Expert Advice from Racquet Network

Posted on December 27, 2017November 6, 2018 by Racquet Network

Squash Racquets for Beginners

I give the same advice to squash beginners that I give to tennis beginners who join our network.

Don’t spend $200 on your first racquet. As a beginner, you should take that $200 and divide it into two parts. Spend $50 to $75 on a basic racquet and spend the rest on lessons.

Racquets are not lifetime investments. They are disposable tools with parts that wear out. Within a few years of purchasing it, chances are excellent that you will not be able to replace the bumper guards or other important parts when you take your racquet in to replace the strings.

Racquet technology is also changing. Like personal computers, squash racquets quickly become obsolete. One year they are shiny and new and everybody wants one. Three years later you can’t give them away and nobody at the repair shop wants to touch them.

Most importantly, though, racquets break. And the more you pay for them, the easier they are to break. This is because high-end racquets are extremely light. Many, in fact, are in the 120-130 gram range. It doesn’t take much; return a tight shot, clip the wall and SNAP! You’re on the way to the store for a new squash racquet.

Beginner racquets are much sturdier. Manufacturers know that beginners will be over-running the ball and smashing their racquets into the walls. They understand that this part of the learning process. So they design beginner racquets to take more punishment.

The money saved by purchasing a lower-priced racquet should be invested in lessons. Lessons will help beginners move quickly to the intermediate level. Since intermediate level players are less likely to over-run the ball and crash into the walls, most are ready to start shopping for a higher quality racquet.

Posted on December 27, 2017November 15, 2018 by Racquet Network

Squash Eyewear for Over Top of Your Glasses

i-Mask Protective Eyewear System — I-Mask ™ is the only certified over-glasses option for tournament squash players.

Racquet sports, believe it or not, are the No. 1 cause of serious eye injuries world-wide. In squash, it is estimated that one-in-four players will suffer an eye injury at some point if they choose not to protect themselves.

While it is possible to get hit in the eye with the ball during a squash match, the greatest danger, by far, comes from your opponent’s racquet. This is especially true when your opponent is hitting a backhand in the vicinity of the tee.

Protect yourself with certified eye protection. If you don’t normally wear glasses, look for squash or safety goggles with plenty of venting on the sides and out the top of the frame. This will prevent condensation from forming on the inside of the lenses.

If you do wear glasses, consider buying an I-Mask. I have played with one for years. I haven’t won any beauty contests while wearing it, but I haven’t suffered any eye injuries either.

Remember that goggles get scratched and need to be replaced from time to time. So keep that in mind when purchasing a new pair.

Fortunately, the I-Mask system allows players to replace just the lens once the lens become scratched. There is no need to be the entire system all over again.

I-Mask Protective Eyewear

NO FOGGING OR HAZING i-MASK is the player’s first choice because it has eliminated all the disadvantages of competitive products like: fogging, hazing, nose discomfort and restricted peripheral vision.

PROTECTION FOR PLAYERS WHO WEAR GLASSES The visor can be worn over glasses, supporting them & helping to protect the spectacles from impact on lenses or frames.

LETS YOU LOOK LIKE YOURSELF The i-MASK visor does not have a frame around the visor. You look more as though you’re wearing a sweatband than eyewear. And if you’ve just played a great game, isn’t it nice to be able to be recognised?

FULL PERIPHERAL VISION There is virtually no vision restriction. See a testimonial.

LIGHTWEIGHT Because the i-MASK visor weighs so little, you’re likely to forget you’re wearing it.

YOU CAN REPLACE INDIVIDUAL PARTS You can buy replacements for all parts of the i-MASK visor so you don’t have to buy a whole new unit if one part is damaged or lost.

JUNIOR SIZE i-MASK Junior size visor is just 11% smaller than the adult size. It is just perfect for the 7 – 10 year old or the very small adult. The i-MASK Junior visor has all the safety features of the adult size, with more protection for the face than other eyewear, and unrestricted vision

2 YEAR WARRANTY The i-MASK visor is manufactured from optically clear polycarbonate and is virtually unbreakable and has a 2 year warranty on all fixing points.

Posted on December 27, 2017November 6, 2018 by Racquet Network

Foggy Squash Goggles

Question: During long squash matches, my squash goggles often fog up. What can I do to stop this?

Not all goggles are created equal. Nor is every design well-suited to every player. Players who play hard or who sweat a lot during squash matches occasionally have trouble with foggy goggles.

For these players, it is important to begin with goggles that do not fit too snugly to their faces. Space is needed on the sides and at the top of the frame. This will prevent hot, moist air from being trapped behind the lenses.

Players can also take steps to better regulate their body temperatures to avoid excessive, and sometimes dangerous, overheating. Modern squash clothing, for example, is made of technologically advanced materials that wick moisture away from the body. Crew neck tee shirts also trap heat more than v-necked shirts or collared shirts.

