RACQUETBALL

1. RACQUETBALL MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS PHYSICAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

2. HISTORY OF RACQUETBALL • Racquetball is a game that is played in an indoor court with three walls, a rubber ball, and a small racquet. Though outdoor courts exist, they are rare. It is possible to play solo, doubles, and even with four players. Unlike many other sports popular today, racquetball does not have a long and involved history. Rather, it was developed early in the twentieth century by combining other popular sports—tennis, handball, squash, and a Spanish sport called jai alai. The roots of racquetball may have started in prisons in the 1800s, when inmates were given balls which they would hit against the walls. During this time, the sport was referred to as “rackets.” In America, the game first appeared in the1920s. • It was Joseph G. Sobek, a professional handball, squash, and tennis player from Greenwich, Connecticut, who has most often been credited with the invention of the game. In the 1940s, Sobek was working in a rubber factory and designed the rubber ball that is used for the sport today. He, along with a partner, also decided to combine the rules of handball and squash and start the rules for the racquetball, known at the time as “paddle rackets.” Rackets, paddles, and balls—all appeared in different shapes and forms over the years, as the search for the ideal model of each continued. • Sobek founded the Paddle Racquet Association in 1952 and distributed a set of rules to all YMCAs in the United States to help spread the popularity of the sport. By 1969, the game had become so popular worldwide that a man named Robert Kendler founded the International Racquetball Association, thereby changing the name of the sport to “racquetball.” During the same year, the first racquetball official championship was held in St. Louis, Missouri. It was also during this time that sporting goods stores began manufacturing official racquetball gear for the sport. • Popularity of the sport grew as more athletes came to notice its high intensity, giving them a great workout and building up sweat while playing. Sports clubs and country clubs throughout the United States picked up on the enthusiasm of the sport and started building racquetball courts in their clubs. • In the 1980s, the popularity of this sport started to fall. Many clubs tore down their racquetball courts. However, there were still many loyal racquetball players who devoted themselves to the sport and kept the spirit of the game alive. Even with the decline of its popularity, today, there are still well over 20 million people worldwide that compete in this sport. Since 1981, there is a world championship that is held annually, and in 1995, the International Olympic Committee approved it as a Pan American Games sport. • Racquetball was a part of the U.S. Olympic Festival with the hopes of one day being a part of the real Olympics. It is known as the youngest sport ever to be noticed by the United States Olympic Committee. Today, the 20 million racquetball players are spread out in over 95 countries all over the world. • Presently, racquetball is more or less established, yet the rules for racquetball can vary by country or region. For example, in Australia, the racquetball court is played in a standard international squash court, which is 32 feet x 21 feet. (Americans play in a 40 feet x 20 feet court.) The Australians also follow the rules where if the ball touches the ceiling, the ball is considered to be out. In American rules, this is a valid play. These Australian rules are from the Victorian Racquetball Federation.

3. Famous Racquetball Players Kane Walselenchuk: is a professional racquetball player born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Waselenchuk finished the 2016-17 season as the #1 player on the International Racquetball Tour for the 12th time, and he did so without losing a game all season, which was a first in IRT history. Marty Hogan: is a former American racquetball player who won more than 100 international or national titles and six U.S. national championships during his 14-year career. Hogan was ranked either number one or number two in the world from 1976 to 1990. Cliff Swain: is a professional racquetball player and coach from Boston, Massachusetts. Known for his dominant drive serve and on-court intensity, Swain finished as the #1 player on the International Racquetball Tour six times -- in 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, and 2002. Sudsy Monchik: is an American racquetball player. As a five-time Pro World Champion, Monchik is one of the top 3 players in the history of the sport. Monchik was known for his power and speed, as well as his shot-making ability, especially his backhand, which many believe is the best in the game.

