My regular racquetball partner is on hiatus for a while. I’d like to keep going to the courts and getting some exercise. If I could invent a type of racquetball solitaire that I couldn’t or wouldn’t cheat at, I’d do it. But I can’t really invent such a thing that would serve my purposes - allow me to run around a bit while giving me the impression that there’s something moderately competitive - and fair - about it. I can hit for a while inside the court, but I can’t find a mental way to think that I am alternating players. Lots of reasons that it doesn’t work. Can you help me invent a way to play, get a decent amount of exercise, keep score (?), and play fair? Ever grateful…
Maybe count bounces on any wall as points for you, and bounces on the floor as points against you? Count wall bounces as 1 point and floor bounces as 2 points. Or maybe a different ratio – I don’t know exactly how easy it will be, but you want it to be hard to keep up the tempo. So you’re constantly running around to try and prevent any double bounces on the floor, while making sure your “returns” hit at least two walls before they hit the floor again.
Not sure about the scorekeeeping part. (And fair play? With one person involved? hmmmm…I think only Angus Podgorny’s next match - after his right drubbing of the intergalactic blancmange - pulled that shit off)
A term used more in squash than racquetball, but…rail shots, dude.
And then, more rail shots after that.
I know, unsexy, but working on basics is something not done anywhere nearly enough.
Also, without your racquet - running drills, the most common being running back and forth between the centre of the court and all four corners. And ya gotta bend down and touch each corner too, no exceptions!
Ya have to make it a “game” of some sorts? You cant just, I dunno, work on consistency of shot-making, and fitness?
Yeah - just “exercise” is a flaming bore. I don’t know how anyone does it. Even when they call it “working out.” But PLAY - that I firmly believe in, and I’d like to invent a way that I could play without a partner. You understand the challenge - the semblance of competition, keeping score, no cheating…it may be impossible. I’m hoping someone comes up with a brilliant idea I could use.
Right - how about boast/rail down the left wall/boast/rail down the right wall as many times as you consecutively can, and then try to increase that tally? Or seeing how many times you can go back and forth between playing a forehand shot off the front wall and then the next one (backhand) off the back, trying to stay on one side, and then after a while, switching sides?
How about not keeping score but work on your reflexes? Close your eyes as you hit the ball, open them when you hear it hit the wall.
It’s been 25 years. but back then I was playing competitively. If I didn’t have a partner, I’d grab a bucket of used balls and I’d challenge myself, honing the 4 most basic shots (forehand low, forehand ceiling, backhand low, and backhand ceiling), repeating until I hit 10 flawless shots in a row. As I got better, then it was until I hit all forehand perfect (20 shots) before moving to backhand. Not as much running around, but it improved my ability to volley in matches impressively. And in the beginning, it took a very, very long time to get 10 flawless shots in a row. I never got to the point where I could increase to 15 consecutive flawless shots.
Did you try my idea?
Yes, thanks, it sort of works point by point. I can say “he” won that point or I won this point. I guess I’m trying to find a structure that permits me to extend the concept for over more than one point.
I used to do something similar when I played.
Now, I played 3-wall, outdoors.
What I would do is mentally divide the court into a grid of 9 spaces (tic-tac-toe board). Then I’d pick a spot on the ground/floor and put the ball can lid there. Then I’d try and hit that spot from each part of the grid using a different number of wall bounces (just the front wall, left side then front, left-front-right, right-front, front-right, etc.
I never kept “score” but I did improve my accuracy (key in 3-wall racquetball, eh) quite a bit.
You’d have to keep score - first to 21 wins, or whatever. Would that work?