Just curious. It's my favorite form of exercise, and a great sport, but I know it's not very popular. Part of the problem is the cost...courts run $10/hour at a minimum and can be very hard to find. Add in $20 for safety glasses, $100 for a halfway decent racquet, $5 periodically for balls, and more $ for other associated crap (vibration dampeners, knee braces, sweatbands/headbands, elbow braces, etc...) and it adds up! But I've never found a sport that is so challenging and not boring! There is always someone new to play, some new shot to master. I play in an Intermediate league thru work, and consider myself about a "B" player. But there are a ton of "A" level and above players out there, so I've got a ways to go!
Racquetball is a cool sport. I haven't played it in years. Similar (somewhat?) to handball, which is really a toned &/or watered down (somewhat?) simplified, & cheaper to do/run/put on version (&/or "version"(?) ) of racquetball(?).
From what I've seen of handball, I'd have to disagree about the "simplified/toned-down version" comment. Those dudes have the same size court, but without the extra foot-and-a-half-or-more reach of the racquet, they've got a bunch more real estate to cover. Plus, you're smacking the ball with your hand! That CAN'T feel good. I guess the ball speed isn't as fast as it can be in Rball, but it still seems pretty fast too me! But I do agree that racquetball is a cool sport!
Nautica, I play A-level racquetball all over New England and I play when I travel as well. It's really not as expensive as you might imagine. No one charges for court time by the hour any longer and if you are part of a group of players you can get group rates at many clubs. I play at LA Fitness, WOW & the YMCA. I've even played in Sao Paulo Brazil a couple of times. Don't buy a racquet at a store. Buy one from a reputable online company such as Racquet World. Pat Bernardo owns it and it's a great place to get your gear from. I use an E-Force Command 160. Great racquet that you can get for about $100, but it'll last for years if you don't smash it. Also, you don't need vibration dampeners if you have a good, well-strung racquet. You DO use eye guards though, right? You can buy balls and gloves in bulk. As far as the balls go, the Penn Blue's are fine. No need to spend more for the green, purple, or red. Funny, I'm playing in less than 2 hours from now and I'm pumped. My partner and I are defending the title we won last May a few weeks from now and we need to tune up some people tonight! Any questions on strategy or technique, hit me up! TLS
If they don't charge you for court time, then I'm guessing they charge you for club membership. Nobody plays for free! Agreed that racquets last for years. I'm playing with an Ekelton Sycor that's easily 15+ years old, and my backup is an original Ektelon Toron that's at least 25 years old (formerly top of the line). Actually, I'm probably looking at upgrading my racquet in the near future. Maybe going Quadriform instead of Teardrop. The other guys in league seem to have newer racquets and they generate far more power than I usually do. I've bought gloves and stuff online from Pacific Sports Warehouse, and checked out other sites, including Racquet World. I'll keep it in mind as a do my shopping. I don't play doubles--too crowded on the court. Hell, I took a racquet in the mouth playing cutthroat once, so I don't even play that any longer!
Yeah...but we have a group rate at the Y and pay $20 per month.When you're playing 4-5 times a week it makes sense even at twice that rate. Anyway, yeah, you need a new racquet! I'd wager yours has to be over 220g or so if it's that old. Regarding doubles, if you're playing with guys who can play and understand the game you'll rarely get hit with a ball never mind a racquet. But either way, singles or doubles, it's a great game. I never played doubles until 8 years ago and had played singles since 1980 before that. How about this deal...back in the 80's when 2 hours of RB would cost you a minimum of $35, a local court (10 courts) had a Friday night special. $5.00 got you RB from 6pm-12pm AND all the keg beer you could drink. We'd play for 2-3 hours and then have at it. Ahhhh, memories...
There can be plenty of running around, depending upon your skill and that of you opponent! I work up one hell of a sweat unless I'm playing someone far below my level. Just because the ball will bounce around and come back to you eventually doesn't mean you don't have to be moving! Vignette, you can play me anytime we're in the same city!
Read some great tips and strategies here: http://store.racquetworld.com/tips.html Here are some of the best racquets out there. 160g-175g is a nice weight for most people. http://store.racquetworld.com/E-Force_Racquets.html
I played a long time ago. I had a surgery several years ago that caused me to lose some of my coordination. I can't really play anymore.
I am doing research for a new racquet. Decided it is time to splurge, given the antiquity of my current racquets. One of the guys in my league let me hit his around for a few minutes. It was a Head brand, and MUCH lighter. Felt good, though...more power, felt solid. I also talked to a couple other guys about the racquets they use. So now I am getting specs, ratings and pricing for several different models, all between 170g and 185g. Head and E-Force mostly, with a couple Wilson and Pro Kennex models thrown in for good measure. Looking mostly at newer models, because why the fuck not! And I'm wondering how shallow it makes me it part of my selection criteria is how cool the racquet looks. People buy cars based on color, right? (all other things being essentially equal?) I know a couple websites have Demo programs where you can try out racquets before you buy them, but since my league season is winding down and the demo programs have a short turnaround to them (get to keep the racquets for a week only), I'm not sure if I'll be able to take proper advantage of those...
I bought me a new racquet! Am quite sure that I spent too much, based on my skill level, but it's highly rated and new and I liked it, and it was only ~$30 more than my second choice (which had a color scheme that I didn't care for as much), so I splurged. It is due to be delivered later this week. Here are some pics: [action=Nautica]does the happy dance! :squee:[/action]
Head is a good brand and can be gotten a little more economically than E-Force or Ektelon or Gearbox. Should suit you well. I played 5 games last night (2 hours) and am on tap for Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning. It's a great way to start the weekend on the right foot. Next Saturday I'm playing in a Master's tourney. My partner and I are defending our 40's title that we won last May. Maybe I'll take some pics of the tourney and post them here. Keep it at 39 feet!