4. Lifelong Benefits of Racquetball • Boost Your Brain Power - With your neural connections reacting faster your brain power and mental agility will also improve thanks to playing racquetball. As it strengthens your other muscles as well as your heart, it will also improve your brain by improving your cognitive functioning. The repetitive motions of racquetball work your brain in a similar way that interval training does. Your body and brain get used to the repetitive movements like switching grips, swinging the racquet, and pivoting back and forth. This helps your muscle memory so that you can easily perform the movements over time. Similarly, you have to think clearly and react quickly while playing the game. This forces your brain to put in more work as it has to process your movements to properly perform. With a quick-acting mind, you’ll also be able to think clearer off the court thanks to this improved mental agility. • Aerobic and Anaerobic Exercise - In simple terms, aerobic exercises are activities where your limbs move your body, and your muscles are moving in repetitive and some-what rhythmic motions. Your heart rate increases along with your breathing so the oxygen in your body can burn the fat as well as the carbs in your body to produce energy to continue functioning. Anaerobic exercises are activities that specifically target individual muscles or muscle groups. This is a targeted workout where you aren’t moving around a lot. Thanks to this, you don’t need as much oxygen as this activity only burns carbohydrates. Your muscles are strengthened during these workouts. Racquetball is a unique exercise that functions as both an aerobic exercise and an anaerobic exercise. Your whole body is constantly moving, and your muscles are being strengthened. This is what helps you burn calories properly while also losing body fat. • Get a Whole Body Workout - As all of the other benefits have proven, racquetball gives you a full-body workout. It works all of your different muscle groups and burns fat as well as carbohydrates in your body. Racquetball also strengthens your core which improves your overall balance as well as your posture and even your breathing. With a complete workout, you don’t have to worry about concentrating on different parts of your body during regular exercise either. Racquetball really can help you from head to toe. • Lower Stress Levels - Racquetball can help lower your stress levels and the health risks that come with stress. Endorphins are created in your brain whenever you do any exercise. This naturally lowers your stress level and can even make you forget your worries temporarily. You’ll be too busy focusing on the game to fixate on trivial matters. With lower stress levels you’ll also be decreasing stress-related health issues. For example, lower stress levels can help lower your blood pressure and even reduce cortisol in the body which contributes to belly fat. This makes you an overall healthier person. • Have Fun and Be Social - Racquetball is fun and social. You play with other people most of the time so you’ll be able to make new friends or see your friends more often when you have a standing racquetball date. The healthy competition also helps improve your relationship with people as you can learn how to handle different emotions and impulses through sportsmanship. • Finally, this is not just a workout it’s a sport. That means that it’s meant to be a fun game. You’ll have a good time running around the court with your friends and improving your game as you go. • As you can see, racquetball has a lot of different benefits for your mind and body. By playing on a regular basis, you’ll be able to take advantage of each of these benefits and improve your overall health while having fun.

5. Lifelong Benefits of Racquetball • Burn Calories Effectively - If you play a regular 20-minute game of racquetball, you’ll be running around the court and engaging your whole body. In fact, the average player runs over 3,600 feet during a 20-minute match according to research. If you play a full hour (three 20-minute games), you’ll be running over two miles. This equates to as much as 800 calories burnt (a minimum of 600). If you play a few times a week, you can you’ll be burning calories left and right without a problem. • Trim Fat in the Body - If you have excess fat especially around your midsection racquetball can be beneficial. Playing a normal game of racquetball is an excellent workout for your whole body but especially for your midsection. You are always moving during your match and lunges and squats are natural parts of the game. These movements along with stretching and jumping to make shots are a complete core workout without a single sit-up. To help reduce belly fat and excess fat in your body, in general, you should play racquetball on a regular basis. • Improve Cardiovascular Health - You already know how important your heart health is for your overall wellbeing. Your diet and lifestyle choices do a lot to keep your heart pumping properly, but exercise is also important for it. Racquetball is beneficial for your heart health because you’re constantly moving at a fast pace. It’s the equivalent of running but with more effort because you’re using other muscles to swing your racquet and to change directions rapidly. This works your heart and makes it stronger. Playing racquetball can help lower your risk of coronary heart disease, too. This is because it lowers your triglycerides while raising your HDL (good cholesterol) as any physical exercise does. With your cholesterol levels in check, you’ll decrease your risk of heart disease and lead a better, healthier life. • Strengthen Muscles and Bones - As any workout will do, racquetball can help you get stronger muscles as well as bones. Even though this isn’t a typical strength training workout, the game is considered a weight-bearing exercise that taxes your muscles and forces them to get stronger. Since you’re constantly moving in different ways, you’ll be working all of your various muscle groups in one workout. At the same time, proper exercise along with a balanced diet can help slow down bone loss that naturally happens over time. By staying active and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, you’ll be able to properly utilize nutrients to feed your bones to keep them strong and healthy. • Help with Flexibility and Mobility - To play racquetball properly, you have to be able to run, swing a racquet, and hit a quick ball that is bouncing all over the court. This requires your body to react quickly and effectively. The more you play and get used to the quick motions the more your body will respond properly. You’ll notice that you have better coordination as well as balance and overall mobility. If you just started playing or are about to start, you will probably stumble as your body gets used to running fast and hitting the ball. However, the more you play, you’ll notice that you will move around better and will make more shots with ease. By pivoting left and right to follow the ball your coordination and mobility will improve. Your reflexes that you use to swing your racquet to connect with the ball will also improve over time. With stronger muscles and bones your body will move easier, and you won’t feel as stiff as you may have before which will help improve your flexibility. All of this equates to a better range of motion that you’ll be able to feel on and off the court. • Improve Hand-eye Coordination - Your body won’t be the only thing that feels more in balance; you’ll also benefit from better hand-eye coordination. In racquetball, you have to hit a rubber ball that is speeding around the court as it bounces off of walls, the floor, and the ceiling. You have to react quickly and swing your racquet so that you can hit the ball and make a good shot. As you do this, your hand-eye coordination will naturally improve so that you can play the game properly. On a biological level, the movements that you have to perform in a racquetball match improve neural adaptation because your body has to react faster. To do this, your body will create faster connections between your muscles and your brain. Your reaction time will improve, and you’ll be able to follow the ball better during a match. This will translate to other aspects of your life, too, as better reactions and improved hand-eye coordination can help you while driving, climbing ladders, or playing with your children.

6. Racquetball Skills • There are many fundamentals, skills, and strategies you must understand in order to succeed in racquetball. Ideally, fundamentals will help you to perform the motor movements with some level of automaticity, while adopting your playing strategy/style to the rules. • GripsA racquetball grip is a little different from a traditional racket grip because the racket is shorter than other rackets (no more than 22″). • To perform the correct grip, keep in mind the following TIPS: • Hold out your hand as if to shake someone’s hand. The racket should be placed in the “V” between your thumb and forefinger. • Do not grip the racket too firmly. There should be some leeway as the racket should move in your hand from forehand to backhand. • Your pinky finger is below the end of the racket grip. Though it feels odd at first, this will give your racket a little additional length.

7. Racquetball Skills • Serving • To perform a racquetball serve: • The server must stand in between the two service lines in the middle of the court • While a foot may touch the back line, it may not completely cross it and no part of the body can touch the front line • The ball must bounce before being struck by the server • The ball must hit the front wall prior to hitting any other wall • The ball may not touch the ceiling on the serve • A ball may not hit off the back wall before it has touched the ground or a fault will be declared • The ball may only hit one other side wall after hitting the front wall on a serve • If it were to hit more than one side of the wall, a fault would be declared. • A fault will also be declared if the ball does not clear the second service line on the fly. • There are typically 3 types of serves in racquetball: • Drive Serve  – The drive serve is meant to be hit as low and as hard as possible. It can be hit to any part of the court. Ideally, this serve will be away from the receiver and low so as to be difficult to return. • Lob Serve  – The lob serve is a high arching and somewhat slow serve. This serve is meant to land in the deep corners of the service areas so as to be difficult to return. • Z Serve – The Z serve utilizes one side wall and reverses the side of the court that the ball is initially hit into. The object is to land the serve in the deep opposite corner of its initial path, usually to a receiver’s backhand. Please click the link below for a tutorial on how to perform each serve.

8. Racquetball Skills • ForehandThe forehand, like tennis or squash, is hit from a player’s dominant side. • Racquet angle: Be sure to pay close attention to the grip that is used when performing a forehand shot (see Figure 2A above). The racket should be kept as level as possible. • If the angle of the racket is faced toward the ceiling, the ball will be hit too high. • If the angle of the racket is faced toward the ground, the ball will hit the floor. • Shot Height: A controlled player can easily hit a target with a practiced forehand. Ideally, their shots are powerful and as low as possible, thus giving their opponent very little time to react. A general guideline for keeping shots low is to wait for the ball to fall below knee height before striking it. • Body positioning: Right handed players should make sure that their toes and chest are facing the right side wall. Left handed players should make sure that their toes and chest are facing the left side wall.

9. Racquetball Skills • BackhandSimilarly to the forehand, grip is very important to the backhand stroke. It will be hit across your body so that the racket is on your non-dominant side. As with the forehand, the angle is very important. It is typically more difficult to control the backhand. • Racquet angle: Be sure to pay close attention to the grip that is used when performing a backhand shot (see Figure 2B above). The racket should be kept as level as possible. • If the angle of the racket is faced toward the ceiling, the ball will be hit too high. • If the angle of the racket is faced toward the ground, the ball will hit the floor. • Shot Height: A controlled player can easily hit a target with a practiced backhand. Ideally, their shots are powerful and as low as possible, thus giving their opponent very little time to react. A general guideline for keeping shots low is to wait for the ball to fall below knee height before striking it. • Body positioning: When attempting a backhand shot, the position of a player’s feet, chest and shoulders will be opposite of the forehand position. • Right-handed players should make sure that their toes and chest are facing the left side wall; the right shoulder should be facing the front wall. • Left-handed players should make sure that their toes and chest are facing the right side wall; the left shoulder should be facing the front wall.

10. Racquetball Skills • PositioningCourt position is a critical aspect of racquetball. The best position to be in is between the 2nd service line and the dotted receiving line in the middle of the court. This gives the player access to all shots hit by his or her opponent. If position in the middle of the court is established, it is a great advantage. • During doubles play, it is best if players communicate as to who will be front and who will be back. • Front person: reach any shot possible • Back person: get shots that the front person is unable to reach. • Communication is vital in this situation. • Shot SelectionThe goal of racquetball is to hit a shot that your opponent cannot reach. Though many associate racquetball with a game of power, well placed shots are more important than the velocity at which the ball is struck. Variety is a key. Do not let your opponent get comfortable. Change the trajectory of your shot as well as the speed of it often in order to keep your opponent on their toes. • NOTE: Shot selection should be selected based on the court position of your opponent.

11. Racquetball Skill Videos • Grip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMagHPhoRxA#t=11 • Serves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCo9gTGVWRo • Forehand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9fCexli7-U • Backhand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFwadM3IqEY • Positioning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjorQA86Fn0