Winning Racquetball - Ed Turner and Woody Clouse

Winning Racquetball

by Ed Turner and Woody Clouse

NEW, 288 pages

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About Winning Racquetball

Whether you're a competitive tournament player or a recreational player, Winning Racquetball: Skills, Drills, and Strategies will help you improve your game.

The authors—veteran instructor Ed Turner and #9-ranked professional racquetball player Woody Clouse—show you all the shots and strategies for success on the court. And you'll see them from two views: the objective eye of an instructor and the keen competitive eye of a touring professional.

Using more than 140 photos and illustrations, the authors provide practical tips for beginning through advanced players, plus drills for each level. Inside you'll find valuable information on:

• selecting equipment and facilities;
• safety and injury prevention and treatment;
• conditioning to improve strength, power, flexiblity, and endurance;
• common errors and how to correct them;
• effective game strategies for doubles and tournament play; and
• mental conditioning and outthinking opponents.

This invaluable handbook is divided into three parts that cover everything you need to know. In Part I you'll learn how to pick out the equipment and facility that's right for you. The authors also outline a conditioning program that will help prevent injuries and improve your skill level.

Part II shows you how to use practice sessions and drills to broaden your arsenal of shots. You'll strengthen your forehand and backhand and learn how to hit effective passing, kill, backwall, and ceiling shots. The authors also address the all-important serve.

If you're a competitive racquetball player, the secrets you'll find in Part III of Winning Racquetball are indispensable. You'll discover how to use your brain as well as your feet to cover the court, out-think your opponent, and play effective doubles and cut-throat games. And, top-ranked player Woody Clouse gives you a glimpse of the practice regimen and professional demands of an International Racquetball Tour professional.

You'll also find a practical mini-clinic designed to help you diagnose and correct the 13 most common errors made by racquetball players.

About Ed Turner

Ed Turner, PhD, is a professor in the Health, Leisure, and Exercise Department at Appalachian State University in North Carolina. He has taught racquetball at the university level since 1978 and racquet sports since 1964. His students have included top open racquetball players, such as Wiley Fisher, Jin Yang, and Eric Gentry.

In 1990 Turner received the North Carolina College Outstanding Physical Educator of the Year award. He has written numerous articles on racquetball strategy, and he's the co-author of Skills & Strategies for Winning Racquetball and Innovative Theory and Practice of Badminton.

In addition to being an accomplished instructor, Turner is a top-rated open tournament racquetball player. He lives in Boone, NC.

Top-ranked International Racquetball Tour (IRT) pro Woody Clouse knows from firsthand experience what it takes to excel in the sport. As the lead instructor for the IRT, Woody is the best when it comes to helping other players excel too. He also serves as the media relations director for IRT.

A professional instructor since 1979, Clouse serves as consultant to the top professionals in the world. In 1987 he coached the Ecuadorian National Team. Clouse conducts racquetball clinics and seminars, and is the featured instructor for ESPN's Racquetball Show.

As a monthly contributor to KILLSHOT Magazine, Clouse shares his insights into the game and the strategies he learned from all-time racquetball greats like Bud Muelhieson and Cliff Swain.

He lives with his wife, Jacqueline, in Truckee, CA and enjoys hiking, surfing, and skiing.

Reviews

"Winning Racquetball excels as a training tool because it combines Ed Turner's clear, to-the-point teaching approach with the rich personality that has made Woody Clouse one of the most colorful touring pros in the history of the game."
Marvin Quertermous
Editor, KILLSHOT Magazine

"Clouse brings the same intensity, excitement, and knowledge to Winning Racquetball as he does to the court. A great book for novice to pro."
Hank Marcus
Commissioner, International Racquetball Tour

"This book is excellent for beginners and advanced players. It is extremely easy to read and understand."
John Ellis
1993 Amateur National Champion/1994 World Doubles Champion, Top 8 International Racquetball Tour Pro

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.

Winning Racquetball