Posted on by

Best Shoes for Pickleball

Best Pickleball Shoes
The best pickleball shoe must not only fit, it must be suitable for the surface you are playing on.
Here at Racquet Network, we sell a lot of shoes. In fact, new employees often ask why we are not called SHOE NETWORK because — truth be told — we probably sell more shoes than racquets.

Tennis players, squash players and badminton players in this part of the world know that our store is THE place to come for court shoes. They know that we carry a large selection in-store, that we offer more than 200 additional models online and that we have expert staff who can help them find the right shoe for the job.

Pickleball players are beginning to figure this out too. Although, we have to admit that pickleball players are often more difficult to please than other racquet sports players when it comes to court shoes.

Find the perfect shoe. Try our famous SHOE SELECTOR.

Part of this is due to the fact that many pickleball players are relatively new athletes. While most of our tennis, squash and badminton clients are familiar with the ins and outs of the court shoe category, many pickleball players are relative newcomers. So there are a lot of things they don’t understand.

For example, most experienced racquet sports players understand that brands like Asics ™ and Yonex ™ make court shoes at three different price points: expensive, moderate and cheap. Their most expensive shoes have the most technology, are the most comfortable, last the longest and come in the most attractive colours and styles. Meanwhile their cheapest shoes have the least technology, are the least comfortable, are the least durable and tend to come in the least attractive colours: typically black or white.

While tennis, squash and badminton players seem to understand this and accept it as a fact of life, pickleball players are often annoyed. Many seem to expect that low-priced shoes will be just as good as expensive shoes and will come in equally attractive styles and colours.

Have you ever been fitted by a court shoe expert? Stop by the store. We are open 7 days a week.

Our advice generally — to all players, not just pickleball players — is to focus on the quality of the shoe rather than its price or its aesthetics. Our philosophy is simple; athletic shoes are about function. They are not about fashion.

So which shoes are best for pickleball players? If you are playing in a gym on hardwood floors, you want a sole with lots of natural, organic rubber. If you are playing outdoors on a hard court, you may want synthetic rubber — unless you have tender feet, in which case organic rubber is still the best bet.

If you are playing both indoors on hardwood floors and outdoors on hard courts (now pay attention pickleball players because this is important), you most definitely want two completely separate pairs of shoes. The pair you use on the hardwood needs to be saved for hardwood only. Wearing them outside will ruin them for use on hardwood. Meanwhile, the pair you use outside should never, ever, ever, ever be used indoors on hardwood A) because they will ruin the hardwood and B) because they will not offer sufficient traction on hardwood.

Believe me. We’re not telling you this because we want to sell you two pairs of shoes, we are simply giving you the most important facts. Do whatever you like. Our advice remains the same. Pickleball is an excellent sport. Everybody here at Racquet Network plays it. We all enjoy the game and we love to share our enthusiasm for it. The last thing we want to do is give pickleball players bad advice.

Toenails turning black? FIND OUT WHY

Court shoes at the low end of the price spectrum are designed to look like good court shoes in the same way that a child’s toy is designed to look like a real racing car. While it might look like the real thing, nobody expects to win a race with a toy car.

Court shoes at the high end of the price range, on the other hand, are designed for athletes who want the best combination of performance, comfort, safety and style. Does this mean that high end court shoes are exclusively for elite level athletes? No it doesn’t.

Athletic performance may not be as important for an average pickleball player, but any player who wants to minimize discomfort both during and after playing should be considering investing in high end shoes. So should any player who wants to minimize the risk of injury. This is especially important for older athletes who are more easily injured and who take longer to recover from injuries than younger athletes.

Style may be the least important reason for shelling out top dollar for a good pair of court shoes, but that is really beside the point. Once you get up into the higher price ranges, the more attractive styles and colours are just a bonus. It’s just the cherry on top of a sundae made out of performance, comfort and safety. Since you are paying for the sundae, you may as well enjoy the cherry.

Posted on by

Where to Buy Table Tennis Stuff in Calgary

Racquet Network carries table tennis equipment at all price points, including paddles, balls, bags, nets and shoes.

HOURS: 10:00am-8:00pm Mon-Fri
10:00am-5:00pm Sat/Sun
Closed holidays

ADDRESS: 310 2525 Woodview Dr SW
PHONE: 403-238-0687

Posted on by

Tennis Racquets for Smart Beginners

Beginners, especially men, often assume that paying more for a racquet will automatically make them better tennis players. Unfortunately, this is not true. In fact, spending too much may do more harm to a beginner’s game than spending less.

Smart beginners start with racquets that are designed specifically for beginners. Then, when they are ready, they replace their beginner racquet with a new racquet designed for intermediate players.

Length

Look for a 27″ racquet, which is the standard length for adults. The best total weight for beginners is 10-12 ounces.

Avoid shorter racquets (under 27″) designed for juniors. Avoid heavier racquets (over 12 ounces) designed for experts and lighter racquets (under 10 ounces) designed for seniors and exceptionally small adults.

