My Tale of Latell

Like most people that touch our lives you wish you could have seen them one more time before they pass. As many people in the racquetball community already know Latell Clark passed away over the weekend. The word warrior in many definitions of the word apply to him. Many people who were not close to him would not have known that he was through very difficult physical times. I can never,ever remember him not greeting everyone with a big glowing smile followed by words of praise. He would introduce me to many of the players to me as "Jon he is one of the great players in the club",I don't know whether he believed it or not but I would always laugh but somehow it strangely felt good. I am sure that was his intention because that was who he was. I had many philosophical and political conversations while other people were running around playing ball. He was never the type to argue. I felt like he was always trying to learn and understand people. He coached many people in our sport and I believe his mentor at times was Richie Bear. I know for a fact ,though he never advertised it, that he was financially generous to our sport. My first meeting with Latell was at a Fran Davis camp. At the time I truly did not appreciate the mental aspect of sports, something he was a master of. I was saying to myself I am here to work on my backhand how is this guy going to help me,how ignorant and wrong I was. Latell was new to LA Fitness but I felt like he was a fixture in the place. He was like the philosophical Cliff on cheers ,but not in a condescending or annoying way. I find it ironic that I never got to play with him until about a week ago,surprisingly he was quite competitive and focused on the court. I went to his face book page and I was his last entry on there. Maybe the big guy was trying to tell me something. I don't have to tell how Latell will be missed. I don't have to tell how he won't be forgotten. What most people do not know that he is right now rolling out splatshots and rolling out balls unencumbered by his physical limitations. Maybe Latell and a few of the angels are going out for a bite to eat after their games. I know one thing,heaven is better off with him and we are at a loss. God bless Latell,not only from me but your entire racquetball family still here on Earth.

Pain and Endurance

I can not lie to you that my interest in sports pretty limited to racquetball. I enjoy a good boxing match,a little UFC ,or a great tennis match,but that is about where it ends. Growing up I spent my summers in camp where we competitively played every sport from lacrosse to swimming. Ironically my uncle bill played outdoor racquetball at the club we belonged to and it was probably the only sport I did not play. I remember so many times falling down ,getting shins smashed in field hockey or taking a lacrosse stick to the head. The counselors rubbed our head and we got up and ran two minutes later with sweat,blood and sometimes tears down the field with a vengeance. Though I was never a big sports fan I learned the appreciation of toughing it out and playing through injury at a very young age. Which moves me forward about thirty years from my days at the Skyline Cabana club. When you really think about what we expect our bodies to do in this sport it is amazing that we are not incapacitated more often. What amazes me more in racquetball is what the pros expect from their bodies in our sport. Is it that they execute better than we do so there is less stress on their bodies ? Do they have a better post and pre game regiment then us ? Are they just tougher or stronger than us ? Whatever the reason you don't see many pros missing the IRT tour,you don't see the WPRO tour littered with injured athletes. Everyone I know young and old have some existing injury. The most common has to be the shoulder and I feel like that is an injury that is not exclusive to us old guys. Lower body injuries are definitely more prevalent as you get older and the lower back is so common because we keep smashing our vertebrae every time we swing through. Where do we draw the line to keep playing through the injury. Do we listen to our bodies or do we "push" through the threshold of pain. Some injuries feel better when you are playing but when you wake up the next morning you are paying for your poor decision. I personally would rather lose and deal with the pain for the next few days as stupid and macho as that may sound. I guess macho and masochistic is not that far apart after all. Since it is fashionable to blame everyone else for their issues I would like to blame my dad,coaches and my counselors from camp. But more so I would like to thank those people for always pushing me to the limit. I know I will never be a Kane or Rocky ,but I know i will never give up on trying to improve my game regardless of the odds,the pain or the setbacks thrown at me. I greatly welcome the challenge of the new season injuries and all. Jon Hit Smarter not Harder" ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Politics and racquetball

