Suggestions for further reading

 

Books

Strategic Racquetball by Steve Strandemo with Bill Bruns published by Pocket Books, 1985.


Virtually everything Steve Strandemo wrote way back in 1985 is still true today. This is my favorite racquetball book. You can get used copies from Amazon for as little as $0.99. Mine is well worn from constant use. The only problem is that it doesn't have an index.


Winning Racquetball by Ed Turner and Woody Clouse published by Human Kinetics, 1996.


This is the most detailed book on racquetball (275 pages). For example, it has nine pages on drive serve mechanics, over two pages on the ball bounce. It has a great index so you can easily find advice on almost any racquetball topic. Woody's insights are particularly interesting and useful. Lots of good drills.


Racquetball Today by Lynn Adams and Erwin Goldbloom, published by West Publishing, 1991.


This is a classic textbook. At 230 pages, it is almost as detailed as Ed and Woody. It has lots of photos, diagrams, drills, advice and an index. I would recommend this book as the first book for a beginning racqutball player. I can understand why it is the most widely used book in college for Racquetball 101.


Racquetball Fundamentals by Jim Winterton, published by Human Kinetics, 2004.


Jim Winterton is the incredibly successful coach of the US National team. This book is filled with great tips that I can't find anywhere else (for example, the "inside out" service motion).  I don't like the way the book is organized and it doesn't have an index.  Nevertheless, for the intermediate player, this is a great book. It is available online for less than $15.


Squash Racquets: the Khan Game by Hashim Khan with Richard E. Randall, published by Wayne State University Press, 1967. This book is about squash, but it has lots of great tips for racquetball players. Some quotes are collected here.


I recommend buying the Strandemo and Winterton books for the great tips and either Woody's or Lynn's book for their complete coverage of the material. I recommend buying Hashim Khan's book because it is just a wonderful read.

 

DVD's and Videos

 

Building Your Racquetball Dream House by Fran Davis, featuring Sudsy Monchik and Jason Mannino (www.frandavisracquetball.com).  This is the best instructional DVD. Fran's camps are the best and this DVD is almost as good as going to the camp. The advantage of a video is that you can see the movement rather then read about it and look at a photo. You can also stop-motion the action and see it frame by frame. The disadvantage of the video is that it is necessarily less complete than a book. I recommend buying the Fran Davis DVD as well as the books listed above.


Pro Racquetball Net (www.proracquetball.net) has lots of videos of the pros in action including Legends (e.g., Marty Hogan, Dave Peck), women (e.g., Cheryl Gudinas, Jackie Paraiso), and doubles. You can learn a lot by simply watching these pros in action. Also, these videos can really fire you up. I know one player who makes a ritual of watching one of these videos before every tournament.




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