. Basically he hits the ball hard enough to bounce close to the back wall hit off the back wall and come back fast. The hardest part about that it is basically hugging the side wall coming back. Not sure how he does it, but I have a hard time hitting it. I try to cut it off before it hits the back wall or most of the time try to hit it coming back from the back wall. I usually don't get my racket to the ball fast enough or hit the side wall. The ball is about at my mid-section when it comes back. Any advice on this one?
I am a newbie and recently I changed my game to be more aggressive. I have been stepping into the ball more when hitting to increase power. I also have started putting my pinky finger at the end of the grip to give me better control. I used to leave it off due to trigger finger, but that seems to have disappeared. These things have really helped my game progress. However since doing these things my arm, particular my bicep has been hurting. I did play three days in a row this week, but I used to do that before I changed things up. When my arm did not hurt I was playing much better, but once the pain sets in it is hard to focus. It almost feels like when I first started playing and had the learning pains so to speak.
So am I swinging wrong or is it just my body getting used to me playing differently? I believe I am swinging properly with a correct wrist snap and follow through at least most of the time. I currently am using a heavier racket 195 grams, but not sure that is a factor. Eventually I want to go with a lighter racket, but if I have arm pain now I am not sure if that is a good idea. The good thing about my arm hurting was I was forced to use more lob serves and was able to score a few points this way since it threw my oppenent off.
There are a group of older gentleman that have been playing racquetball in my gym for many years. My regular group could not make it to the gym today so I got the nerve up to ask one of them to play me. He was watching his friends play doubles and was waiting for the match to be over. He said sure, until he has to play again.
The group he plays with age ranges are 65-71. He has been playing over 35 years. Anyway we did not finish the game completely (he would of wooped me anyway) because he wanted to give me some pointers. He even let me use his racquet (ektelon red) I believe. Anyway he helped out a lot and even with my regular racket I was hitting much better. I was lacking power in my serves and now I can't wait to play my regular group of friends and surprise them.
It is great learning from the players that have been around awhile. Special thanks to rktballrick for meeting a few weeks ago as well. I learned a lot from him too.
Hello, everyone my name is Rob or subzerobears. I have only been playing since late last year. I play racquetball about three times a week at lunchtime. I am still a C player, but hopefully getting better. I am trying to watch as much video and read as many books as possible. I know the techniques just got to learn how to execute. :?
Anyway I am hoping to get better, just frustrating now because the other guys I play with usually beat me. They play a lot more. I have younger kids at home so I don't get to play other than at lunchtime and I can't find anyone in my area to play with either. :) If anyone in Illinois near St Charles wants to meet up for a few matches let me know.
I recently upgraded from a basic Ektelon starter pack racket to a Ektelon Air O Bolt racquet with python grip. I outgrew my first racquet so that is why I upgrade to the Air O Bolt. I also had issues with hand to eye cooridination so this racket helped with some of those issues. Eventually I would like to move to a different one as I progress. Anyway I use the E-Force dual focus eyewear and E-force weapon glove. I have not bought official racquetball shoes yet, but hopefully in time I will. Oh yeah I also carry my stuff around in an Ektelon Camo Speedport Backpack. It has plenty of room for all of my gym stuff.
So I hope to learn a lot by being here and getting advice from posters. The guys I play with don't do a lot of research so hopefully by studying the game more I eventually can beat them. A special thanks to the racquetball warehouse too. They have helped me a lot. :d