The latest trend is political bashing, Cant say I blame the Michael Grab's of the world but in reality politics in a broader sense are a part of life.School,job and yes even racquetball has its politics.There are many different levels to the "political" process of our sport. We first need to start at the international/national level. Hiser,Negrette and a host of other people have a lot to say about how racquetball gets developed and how your newly increased membership gets spent. They have to play the role of politicians by keeping both the pros and amateurs happy. One serve for the pros to keep it moving two for us. The importance of national junior development and getting the fast ,furious ,fitness message out to the masses. Then comes the state level,one I am much more familiar with. A large board,generally speaking,of different people with different views of how to do things. Unlike our politicians or USAR representatives there is no financial compensation for them. Though ideas are passed down from the USAR, the implementation is at the state level. Even though everyone on the board is motivated by the same thing there are many questions and differences that may occur though all seem to agree on the chicken cutlet sandwich on tournament day. Where should resources go to Juniors or the tournament players. Better shirts or maybe no trophies. Now that I think about it I am glad I don't go to those meetings with all those tough decisions. For a guy like me an hour or two of that hurts the old noggin. That is very true being a dictator your whole life running your own business and making all your own decisions and since I have never made a mistake my whole life it is hard to be part of a political process. Any way enough about me being perfect lets get to the real topic I started this blog for .COURT POLITICS. After playing for many years you are bound to get better usually ,and the opportunity to get on the A challenge court is more and more of a possibility. As being invited in as part of the A crowd now I see the process as sometimes cruel but I also look at it in many other ways. First of all at many clubs your time is limited on the courts,do you want to spend your time on the court with a jaboop. Safety is a huge issue for me when inviting in new double players,almost all of us will hold on a call. Will the caveman racquetball player trying to prove his self worth do the same. A persons style could also be a safety issue when you are not used to a player like a very wide swing,shadowing, or not being mobile. Sadly a few times it has been the stink issue. I have had some very nice people with either terrible body odor or taken a bath in Ben Gay before they got on the court. Either way after they are long gone they are still there. The issue that affects players the most is odd man out . We discussed at Red Robbins after playing the other night (thanks for dinner Chubby)about 7 being the worst scenario 4=perfect 5= 1 player rotate out 6= team waiting on deck 8= two courts rotate out winner and loser courts 7=Please go run on the treadmill or something until someone quits or someone else shows up. Then the notorious lock out game reserved for the ultra elite players(hum sincerity ?) Everyone has to learn to respect this scenario,I wasn't always the first kid picked when splitting up the teams for baseball. You don't get over it but you do develop a desire to play better and show those guys someday how great you can play. In the famous words of Rodney King "Why can't we all just get along ? " and every one is equal. Well I am not one for communism and kumbayya(I am 100% sure I spelled that wrong). Hard work reaps great rewards,someone has to sweep and being hungry makes you stronger. Nuff said. my
next blog" Legal ways to have open players removed from the courts" Jon "Hit smarter not harder"

Time to get the feet wet.

The first tournament of the summer was held at Sportstime in Long Island by Tom Keogh. I figured a non sanctioned tournament would be a great place to get my tournament legs back. I think I was the only person representing NJ of about 40 participants. It is a long ride with traffic there and back for a couple hours of play. What is funny about going is that it was a mixed A Open division.It is funny how a big fish looks small around the big tunas. As I mentioned the journey there was about two and a half hours which gave me about 20 minutes to warm up.I got on the fishbowl and felt good.I got off the court to use the little boys room and Jaimie Hopkins was now warming up. I knocked on the door to get my racquet and he asked me to come in to hit the ball around.I said sure not even thinking about my goggles not being on. We had some nice rallies until I gently popped a ball into his left Eye as he turned around.he immediately went to the bathroom and I got him some ice.I felt terrible for hitting him and he could not even play.i am starting to believe I am a virus. Though I enjoy the big tourneys I like the intimacies of the shootouts. Ruben,Nick,and Fabian represented the top of the open division and all of us small fish were floundering(pun intended).Nick and Ruben went to the finals and it was a great match to watch with Ruben diving and Nick powering the ball.Experience beat youth again this day.I had to leave but I know it was Gonzolez/Bonnomo vs Monty/Chisolm . I truly believe it could have went either way but I put the odds on the geezer jocks. Me I lost both matches though I was very happy the way I shot the second game so we shall see what the season brings for the virus. Jon "Hit Smarter not Harder"

Practice makes perfect(or at least better)