Another problem that often contributes to foggy goggles is sweat from the forehead running down behind the lenses into the player’s eyes. This is easily prevented with a head band. Players who sweat excessively should carry several of them in their squash bag and change it as needed during their match.

Players with persistent foggy goggle trouble should also develop the habit of removing their goggles and towelling their faces off frequently. In most cases, the fog that appears on the insides of the lenses forms between points and between games. Toweling off will cool the skin and remove the moisture that is causing their goggles to fog.

Posted on December 11, 2017November 15, 2018 by Racquet Network

Kids Indoor Court Shoes – A Primer for Parents

ASICS GEL-UPCOURT GS C413N 0123 If your kid is playing squash or badminton, you have probably already experienced some of the frustrations common to parents on the subject of court shoes. For one thing, it can be difficult to find anybody who carries them. For another, stores who do carry them never seem to have much of a selection.

We understand. In fact, we sympathize. But as retailers, there is not much we can do except stock what is available and offer it to customers at reasonable prices.

Unfortunately, shoe manufacturers don’t listen to specialty retailers any more than they listen to parents. Nor do the distribution companies. About the only people they listen to are the sporting goods giants and the giants are only interested in things they can sell by the millions. Kids court shoes, unfortunately, are not in the “millions” category.

As retailers, we get the catalogs from the manufacturers three to six months before the season starts. All brands combined, we might have a total of 50 models of indoor court shoes to choose from. Of those 50 models, six might be kids’ shoes. Of those six models, four might be available in full and half sizes. The colours will be divided equally into boys and girls. This means two models for boy and two for girls — if we are lucky.

Obviously, selection for boys and girls is not large to begin with. Once you begin digging into sizes, though, the selection gets even smaller. Yonex ™, for example, manufactures half sizes in Japan, but Yonex Canada does not import them so half sizes are not available in Canada. Asics, on the other hand, offers half sizes, but they generally only import one or two colours in the most common sizes. Sizes like US YOUTH 11 or 5 or 5.5 are often not available at all.

As retailers, we want to be able to offer boys and girls a dozen options in every possible size. Unfortunately, the manufactuers don’t make that possible for us. The best we can do, therefore, is to buy what is available when it is available and have at least some selection on hand when you come to visit.

Here at Racquet Network, our buyer is always on the lookout for kids indoor court shoes. He knows they are not always available, so he stocks up when he can. His goal is to ensure that we have the largest selection possible when you come in with your child.

Posted on November 23, 2017November 30, 2018 by Racquet Network

Downside to Cheap Court Shoes

At least once a week, we see adult men coming into our store to purchase Asics Gel-Upcourt court shoes. Everytime this happens, we issue a standard warning to buyers. While these shoes are attractively priced, there are good reasons why they are priced so unusually low.

Every court shoe company makes at least one model called a transitional model. They don’t always call them “transitional” models. Sometimes they call them “starter shoes” or “entry level shoes” or even “base models”, but regardless of what they call them, these shoes are all in the same category. They are lower quality shoes designed specifically for young players who will likely outgrow their shoes before they have a chance to wear them out.

Budget grade shoes like these are Godsend for some parents who have kids in short athletic programs and who require a specialized pair of shoes specifically for that activity. They know their child will only be wearing these shoes for a short period of time — perhaps only six or eight weeks — so they don’t want to buy something top-of-the-line. They know that even if their child loves the sport, by the time the calendar rolls around to the start time for that sport again next year, their child will have outgrown the shoes they purchased this year. So at best, these shoes will become hand-me-downs.

While awesome for parents of growing teens, budget shoes like these are problematic for a business like ours because adults who don’t know any better see that these shoes come in adult sizes (just like teen feet do) and think that they are a great deal for adults, too. Unforunately, shoes in this category are not built to last. They are not designed to worn over the long haul. So adults who buy them end up being disappointed. Instead of getting a good deal, they get a pair of shoes from which they can’t get their money’s worth.

Rarely is it a good idea for adults to buy budget shoes. Generally speaking budget athletic shoes are a bad deal that buyers end up regretting. In fact, the only time it makes sense to buy budget shoes is when you are trying a sport for the very first time. If chances are good that you will not be playing the sport eight weeks later, then it makes sense to buy shoes that are designed to last a short period of time. If, however, there is a good chance that you will be using the shoes for a extended period of time, then it makes sense to invest in a recreational grade shoe that is built to stand up to athletic punishment.

As with anything else in life, you get what you pay for. Court shoes that are designed for long term use cost more than court shoes that are designed for short term use. So if you buy a cheap pair of shoes, you should expect them to last a short period of time.