Size

Look for a large racquet head (over 105 square inches) for more power and a larger, more forgiving sweet spot. Many recreational players will stick with a larger head all their lives.

Avoid small racquet heads which give greater control at the expense of power and which also tend to magnify mistakes. Small headed racquets are designed for expert players who are able to hit the ball within inches of their target more than 90 per cent of the time.

Balance

Look for a head-heavy racquet for more stability and less stress on your wrist and elbow. This will add more power to your strokes and help cover up your mishits.

Avoid head light racquets until you are good enough to hit the ball exactly in the sweet spot on every stroke.

Composition

Look for an aluminum frame. These frames are stiff enough for beginners.

Avoid graphite frames unless you are prepared to spend more than beginners need to spend.

Price

Prices for beginner racquets are typically under $30.00. Graphite racquets begin at about $70 and run to nearly $300.00. You can occasionally find graphite racquets in the clearance bin for half price.

If you find one that is the right length, weight, head size and balance for about $30,00, then it is a smart buy for a beginner. Otherwise, don’t bother.

Posted on by

How Do I Know if a Badminton Racquet is Right for My Teen?

Yojnex Nanoray 20 badminton racquet
Teens tend to want frames made for elite level adults, not teens.
No demographic is more susceptible to marketing than teens. In the badminton world, teens tend to want the latest iteration of a racquet used by Lin Dan, Lee Chong Wei or Viktor Axelsen. It does not occur to them that putting that racquet in their hands might lead to losing, but it might.

Here at Racquet Network, our customers — many of whom are teens — test drive more than 1000 racquets every year. This is not surprising. We have a large selection of badminton racquets to choose from. We also allow customers an entire month to test drive them. So teens who are thinking about buying a new racquet have ample opportunity to find one that is perfectly suited to their current level of development.

So what is the point of test drive? Chances are, that if you give your teen the racquet he wants and just let him go play with it, he will come back saying he loves it. But how do you know if this new $250 racquet is better than the $90.00 racquet he was already playing with? Believe it or not, there is actually an objective way to tell the difference. The tests below will tell the tale and they can all be completed in a total of 20 minutes.

Racquet Selector For a full list of racquets in this category, please check out our ONLINE RACQUET SELECTOR. You can sort by sport, gender, brand, size, weight, balance and more.

Tests 1 & 2 – Baseline to Baseline Forehand/Backhand Tests

To begin the first test, two players take up positions in the center of the court along the baselines on opposite sides. They hit the shuttle back and forth, baseline to baseline. If the teen who is test driving a racquet is able to stand on one baseline and hit the shuttle out the back of the opposite court three out of four times consistently, that racquet passes the Baseline to Baseline Forehand Test.

The Baseline to Baseline Backhand Test is the same thing, but on the backhand side. If the teen who is test driving the racquet is able to stand on one baseline and hit the shuttle out the back of the opposite court three out of four times consistently, that racquet passes this test as well. If the teen cannot do this, the racquet is not flexible enough for the teen’s needs.

Tests 3 & 4 – Corner to Corner Forehand/Backhand Tests

The next two tests are more difficult, but they are extremely important. Players start the test by taking up positions near the corners of opposing baselines diagonally from each other. They try to hit the shuttle diagonally from corner to corer first on the forehand side, then on the backhand side. If they can hit the shuttles out of the court (past the corner) three out of four times consistently, the racquet passes. If not, it fails.

Speaking frankly, virtually all of the racquets that teens test drive will fail the Corner to Corner Backhand Test because most teens are not adept enough at this stroke to get the shuttle that deep on the diagonal backhand. So this test becomes a matter of good/better/best. In other words, the best racquet for each player is the racquet that allows them to hit the shuttle the deepest on the Corner to Corner Forehand/Backhand Test.

Racquet Selector For a full list of racquets in this category, please check out our ONLINE RACQUET SELECTOR. You can sort by sport, gender, brand, size, weight, balance and more.

Tracking the Results

Since the trial period lasts a month or more and since most teens will test drive eight or more racquets during this period, it is important to keep notes. The simplest way to do this is with your smartphone’s camera app. Just figure out the average depth the shuttle is reaching on the final test (Corner to Corner Backhand Test). Place the head of the demo racquet on that spot with the handle pointing at the corner you were hitting from and take a picture. If you have two racquets out that are reaching different spots, but them both on the court in their appropriate spots and include them in the same photo.

Why These Tests Matter

While playing matches with a racquet gives players a lot of subjective data about that racquet, these fours simple distance tests provide some important objective data. Because let’s face it, an inability to hit the shuttle from baseline-to-baseline and corner-to-corner will result in failure during matches. In order to win consistently, a player must be able to hit the shuttle deep enough to prevent opponents from going on the attack.