I have been taking lessons over the summer as many of my friends know. How does one choose a teacher.I think it is a personal choice to some extent and also a matter of budget for others. I know some very good players who are terrible teachers and vice versa. I tried to become certified(no not crazy)by AMPRO and that did not go so well so maybe I am not the best to judge. Compatibility and personality type I do believe will help you focus. I personally wanted someone who I knew would be a little hard on me and I found that person. If you are not willing to do what a coach is telling you to do obviously you are wasting your money.Any coach in any sport is going to make you train or in our case drill. For many people drilling is boring because it is monotonous but I always had my music to keep me company during the drills. I was drilling about an hour a week before i started my lessons and felt I was doing good for myself,little did I know. My first error in drilling was not drilling with 100% intensity.That means I need to hit every shot as if I was going for a winner. Secondly 1 hour was four hours short of what I should have been doing. The killer of it all was no more music while drilling. This was by far the hardest thing for me to do but as I said you are wasting your money if you are not going to listen so i regrettably obeyed. My teacher was right he said how do you know the pop,and feel the ball.How can you truly concentrate on the task at hand. I have to tell you I tried it the other day with the music and I felt like it was a distraction but I was told someday I can return to it when everything comes natural.You must learn from each shot you take while drilling and truly understand your mistakes or you are cheating yourself.So that is the mental aspect,relatively speaking.Now for the physical side. For a person who really doesn't drill They do not understand the punishment your body takes from heavy drilling. As the movie title says somethings gotta give it is true. If I am proud of myself for one thing it is not really missing any drilling sessions because of fatigue or even some days muscle aches. Once I get in there smacking that ball around I always feel energized. I believe that one of the great aspects of this game is that it is multi-faceted there is the physical with the psychological always lurking behind you. There is something to be said when that door closes behind you and your opponent ,almost a cage match mentality.A glass back wall for all to see your glory or crash and burn and a viewing area high above reminiscent of the Romans cheering on their gladiators. That is the true time to see if all of your hard work has paid off or if you should ask if your accountant if you can write your lessons off as a "loss" Jon "Hit Smarter not Harder"

You get what you pay for

Many people who play racquetball have more than one membership. I used to have three up until not that long ago. I have belonged to many rat gyms(musclehead) when I was younger ,and have had the pleasure of visiting the Atlantic club which is probably that nicest I have been to. I currentlly belong to the chain of LA fitnesses and the Club at Woodbridge. My last blog about clubs was from the perspective of a board member and their effect on tournaments. I am going to change caps and be the player today. I would like to start with my "home" club,The Club. I will try to give a days experience of each club. When you enter the club you are greeted by a friendly staffer,scan your card and (with an annual membership)ask you if you would like one or two towels for your work out.You then head down to the racquetball courts where the four glass wall courts appear.Everyone greets you like an episode of cheers,trash talk and all. You see the players and you know it will be a challenging night ahead of you. If it does get busy their are five additional side courts also bringing it to a total of nine. You drop your gear and sit on the individual captain like chairs or spread out on the couch style seats. When the courts are turned on early in the morning it is set up that the AC or heat goes on automatically with them. Near by their are two soda machines,and a snack machine in the galley like kitchen with a refrigerator,microwave,toaster oven and ice machine for the players.When finished playing plastic bags on rolls are provided for your wet clothing. It is time to head down to the showers now. A wide open shower with about 18 shower heads with great water pressure. Heading out of the shower you have an array of mouthwash,hair gel,lotion,and deoderant.Dry off and head up stairs to a full service restaurant with seating for about 40,I might add the food is excellent order the "AL".While waiting for your food there are two computers where you may surf the web or if Bobby and his crew is there,a shot of Patron'.That is an average day.In addition The Club is the most generous club Probably in the country.It is a family run club.They help the community with so many charitable functions it is hard to know where to begin.They are always giving back to the players such as summer reward program and outdoor parties with Elvis.In addition to signing a one year contract you receive free child care(all day mon - fri and sat 8 -12).The clubs membership runs around 75 dollars a month . Now we have LA Fitness. A huge conglomerate of approx 400 clubs nationwide.You can use almost all of them except for two Staten Island and Manhatten. You enter the club and are immediately hit with a desk where I feel ike you are passed through like cattle for there are probably people already on your tail(no towel,boo hoo) You walk into a club that is usually packed and work your way to the five glass courts.The courts are very well taken care of just as the whole club is. You walk in not really sure of who will be coming. You plop your equiptment on the floor and sit on one of four wooden benches. You hope that the courts are cool because the design does not allow for free air flow,also the courts are panel so once the humidity gets trapped it is a death sentence. If it is a league night there is only one challenge court,where you can have a mob in front of you. Even on the regular days courts are hard to come by. There is a nice but limited Cafe style restaurant right by the courts. Instuctors are constanly passing by with their clients doing lunges and such really limiting your space to hang out and watch the matches. Time to head to the showers now.They should call them trickles not showers,I can pee harder. Though not a small locker room it always seems a little crowded due to the amount of members. Time to go home.Membership is about 35 dollars a month. Do you want to be catered to or treated like a cattle,your call. Jon "Hit Smarter not Harder"