Racquetball - Steps to Success - Dennis Fisher

Racquetball - Steps to Success

by Dennis Fisher

NEW, 208 pages

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About Racquetball - Steps to Success

Master the shots and strategies to control center court and win points. Racquetball: Steps to Success features expert instruction, clear photographs, 3-D court diagrams, more than 80 drills, and a proven system for improving your game.

Stroke mechanics for the forehand and backhand and more than 35 shots, including serves, serve returns, and front-wall, side-wall, ceiling, and back-wall shots, are covered and illustrated.

Learn when finesse trumps power, why a risky kill shot may be a better choice than a high-percentage ceiling shot, and what shots will move you into—and your opponent out of—the critical center court position.

As part of the popular Steps to Success Sports Series, with more than 1.5 million copies sold, Racquetball: Steps to Success covers it all to give you the tools to rule the court!

About Dennis Fisher

Dennis Fisher is head coach of the Brigham Young University racquetball team, which has won four combined-team and eight women's-team national collegiate championships during his tenure. He is a certified level II coach through the American Professional Racquetball Organization (AmPRO) / International Professional Racquetball Organization (IPRO), an AmPRO / IPRO professional instructor, a United States Racquet Stringers Association racquet technician, and a Wilson racquet technician.

In 1999, the U.S. Racquetball Association (USAR) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) named Fisher Developmental Coach of the Year; and in 2006, Volunteer Coach of the Year for Racquetball. He is a member of Wilson's Racquetball Advisory Staff and past chairman of the USRA Intercollegiate Council.

Fisher also has a company that specializes in coaching, training, and instructing racquetball at all levels. He has played racquetball for almost 40 years, competing at the Open level nationally and internationally.

In his spare time, Fisher likes to cycle, fly fish, snow ski, snowboard, and guide canyoneering trips.

Reviews

"This step-by-step guide to learning the game gives players, coaches, and instructors the fundamentals necessary not only to learn the game but to excel at higher levels."

Chris Evon
Indoor Racquet Sports

"Dennis Fisher understands the strengths and weaknesses of the game and has created a strategy to maximize a player's potential. Racquetball: Steps to Success will develop anyone's game, at any level, at any age."

Derek "Big D" Robinson
World Champion
U.S. National Champion

About Racquetball

Racquetball is a racquet sport played with a hollow rubber ball in an indoor or outdoor court. Joe Sobek is credited with inventing racquetball in 1950, adding a stringed racquet to paddleball in order to increase velocity and control. Unlike most racquet sports, such as tennis and badminton, there is no net to hit the ball over, and unlike squash no tin (out of bounds area at the bottom of front wall) to hit the ball above. Also, the court's walls, floor, and ceiling are legal playing surfaces, with the exception of court-specific designated hinders being out-of-bounds.

The primary strategy of racquetball is to command the center of the court just at or behind the dashed receiving line. This allows the player to move as quickly as possible to all areas of the court and limit open court areas which are difficult to defend. After a shot, return quickly to center court. The antithesis of this is to be against a wall which severely limits the player's movement and allows the opponent an open court.

Keep an eye on the opponent by glancing sideways to anticipate his return shot and move appropriately in the court. Learn the typical return shots of the opponent and move appropriately in the court for a return shot. Attempt to not be predictable with your return shots.

Other more obvious strategies are to keep the returned ball as low on the front wall as possible, keeping the ball moving fast (limiting reaction time) and to keep your opponent moving away from center court by the use of lobs, cross court shots, and dinks.

Play begins with the serve. The serving player must bounce the ball on the floor once and hit it directly to the front wall, making the ball hit the floor beyond the short line; otherwise the serve counts as a fault. The ball may touch one side wall, but not two, prior to hitting the floor; hitting both side walls after the front wall (but before the floor) is a "three wall serve," and a fault. Also, serving the ball into the front wall so that it rebounds to the back wall without hitting the floor first is a long serve, and a fault.

Other fault serves include a ceiling serve in which the ball touches the ceiling after the front wall and serving before the receiving player is ready. Also, the server must wait until the ball passes the short line before stepping out of the service box, otherwise it is a fault serve.

If the server hits the ball directly to any surface other than the front wall the server immediately loses serve regardless of whether it was first or second serve.

After the ball bounces behind the short line, or passes the receiving line, the ball is in play and the opposing player(s) may play it.

Usually, the server is allowed two opportunities (called first serve and second serve) to put the ball into play (two serve rule), although elite level competitions often allow the server only one opportunity (one serve rule).

After a successful serve, players alternate hitting the ball against the front wall. The player returning the hit may allow the ball to bounce once on the floor or hit the ball on the fly. However, once the player returning the shot has hit the ball, either before bouncing on the floor or after one bounce, it must strike the front wall before it hits the floor. Unlike during the serve, a ball in play may touch as many walls, including the ceiling, as necessary so long as it reaches the front wall without striking the floor.

Racquetball - Steps to Success