catbarf on 17/10/2007 at 20:45
Where I live in Pennsylvania, US, this sport doesn't seem to be too common. There's courts in some gyms, but there are plenty of people who have never heard of the sport, let alone tried it.
I personally like it because with the small size of the arena/court, it's less about running around and more about predicting where the ball will go, and coordination to hit it. With this along with the tension from the threat of being hit by a ball moving 30+ MPH, in my mind the game is like a cross between tennis and an FPS.
Any other players here? Or is this something really uncommon?
I especially love the spin you can put on the ball. It's priceless to see my friend run towards it, have it bounce and shoot past him from the spin, and watch him do a 180-degree flop to try and get it and land on the floor.
SubJeff on 17/10/2007 at 21:12
Quote Posted by catbarf
With this along with the tension from the threat of being hit by a ball moving 30+ MPH, in my mind the game is like a squash.
Fixed. :p
catbarf on 17/10/2007 at 23:34
What? I'm just saying that the only people I've been able to get to play have been my friends who are obsessed with videogames :p
Shug on 18/10/2007 at 00:18
Squash is literally the number one killer of healthy knees
Scots Taffer on 18/10/2007 at 00:32
And overweight power-playing executives.
SubJeff on 18/10/2007 at 01:03
Quote Posted by Shug
Squash is literally the number one killer of healthy knees
Yup. Damn shame though. Fine game, fine game.
ercles on 18/10/2007 at 01:31
Oh yes, good memories tied in with squash. Being a bastard and making your mate run all around the court is simply awesome
Thief13x on 18/10/2007 at 04:33
where in Pennsylvania? I live an hour out of Pittsburgh.
The gym down here at school has two racketball courts that have been in use everytime I work out, but yeah, I hardly even heard of it before coming down here
Renault on 18/10/2007 at 04:52
Quote Posted by catbarf
With this along with the tension from the threat of being hit by a ball moving 30+ MPH
Um, you'd have to try really hard to hit the ball that slow.
Quote Posted by some random site I found
Raquetball speed
Question
December 9, 2004
WHAT IS THE AVERAGE AND/OR FASTEST RACQUETBALL SPEED?
Answer
A high speed serve is around 110 mph. A good return is 70 mph.
In any case, I used to play in a few racquetball leagues. The game is a lot of fun - very fast moving with a decent amount of strategy. I've played guys twice my age who know exactly where to hit the ball and almost never move from one position in the court. Of course, if you're athletic, it leaves a little more room for error.
catbarf on 18/10/2007 at 11:01
Heh, I really have no idea how fast the ball is moving. I just picked a figure a little on the low side :erg:
70mph. Wow. I had a friend hit the ball right into my arm from four feet away, and the mark stayed for weeks.
I live southeast of Philadelphia.
The thing that I like most is that it isn't about running and chasing the ball. Not only does that get repetitive, but I'm not a runner at all. With racquetball it's more about being able to stay one step ahead of your opponent, and having the reflexes to actually hit the damn thing :laff:
