UK Racketball Coaching Tips by Mark Fuller

The straight drive from the front

At many racketball tournaments you get skilful racketball players and squash players who have picked up a racketball racket, with most shots the squash players get away with it as the technique is so similar but there is the odd shot that is very different and this is one of them. When I first began to play racketball this was the shot that really separated me (the squash player) from the experienced racketball players who were making me do a lot of running. In racketball it’s important to distinguish between the straight drive from the front and the drive from the back as they are very different.

In squash, the straight drive from the front is probably the easiest in the game (first thing you do with juniors). You run to the front, swing at the ball and hit it hard to the back. I assumed that this was still the case in racketball but it isn’t. The ball is a lot heaver and you cant really swing through (as if the ball is not there, the same way as squash) this means the big swing can often go wrong, with the ball either flying back towards you or clattering into the side wall, and because the ball is so bouncy you are liable to give away easy strokes. Even if you hit the ball well with a large swing its difficult to hit a winner as the ball will often be over hit and rebound off the back.

I try to play this shot with a very short swing, if you aim to punch the ball rather than swing through you can gain significantly more control, meaning you can avoid the side wall. If you take the ball low down and hit with cut (but not very much) this gives the ball a much better chance of dying in the back corners. As the ball has been hit with a punch rather than a swing it will still carry to the back, but has less chance of rebounding off.

When you hit the ball try and imagine rather than hitting the ball as hard as you can try and hit with only 80% of your possible power. Use a smaller back swing, so you don’t hold the racket behind your head hold it around your shoulder. You still follow through the same way (try to get your racket to aim at the corner) this is essential to get the ball to the back and still have control. I found that even with the small modifications of where you hold the racket and you attitude to the shot (how hard you want to hit it) this can make a make a big difference to your control of the shot.

When the top guys hit the ball you should be able to see the difference between the punch and the swing. They will usually use the swing when the ball comes off the back wall or is really loose in the middle whereas the punch is for when the ball is tighter and they are looking to move it around and gain position. Try experimenting, you will soon realise that hitting the ball as hard as you can is often counterproductive.

The best example of a player who often looks to punch the ball is Peter Nicol, click on the link below to watch the National Racketball final where he plays Daryl Selby to see what I mean. Its amazing how much pressure Nicol can put an opponent under without ever raising the pace of his shots.

Racket Preperation

The racket starts above my head but not as high as it would with a full blown drive. I am facing the side wall with my elbow slightly bent, ready to straighten on impact, this is important so you can still generate pace on the ball even with the shorter swing. Notice that with a smaller swing I can also be more deceptive, I can easily turn this shot into a drop or cross court kill.

Impact point

From the small swing I still generate a fast racket head speed, straightening the elbow at the last minute. With a short punchy swing power is all down to timing, you need to swing, move into the ball (transfer body weight), and snap with your elbow and wrist all at the same time.

Take the ball in front of your body for maximum body weight transfer.

Follow through

After impact hold your position on the ball so try not to pull up to early. Aim to let the racket end up roughly pointing to the corner, any less than this and you might not get the best power anymore and you might lose control.

A good follow through is essential to make the ball go where you want it to.