In these videos, Shawn Royster talks about the purpose of down-the-line and cross-court passing shots.
Many players error by trying to hit passing shots too hard or too low (like a kill shot). It is much more important to hit a passing shot accurately. This will force your opponent out of center court position. To gain center court position, use a passing shot. Do not hit your passing shots so hard that they rebound off the back wall.
Great racquetball players have great footwork. They know where the racquetball is going and seem to glide into it in one or two steps. And, most importantly, top players time their steps so they arrive at the ball at the perfect moment.
So, without proper racquetball footwork, you cannot get into the correct setup position to hit the ball. You can have perfect swing techniques but still find it difficult to hit the ball due to awkward foot movement. Because the ball is moving and changing direction, your footwork requires you to track and move on a parallel path with the ball.
Beginners tend to run directly at the ball and end up getting too close to the ball. But much like in squash play, you need to learn how to approach the ball in a curved or banana shaped pathway. And you must pivot into the correct position facing a side wall when striking the ball.
The most common foot and leg movements in the back court are the split-step and the shuffle-step. The split step gets your feet ready and on your toes to begin movement in any direction. Use the shuffle-step to move towards the back wall.
You are at a huge disadvantage when returning a serve.
So a good return of service will allow you to get in front of your opponent and force them to make a shot from the back of the court. Generally speaking, the most effective way to accomplish this is to return the serve with a ceiling ball.
It is vital to be in a ready position when returning the serve. Your racquet needs to be up in front of you at chest level and held with a backhand grip. Do a small split step when the server hits the ball so you are up in the air and can move in any direction.
Your entire goal in returning serve is to get to the center court position. Remember, if you are not in center court during a rally, then you are losing the rally.
TIP : To return serve, a good starting point is to be about an arms length from the back wall and in the center of the court.
TIP : Be ready to move forward to cut off lob serves early and return them to the ceiling. This gives the server less time to get to the back court and gets you immediately into center court position.
Use racquetball ceiling ball shots to move your opponent out of center court. The ceiling ball forces them into one of the back corners of the court and allows you time to take the vital center court position.
Ceiling shots are also one of the best returns of service. And a good ceiling ball player can wear their opponent out by pinning them in the back corners on every rally. Then as soon as they miss a ceiling ball return, you end the rally with a down the line or pinch shot.
It is very easy to practice ceiling balls on the court by yourself. Start off hitting 10 to 20 in a row.
Another great way to practice ceiling balls is by playing a ceiling ball game, allowing only lob serves and ceiling balls. If you miss the ceiling, you lose the rally.
These videos by Rocky Carson, Mary Hogan, John Ellis, and Shawn Royster go over the how/why for hitting ceiling ball shots.
