3 months ago I video my game


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOgNXbRB6gM


I look at myself and can not believe I move like sh_t!! hitting the ball every way.
I work on my game more for last two month.


Yesterday I got a chance to video my game again:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTU-oBjSC3o


OMG when I look at the video I'm very depressed. I think I did not Improve at all.

I still move like sh_t, hitting the ball every way. bad serve over and over.
I got kind of discourage after watch myself in the video.

PLs look at both video and compare what is the same mistake that I make and How/What I can do to change it.

thank you guys

In my opinion you don't look like you want to be there. You are standing straight up and your shoulders and arms are just hanging straight down most of the time. You are not shuffling you are mostly walking to the ball and you have no ERP or follow through. Also you need to focus and take your time on your serve especially on your serve. It doesn't matter how good or not good your opponent is, you need to play your game not a Lazy game. You need to:

1. (receiving)Be Ready for the ball by holding your racquet in the ready position feet spread at least
shoulder width apart or more for balance, knees bent and a slight bend at the waist
(serving) Get in the box, get set, focus on the serve and visualize a good serve then take your time to
execute it.
2. When you approach the ball to strike it you need to have your feet spread shoulder width apart or wider
slight bend at the waist and racquet up and ready then strike the ball and follow all the way through like
you are trying to wrap the racquet around your shoulders.
3. after you finish your follow through you need to move quickly to center court which is about 2-2.5 feet
from the encroachment line and ready with your legs apart and arms slightly bent and ready to get ERP
4. Finally always watch the ball..KEEP your eyes on the BALL the whole game. (Play a game where you do
nothing but what the ball. You don't talk to your opponent and you don't look at ANYTHING else. Just
watch the ball bounce and hit the wall and the racquets and roll and everything else it does.)
By the way you need to follow through on your serves as well.

Izzy

balls2walls

In my opinion you don't look like you want to be there. You are standing straight up and your shoulders and arms are just hanging straight down most of the time. You are not shuffling you are mostly walking to the ball and you have no ERP or follow through. Also you need to focus and take your time on your serve especially on your serve. It doesn't matter how good or not good your opponent is, you need to play your game not a Lazy game. You need to:

1. (receiving)Be Ready for the ball by holding your racquet in the ready position feet spread at least
shoulder width apart or more for balance, knees bent and a slight bend at the waist
(serving) Get in the box, get set, focus on the serve and visualize a good serve then take your time to
execute it.
2. When you approach the ball to strike it you need to have your feet spread shoulder width apart or wider
slight bend at the waist and racquet up and ready then strike the ball and follow all the way through like
you are trying to wrap the racquet around your shoulders.
3. after you finish your follow through you need to move quickly to center court which is about 2-2.5 feet
from the encroachment line and ready with your legs apart and arms slightly bent and ready to get ERP
4. Finally always watch the ball..KEEP your eyes on the BALL the whole game. (Play a game where you do
nothing but what the ball. You don't talk to your opponent and you don't look at ANYTHING else. Just
watch the ball bounce and hit the wall and the racquets and roll and everything else it does.)
By the way you need to follow through on your serves as well.

Izzy

Izzy,
Thank you so much, I promises to focus on my serve get as much point as possible from the serve. ERP ERP ERP get my shoulders and arm up.
about the shuffling I still not sure what to expect but I'll try to move better.

jAd

someone needs to teach your second opponent how to use a forehand

he has way to good a backhand to be hitting forehands like that

your athletism is definitely improving

start putting some emphasis on ending front court rallies

you still hit too many monkey balls (balls that are high but aren't Zs and don't hit the celing)

I like your half lob, work on your deep lob though

and you really need to work on your drive serve

and GET LOW WHEN PREPARING TO HIT

balls2walls

In my opinion you don't look like you want to be there.

I agree completely with those comments. I know you are not intending to project an image like that. It's one of the things that I have to constantly remind people in lessons or that are looking for tips. I call it "MOVING WITH A PURPOSE". Don't float around the court. Act like you know where you want to be...and know where you need to go. Move the watch the ball, move the feet, stay low, swing away.

