The 1st half of the 2019/2020 season is over and it’s a perfect time to “evaluate your own game” and create a mid-way check point for your game. It is important to keep the things in your game that are working for you and adjust/change those things that are not working for you. You want to take a good hard look and be honest with yourself. I have all my athletes from my Championship Team including Rocky Carson, Paola Longoria, my Jr. Championship Team including Graci Wargo and Briana Jacquet evaluate their games technically, physically, mentally, and emotionally and make a grocery list of their games. NO ONE is let off the hook and they ALL have to do it as this is a critical part of developing their games.
The ideal way to do this is to watch some video and reflect back on your matches. I recommend to look at the following areas:
VIDEOTAPE ANALYSIS
FOREHAND MECHANICS – Grip, Stance, Step/Swing, Follow Through
BACKHAND MECHANICS – Grip, Stance, Step/Swing, Follow Through
COURT POSITION – Own and control the center court box
SHOT SELECTION – Smart and Make them Move, Play the Percentages
SERVES – Variety, Deception, Consistency
RETURN OF SERVE – Footwork, Choice of Shots, Regain Center Court
SERVICE RELOCATION – After you serve get back to good Center Court Position
FOOTWORK – Cross over step, Shuffling to the ball
EMOTIONAL STATE – Calm, Relaxed, In the NOW COMMENTS (single most important thing)
“Evaluate Your Game” is yet another required skill on the road to championship racquetball. ALL of the players I coach, from the professionals led by Rocky and Paola to the amateurs, know just how important it is to “Evaluate Your Game”. It’s not easy to do, but a MUST. Their records speak for themselves…Rocky and Paola are BOTH 2 of the most decorated athletes in racquetball. Paola finished the 2018/2019 ranked #1 on the LPRT (an undefeated season again) for the 9th consecutive season and was crowned BOTH the 2016 World Champion and the 2018 Central American Champion. Rocky finished the 2018/2019 ranked #2 on the IRT.
In the next issue, I will continue to build your Championship Racquetball Game one level at a time so you too can be ready to become the champion you always dreamed of becoming, by giving you the tools to make it a reality. Rocky and all my athletes know “Championship Racquetball Games” stem from their focus on ALL 3 sides of the triangle working together so they can develop into top competitors. Without a shadow of a doubt, they KNOW just how important it is to do the work. They are living proof it works and their titles substantiate it.
For details on more personalized instruction/video lesson/coaching, a weekend camp, instructional DVD’s and our book, Championship Racquetball, ALL which covers all aspects of the Sports Racquetball Triangle and more, please visit www.FranDavisRacquetball.com. Fran coaches #2 IRT Pro Player / 1X US Open Champion / 5X World Champion, 2X Pan American Champion, Rocky Carson; Coaches #1 Women’s LPRT Pro Player for 9 seasons / 10X and present US Open Champion & 5X World Champion, 3X and present Pan American Champion, Paola Longoria; Coaches Jr. World & National Champions, Briana Jacquet and Graci Wargo; Master Professional Instructor/Coach USAR-IP. Fran Davis is a 2004 racquetball Hall of Fame inductee; Racquetball Woman of the Year 2009.
(original article posted on irt-tour.com)
Check out my coaching tips on my website, www.FranDavisRacquetball.com
