In every sport, positioning is everything and racquetball is no different. In racquetball, being in the right place at the right time is critical to giving yourself the best chance of getting to the ball a majority of the time and doing something with it once you get there, whether to defend or to score. Generally, the person who owns and controls center court has a greater chance of winning the match. This strategy is key. (more…)
Paola has extended her undefeated streak of matches won on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) into another calendar year by winning in Cincinnati, OH this past weekend, January 25-27. Longoria’s last loss on the LPRT was in May 2011. With her win at this weekend’s “Tour of Hope” event in Cincinnati she has yet to lose a match in 20 months. The San Luis Potosi, Mexico native now holds a streak of 14 LPRT Tier 1 events won in a row. Add in two smaller satellite events and Paola has won 16 professional tournaments in a row and has won 65 consecutive professional matches. During
Rocky had a great start to the 2nd half of the season...2 tournaments and 2 finals. He had one win and one 2nd, to Kane. I know being home for the holidays and getting time with the family and time to rest was a key component in such a strong start. The first weekend in January, Rocky was in his home town of So. CA and performed well, beating Alvaro Beltran in the semi finals in a tie-breaker to advance to the finals. When he showed up on Sunday to play the finals against Kane he showed up to play.
In sports, the past is gone and the future never comes, so in racquetball you have to learn that there is only one ball, one shot, one serve, and one point at a time. Time is always now. That is truly the real beauty: every shot you hit only happens in the now. (more…)
Rocky walked away with the first ROLLOUT New Jersey Open Championship by beating Alvaro Beltran in an exciting 5 game match....7, 3, (5), (9), 8. It was a white knuckle match for me, the coach, because Rocky won the first 2 games and he was in complete control of the match and looked like he'd win it in 3 games. The champion that Alvaro is, dug deep and pulled out the next 2 games bringing it to a 5th and deciding game. It was back and forth until Rocky went up to a 7-3 lead, but then Alvaro had some
Fran Davis & HEAD/Penn CONGRATULATES Paola! Paola has now won 13 consecutive LPRT Tier 1 Events. Without dropping a single game, Paola Longoria cruised through the draw at the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour’s (LPRT) 2012 Christmas Classic at the Crystal Gateway Sport & Health Club in Arlington, Virginia. The tournament victory pushes Longoria’s undefeated streak of matches played in LPRT events to 61. Her string of LPRT Tier 1 events now stands at 13, only a few tournaments shy of Michelle Gould’s streak of 16 events from 1994 to 1997. During the 18 month stretch of undefeated play on the LPRT, Paola
Detectives investigate a situation and gather information before they can make a determination of what happened or what they need to do to solve the mystery. A “racquetball detective” is no different. You, the racquetball detective, must analyze your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses as well as your own strengths and weaknesses, which will determine the game plan you need to put together in order to beat your opponent. Here’s a simple formula: (more…)
First off I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by lots of family/friends and love/warmth. Secondly....What a GREAT November it was for my "Championship Team". Paola Longoria won BOTH LPRT Tier 1 pro-stops, November 2-4, at Albierto Mexicano de Racquetas, in Toluca, MX and November 16-18, at the Washington Athletic Club, in Seattle, WA to keep her undefeated record alive at 38-0 since the 2011 season began. She is by far the most dominant player on tour right now beating everyone she comes up against-Rhonda Rajsich in MX in 3 games straight and Adrienne Fisher in WA, also in
Controlling the match means playing more methodically while aware of what’s happening around you on the court. You don’t rush or hit aimlessly. Every shot you take and every move you make on the court has purpose or an objective. This is a strategy that clearly elevates your level of play. Here are a few tips for controlling the game: (more…)
Last month I discussed the importance of routines as we are creatures of habit and perform best when there are no surprises. In order to obtain optimal performance levels, you need a pre-performance routine, which improves your accuracy, consistency, and timing. Now I’ll describe how to take it up to the next level to create a ritual, which is a specialized routine. (more…)