The description of the video is "warm up game". It definitely looks like that. It looks like you both are just kind of taking it easy...waiting for the shots to come to you.

Having said that, I'm sure there are games that I play in, that I look like I'm waiting around too. When I'm playing a lobber.. I do stand upright a lot as I wait for the serve to come in, etc, etc. I know there are times in a rally where you sometimes don't look like you are moving. Regardless, I'd rather over emphasize movement, etc.. than understate it.

Part of the reason squash is harder (IMHO) for people to START playing is that it takes a while to develop this 'purpose of movement' that you MUST have in squash to even keep a rally going. Part of the advantage racquetball has, is that it is easy to just "get into it" and play the game. The disadvantage of this, is that it takes longer to develop the instinct to move TO the ball, or to where the ball is going to be, that you need to have in order to keep advancing your skills.

Just more thoughts...take it for what it's worth. ;-)

Hey Jad,

Does your friend always wear that cute little red hat all the time ??? :lol:

You are to hard on yourself. You play fine if you want to just want to hit it around with friends and have a good time.

If you are trying to get better, you need some work on your game.

Some of the things I saw were .....

1. Stop that tapping at the ball routine. You are a big boy, so hit the ball !!!!!!!!!:evil:

2. Stop taking chest high shots. Either go to the ceiling or get into better court position to take better shots.

3. You don't move your opponnet around enough to get him out of good court position with ceiling balls or passes or other shots.

I know you have Fran's video, maybe you need to spend more time watching it and following their drills to improve your mechanics and body positioning. Also don't worry about winning or losing when playing for awhile. Just play like you do during your drills and the winning will take care of itself.

Good luck

behmer07

someone needs to teach your second opponent how to use a forehand

he has way to good a backhand to be hitting forehands like that

your athletism is definitely improving

start putting some emphasis on ending front court rallies

you still hit too many monkey balls (balls that are high but aren't Zs and don't hit the celing)

I was trying to hit a Z shot but lack of practice so... it become "monkey ball"


I like your half lob, work on your deep lob though

Actually I just start doing the lob shot and it work out better than my "butterfly shot". I will work on those shot (make it deeper)

and you really need to work on your drive serve

My drive serve is a joke .... try to hit it twice (short both time)

and GET LOW WHEN PREPARING TO HIT

I'll work harder on the game, thank you :p

luverofpeanuts

I agree completely with those comments. I know you are not intending to project an image like that. It's one of the things that I have to constantly remind people in lessons or that are looking for tips. I call it "MOVING WITH A PURPOSE". Don't float around the court. Act like you know where you want to be...and know where you need to go. Move the watch the ball, move the feet, stay low, swing away.

what do you mean by Act? I really need to work on footwork because I think I walk like a duck and hoping around (like I am on the moon)

The description of the video is "warm up game". It definitely looks like that. It looks like you both are just kind of taking it easy...waiting for the shots to come to you.

Having said that, I'm sure there are games that I play in, that I look like I'm waiting around too. When I'm playing a lobber.. I do stand upright a lot as I wait for the serve to come in, etc, etc. I know there are times in a rally where you sometimes don't look like you are moving. Regardless, I'd rather over emphasize movement, etc.. than understate it.

Part of the reason squash is harder (IMHO) for people to START playing is that it takes a while to develop this 'purpose of movement' that you MUST have in squash to even keep a rally going. Part of the advantage racquetball has, is that it is easy to just "get into it" and play the game. The disadvantage of this, is that it takes longer to develop the instinct to move TO the ball, or to where the ball is going to be, that you need to have in order to keep advancing your skills.

I play a lot of squash back home, when I was 19 or 20. i run like craze for that game

Just more thoughts...take it for what it's worth. ;-)

lionel_101

Hey Jad,

Does your friend always wear that cute little red hat all the time ??? :lol:

Ha ha ha ..... he is worry about I am reading his mind, that is a new technology !!!