All too often, teens want a particular racquet because Lin Dan or Lee Chong Wei use it or because it has certain offensive features that they believe will help them hit harder or faster. But the single most important question that every player should ask about any racquet they are considering is this: can I hit the shuttle deep enough to reset when I (or my team) gets into trouble defensively? If the answer to this question is yes, then that particular racquet should go on the Maybe Right for Me List. If the answer is no, then the racquet should go on the Not Right for Me Right Now List.

Building the Maybe List

As players test drive badminton racquets, they will be putting each racquet onto one of two lists. The first list is the Not Right for Me Right Now List. This is the list of racquets that have failed the four distance tests above. The second list, the list of racquets that have passed the test, is the Maybe Right for Me List. For shorthand purposes, we call these the Maybe List and the No List.

Once a player has a selection of racquets on their Maybe List, they can start comparing them by playing with them. At this point, it makes sense to start judging racquets by more subjective criteria. And if two racquets are judged to be equal in every other way, then it’s fine to make a determination based on a favorite player’s endorsement. In fact, at this point, players can even make a final determination based on colour if that is important to them.

Racquet Selector For a full list of racquets in this category, please check out our ONLINE RACQUET SELECTOR. You can sort by sport, gender, brand, size, weight, balance and more.

What to do When they All Fail

So what should a player do when all racquets fail the four distance tests we have been discussing? This is not an uncommon situation. Teens, women and even some adult male recreational players often encounter this situation. This is because they are unable to hit the shuttle to full depth when hitting corner to corner on the backhand side.

In this situation the best option is the racquet that produces the best results. Remember the pictures we recommended taking with your smart phone during the distance tests? This is where these become important. The best racquet in this case is the racquet that produces the best result.

Once the best option is determined, our racquet technicians can help the player tweak the racquet to give it additional power. This will help get the shuttle a little deeper and make the best option even better.

But having said all of that, we find that the vast majority of teens under 14 who actually do these tests learn that the stiff and extra stiff racquets used by professional badminton players are not the best racquets for them. What they learn actually surprises them. They will actually score more points and win more matches when they play with racquets from the teen category. Why? Because these racquet are designed for players at their level of development.

Posted on by

Should I Buy a Used Squash Racquet?

Dunlop Biomimetic Ultimate Squash Racquet
Buyer beware. Used squash racquets are generally not worth the price their sellers are asking.
In tight economic times like these, everybody wants to save money where they can. Buying used squash racquets, instead of new squash racquets, is one way to do that.

But you have to be careful if you want to go this route. Saving money is one possibility, but getting ripped off is another. So here are some things to consider when shopping for a used racquet.

Kijiji

It is certainly possible to get a good used squash racquet on Kijiji and other websites. However it is also possible to buy cheap knock-offs and once-broken-now-repaired frames.

Buyer beware. I won’t buy a racquet unless I can check the entire frame for tell-tale swelling, bulging or other signs of repair. I also need to examine every sticker or label on the racquet in order to prove to myself that it is not a knock off.

There is also the sucker-born-everyday factor. Today for example, I see six squash racquets for sale on Kijiji. Two are “almost new” for $40. Both can be purchased new for less. Two are for sale at $20.00 neither for which is worth half of that. And the remaining two are so old they are worthless, yet their owners want $10-12 for each.

Used Goods Stores

While it is possible to hold a racquet in your hands and examine it carefully in a used sporting goods store, it is not always possible to determine how old the racquet is. As a result, I have seen more than one intermediate player show up to play with a “new” racquet that is, in fact, ten years old.

It is advisable, therefore, to stop at a new racquet store and have a good long look at what is on the shelf this year before going to the used racquet store to buy last year’s model. Do this and you will increase your chances of spotting really old frames when you get to the used racquet store.

Hand-me-downs

Buying used racquets from friends and other players in your network can be tricky. Generally, you should pay no more than $40 for the frame, $40 for the string and $10 for the grip. In other words, a quality used racquet shouldn’t cost more than $90.

If the frame is a mid-range frame (not a high-end frame), deduct at least $20. If the strings have more than 50 games on them, deduct $20. If the grip needs to be replaced, deduct another $10.

Slightly Used Demos

Pros and sponsored players often get their racquets for free. Occasionally, they will play with them a few times and then put them away for good. In most cases, they will play with them until the brand rep gives them another new model.

Since pros, sponsored players and other frequent players treat their racquets with respect, you are not buying junk. In most cases, you are buying slightly-used, high-end racquets that are in near-pristine condition.

Check for wear on the grip and marks on the strings. If it’s a factory grip with very little wear and the strings are relatively clean with few black marks, you will know that the racquet hasn’t been used very much.

Price Ranges

New, low-end squash racquets are pre-strung and are priced in the $30 to $60 range.

New mid-range squash racquets are usually pre-strung and are priced in the $70 to $100 range.

New high-end squash racquets cost more than $150. Stringing costs another $20 to $50, depending on the type of string you like.