Squash & Racquetball/Expert Profile

Expertise

Racquetball. Know all the rules, etiquette, etc. Am familiar with equipment and am active on the applicable newsgroups when I have time. I can be of service to players up to the "advanced" level. Have been playing since the mid 1980s. NOTE: I cannot answer questions on "what kind of racquet should I get?" This is like asking "what kind of dog or car should I get?" There are so many factors I do not know where to begin - how long have you been playing, do you prefer a top heavy or frame heavy racquet, how often do you plan on playing, etc. I recommend you find a pro shop that allows you to "demo" (borrow) racquets. You can usually borrow racquets for one to three days. A borrowing fee may be involved - and if you end up buying the racquet from that shop, it will usually credit you the loaner fees you have already paid against the purchase price of the racquet.

Experience in the area

Won the Ohio State University Intramurals tournament ("A" Division) six out of six times entered.

What do you like about this subject?

The exhilaration of smacking a ball, low and hard against a wall, at 90+ miles per hour is a great stress reliever.

What do you still hope to achieve/learn in this field?

Improve the accuracy of my backhand. While decent, it can use some work. Heck, EVERYBODY can always use improvement! :-)

Something interesting about this subject that others may not know:

** The top international racquetball players can generate ball speeds of 140+ miles per hour. ** You can sometimes see professional rball tournaments on ESPN 2 very late at night. I recommend you set your DVR/Tivo to "record" if you want to see how rball is played at the highest levels of the sport - not to be missed!

Something controversial or provocative about this subject

Some people in the rball community feel this sport is slowly dying as it seems to be more difficult to find courts these days than in the past.