You are to hard on yourself. You play fine if you want to just want to hit it around with friends and have a good time.

If you are trying to get better, you need some work on your game.

Some of the things I saw were .....

1. Stop that tapping at the ball routine. You are a big boy, so hit the ball !!!!!!!!!:evil:

I don't know what happened, I kind lost power... huh ... but I'll start to hit the ball harder (or hardest!!)

2. Stop taking chest high shots. Either go to the ceiling or get into better court position to take better shots.

3. You don't move your opponnet around enough to get him out of good court position with ceiling balls or passes or other shots.

I know you have Fran's video, maybe you need to spend more time watching it and following their drills to improve your mechanics and body positioning. Also don't worry about winning or losing when playing for awhile. Just play like you do during your drills and the winning will take care of itself.

every time I watch the Fran's DVD I learn/understand more new stuff. but I had a question about the contact point. I will post it the next reply.

Good luck

Finally got a chance to watch your videos.

You need to find better opponents to play IMO.

You need to work your off the back wall setups because you are still not getting into position to shoot them. Too many times you have a FAT ASS forehand setup and because you are out of position or taking the ball too high, you blast a ceiling shot. :-k Those should be put away, not extending the rally.

Gotta move your feet....and want to get into position. Remember that it's not just in COURT position, it's also position in relationship to the BALL.


Tim

What did you think of dano's post in this thread?

Do you have any videos of cliff or sudsy playing? They bring such intensity to the court. Good visualization prep, IMO.

Matt

SIIK2NR

Finally got a chance to watch your videos.

You need to find better opponents to play IMO.

ok will find some A player to play with lol

You need to work your off the back wall setups because you are still not getting into position to shoot them. Too many times you have a FAT ASS forehand setup and because you are out of position or taking the ball too high, you blast a ceiling shot. :-k Those should be put away, not extending the rally.

I hit more ceiling shot than what I should, mainly because I been practice that shot and I know he hate ceiling shot LOL

Gotta move your feet....and want to get into position. Remember that it's not just in COURT position, it's also position in relationship to the BALL.

I am actually working on it, I started to move my leading foot to where the ball land. However is ez said than done... give me some time :)

Tim

Thank you Tim ...

mdhills

What did you think of dano's post in this thread?

Do you have any videos of cliff or sudsy playing? They bring such intensity to the court. Good visualization prep, IMO.

Matt

Thank you Matt, and yes I read that thread before. just need more fire inside the court ...

I agree with behmer07, your athleticism is improving. Also, don't be so hard on yourself, you always look worse to yourself than you do to other people. I second/third/fourth the notion of increasing your intensity. Move yourself back to center court as quickly as you possibly can after every shot. You are certainly improving. You have to take into consideration that fact that you are playing a different opponent in each video as well, so tendencies and game play aren't going to be the same, which can make comparison a bit different.

1) Stretch - You look tight as you move around the court and swing. This means your upper body as well as your lower body. Also, as you become more limber, you will notice that you can sustain harder levels of player for longer periods of time, you will be more explosive, and your power will improve.

2) Bend the knees - As you are taking the ball off the back wall or setting up for any shot, you should be shuffling to and through your shot, not standing up to run to the ball. This will become easier to you as your ability to anticipate shots and the rebound path of the ball improves. Watch the pros, Cliff and Jack both come to mind. They are very low and slide/shuffle to the ball very well. There are times where you will have to run to the ball, but getting back to center court in a hurry can help reduce your need to run to the ball.

Tim and Behm both made the comment about looking to end the rallies and I would agree. You mentioned you play an opponent who hates the ceiling ball so you tend to hit more of them. The thought process in this statement is good, you are playing to the weakness of your opponent. However, in these types of situations, you should be using these games to improve your skills and work on hitting kill shots, passing shots, and pinches. Too much emphasis can be placed on winning and the cost is someone not allowing themselves to grow as a player. Expand your arsenal by trying new shots in practice and then introducing them in gameplay.

Keep working hard!

dponder

I agree with behmer07, your athleticism is improving. Also, don't be so hard on yourself, you always look worse to yourself than you do to other people. I second/third/fourth the notion of increasing your intensity. Move yourself back to center court as quickly as you possibly can after every shot. You are certainly improving. You have to take into consideration that fact that you are playing a different opponent in each video as well, so tendencies and game play aren't going to be the same, which can make comparison a bit different.

1) Stretch - You look tight as you move around the court and swing. This means your upper body as well as your lower body. Also, as you become more limber, you will notice that you can sustain harder levels of player for longer periods of time, you will be more explosive, and your power will improve.

I never think of stretch before the game, now I will start to stretch before I play a game. most of the time I just got there and jump in to play.

2) Bend the knees - As you are taking the ball off the back wall or setting up for any shot, you should be shuffling to and through your shot, not standing up to run to the ball. This will become easier to you as your ability to anticipate shots and the rebound path of the ball improves. Watch the pros, Cliff and Jack both come to mind. They are very low and slide/shuffle to the ball very well. There are times where you will have to run to the ball, but getting back to center court in a hurry can help reduce your need to run to the ball.

I will work on the shuffling, it is new to me (I did not know about the shuffling until watch the John's video). I also record some player and look at their move


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59JSCkiRxs0


I think the guy in grey pant are moving (shuffling), I am thinking of copy his move.

Tim and Behm both made the comment about looking to end the rallies and I would agree. You mentioned you play an opponent who hates the ceiling ball so you tend to hit more of them. The thought process in this statement is good, you are playing to the weakness of your opponent. However, in these types of situations, you should be using these games to improve your skills and work on hitting kill shots, passing shots, and pinches. Too much emphasis can be placed on winning and the cost is someone not allowing themselves to grow as a player. Expand your arsenal by trying new shots in practice and then introducing them in gameplay.

I'll keep that in mind and practice my kill and pinch shot.

Keep working hard!

Not just stretching before you play, but stretching after you play and stretch every night. You really can't stretch enough. Stretching before you play is a great idea, but you won't really get the full benefits of stretching unless you are doing is daily.

The guy in grey was shuffling some, but this video gives you a better idea of where you want to be headed with your footwork.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeJwsSbUtxc


Keep it up!

Jad,
Try practicing your Shuffle step for off the back wall setups first, then more so around the court. I use a combination of normal and crossover with the shuffle step.

The key to off the back wall setups is to anticipate the ball is long and when you can, beat it to the back wall. Just as it is contacting the back wall, push off with a shuffle step or two and then crush the ball. This will get you moving in the same direction as the ball and will allow you to hit it as it passes in front of you instead of waiting for the ball to come to you and then having to hit it off your backleg.

Once you incorporate the shuffle step into your timing with your stroke, you will really be able to crush the ball. It keeps you light on your feet and your momentum in the direction you want to hit the ball. Hitting flat footed will only generate so much power and accuracy.

Tim

The reason people say you don't move with a purpose is because you don't have a purpose on the court much of the time, jAd. You got no tactical plan out there, brother.

If you're going to keep playing this hanky-headed fellow instead of a better player, you can still get good work in if you play with mean intentions.

Playing with mean intentions means that when you're not taking a shot intended to end the rally right then and there, you are making a shot into the parts of the court that give your opponent the most trouble and worst opportunities to strike back at you offensively.

For that, you need to work on what I call back alley fighting. Imagine a continuous alley 4-feet wide that runs from the safety line along one sidewall along the back wall, then up along the other sidewall back again to the safety line. If you're not going to take a shot for a winner, hit the ball so that your opponent has to address the ball somewhere -- anywhere -- in that 4-foot alley. It doesn't matter what shot you take, but whatever it is get your opponent to hit the ball in the "back alley."

This takes your opponent out of center court, gives you uncontested access to center court for your next shot, and makes your opponent take a lower percentage shot to kill the ball or improve his position in the rally.

