Welcome to the United States Handball Association

How To Improve Your Game

Good timing 1st step toward good stroke

How to make the ball jump off your hand with minimal exertion

By Terry Muck

Here is a common loser's lament: "I'm sorry I couldn't give you a game today. I guess my timing's off."

We know two things about the speaker:

* He is a sophisticated loser because he knows the right things to say when he goes down. (Loser's Rule No. 1: Never give the winner credit).

* He could be correct in diagnosing his troubles because poor timing is a very common fault.

Good timing can be a matter of only a fraction of a second. Hitting a ball too early or too late can be the difference between hitting it firmly with accuracy, and hitting it weakly and wildly.

Timing means utilizing the snap of the wrist and the elbow to their maximum efficiency. During the swing both the wrist and the elbow cock backward as the arm is drawn back. As they come forward, the elbow snaps forward and the wrist snaps around, just as the head of a tennis racquet snaps forward in a forehand tennis stroke.

A handball player making a good stroke hits the ball with his hand at the same moment the wrist snaps forward. This is called good timing. If he hits the ball before or after the wrist snap, bad timing results.

Besides the uncomfortable feeling of losing a game, several other things indicate your timing is bad, or perhaps just off.

Good timing produces the soft sound of leather striking rubber. Bad timing produces a loud smack as the hand and ball meet.

Good timing causes the ball to jump off your hand with very little effort. Bad timing results in the ball floating to the wall even though you're swinging with all your might.

Good timing means good accuracy. Bad timing means the ball will be flying all over the court and you have little idea of where it will go next.

An additional consequence of poor timing is the dreaded bone bruise. Some bone bruises come from lack of play. The time lag between matches allows the hands to soften and makes them more susceptible to broken blood vessels.

But among those who play regularly, poor timing causes bone bruises because the hand and ball meet in a jarring collision. Heating the hands helps prevent bone bruises of the first sort, for those who haven't played for some time. But only good timing will prevent those of the second type.

There are several ways you can work on improving your timing.

I remember the legendary Jim Jacobs' answer to the question of how he learned to hit a ceiling ball: "I went in the court at 9 in the morning and hit ceiling balls until noon." He wasn't joking.

Developing your timing means practice, practice, practice. By educating your muscles to the proper stroke during practice sessions, it will come naturally during games. During the heat of battle you forget to set up properly, watch the ball and strike it at the center line of your body. But if you have developed a good practice stroke, it will be reflexive to you when you need it in a game.

An alternative to working in the court alone, this exercise removes some of the boredom of volleying alone by adding a partner. Decide between yourselves what shots you want to work on and hit them to one another. Without the pressure of winning and losing, you can devote all your mental and physical energies to hitting the ball properly, and your timing will likely improve.

Or if you're playing someone you know you can beat with ease, merely work on specific shots. Try to keep the rallies going with good, crisp shots, concentrating on hitting the ball smoothly and with purpose. In these "artificial" rallies, never just hit the ball. Always have a plan of where you want to hit it and how hard you want to hit it.

This can also be fun. Part of the fascination of handball is the camaraderie that naturally develops among players of all levels. Timing is a problem shared by novice and pro alike. Although there are different levels of expertise, the principles of solving the problem are the same, and the discussion can be mutually illuminating.

Ask a better player how he deals with poor timing when it confronts him. His ideas will help you devise ways to cure your own woes.

Other players will be happy to help. Almost every geographic area has at least one player who has gained a reputation as a teacher of the game, someone able to analyze the intricacies of the stroke. Get his help.

One of the best ways to improve your timing is to watch players who hit the ball fluidly. Try to pick out reasons why this player hits the ball so well, and why another player hits the ball so poorly.

You will discover that the size of a person and the size of his swing have little to do with how well or how hard he hits the ball. Some very little men rank among the hardest hitters in the game. Their secret is timing, which comes from a smooth swing and footwork. By watching the fluid hitters you will pick up some of the reasons for their success.

Have you ever noticed how players from the same area seem to hit the ball in the same manner? Subconsciously, they copy one another's strokes.

The same thing will happen to you by watching good swingers play on a regular basis. And it's an entertaining way to learn and improve.

Worry will make your timing troubles worse. Handball should be your outlet for relieving tension. Don't allow it to cause more tension.

Swing easily, well within yourself. