Tips For Racquetball Instructors

It is not easy being an instructor. If you are teaching racquetball, you are up for more challenges. There are many people who might enlist in your program who actually do not know how to play the game to begin with. It would be really tough explaining to them the mechanics of racquetball and teaching them the main positioning and techniques in playing. It is best if you would try harder not to lose your cool. Here are some effective tips that would surely help you succeed in your endeavor.

First, explain to your students the concepts of ‘missing the ball’ and ‘crowding the ball.’ Most players worry too much about missing the ball but they end up crowding the ball (being inappropriately hit by the ball in any part of the body). Encourage each individual to take ‘trials by error’ in determining the best key strategies. Toss some balls into the student to ‘jam’ him. When she learns the difference between crowding and getting jammed, she could open herself to discovering and learning her own devised way in correct positioning and swinging.

Second, remember that your students would always tend to concentrate or focus on the order in the way they are taught. If you teach gripping before swinging, they would end up blaming the grip. If you teach swinging before positioning, they would end up blaming the swing or grip. The best sequence is to teach proper positioning before gripping and swinging. This way, the students would surely understand your critiques. Instructors who usually teach grip, stroke, and mechanics before court positioning are often having a tougher time. This is because students tend to worry much about their grip, stroke, and mechanics rather than about pre-positioning so they could hit using the correct mechanics.

What is the easiest, yet fastest way to teach students not to crowd the ball? As an instructor, you have to be strategic enough in removing their fears of possibly missing the ball. To do this, have them play the ball on three or two bounces. This is teaching the ‘off backwall return’. It works best for beginners who are learning how the ball is bouncing off various sidewalls at differing speeds and heights. As your students get more skilled in the technique, shift to using two and then one bounce. This way, you are stepping up the challenge and sharpening their skills.

Lastly, racquetball could be about positioning. Let the students practice positioning as well as stroke mechanics. Make them be aware that weak or poor positioning could lead to weak or poor return shots. Remember that if the students would understand the importance of their court positioning over stroke or grip mechanics, they would be more able to slowly but surely teach themselves the ways to get away or far from the ball. In the process, they would learn how not to crowd the ball but not miss it at the same time. In the end, practice makes perfect.