The point is . . . don't be satisfied with hitting just any return off your opponent's volley -- always hit for somewhere in the alley or die trying. This is your prime directive, jad -- this is your offensive purpose on the court. Move with the purpose to best position yourself for that.

The other reason why it seems you're not moving with a purpose is because you are always a couple of steps behind. You are not a physically slow player. But you're hanging around wasting valuable court time waiting to see the ball strike the frontwall before you put your butt in gear to move.

You don't have to wait to see the ball hit the frontwall, you can get an early jump on your opponent's volley by watching your opponent as he moves to take his shot. Is he looking to set for a low shot or a high shot, where are his feet pointed, when he cocks his arm that way what shot does he like to take, etc. -- then move to a better place in the court in anticipation of that.

You're not doing that; even worse, much of the time you're not even looking at the ball OR your opponent, you've got your eyes riveted on the frontwall to figure what shot you're going to have to deal with. By then, it's often too late to react and make the best shot you could have.

Your physical movement on the court is fine, but you're procrastinating until the volley hits the frontwall. The purpose of your movement is supposed to anticipate where you need to be before then and get there first. To do that, you have to read both the ball and the player at your earliest opportunity.

Control Freak

The reason people say you don't move with a purpose is because you don't have a purpose on the court much of the time, jAd. You got no tactical plan out there, brother.

If you're going to keep playing this hanky-headed fellow instead of a better player, you can still get good work in if you play with mean intentions.

Playing with mean intentions means that when you're not taking a shot intended to end the rally right then and there, you are making a shot into the parts of the court that give your opponent the most trouble and worst opportunities to strike back at you offensively.

I know I should play more offensively (hit more Kill shot) but for some reason I do more pass shot and ceiling. I will work on the kill shot.

For that, you need to work on what I call back alley fighting. Imagine a continuous alley 4-feet wide that runs from the safety line along one sidewall along the back wall, then up along the other sidewall back again to the safety line. If you're not going to take a shot for a winner, hit the ball so that your opponent has to address the ball somewhere -- anywhere -- in that 4-foot alley. It doesn't matter what shot you take, but whatever it is get your opponent to hit the ball in the "back alley."

I am not too sure what you mean by alley fighting ( can pls explain a little more). Do you mean that I need to move the ball more to the back of the court?

This takes your opponent out of center court, gives you uncontested access to center court for your next shot, and makes your opponent take a lower percentage shot to kill the ball or improve his position in the rally.

The point is . . . don't be satisfied with hitting just any return off your opponent's volley -- always hit for somewhere in the alley or die trying. This is your prime directive, jad -- this is your offensive purpose on the court. Move with the purpose to best position yourself for that.

The other reason why it seems you're not moving with a purpose is because you are always a couple of steps behind. You are not a physically slow player. But you're hanging around wasting valuable court time waiting to see the ball strike the frontwall before you put your butt in gear to move.

You don't have to wait to see the ball hit the frontwall, you can get an early jump on your opponent's volley by watching your opponent as he moves to take his shot. Is he looking to set for a low shot or a high shot, where are his feet pointed, when he cocks his arm that way what shot does he like to take, etc. -- then move to a better place in the court in anticipation of that.

You're not doing that; even worse, much of the time you're not even looking at the ball OR your opponent, you've got your eyes riveted on the frontwall to figure what shot you're going to have to deal with. By then, it's often too late to react and make the best shot you could have.

I'll work on that, the reason I did not look at him is because we had been playing for a while (and I know he always go for kill shot). But I do feel that I am few step behind the ball when I play with other player. I will look at the opponent and ball more.

Your physical movement on the court is fine, but you're procrastinating until the volley hits the frontwall. The purpose of your movement is supposed to anticipate where you need to be before then and get there first. To do that, you have to read both the ball and the player at your earliest opportunity.

I am not too sure what you mean by alley fighting ( can pls explain a little more). Do you mean that I need to move the ball more to the back of the court?

don't know how to say it better. re-read til it makes sense.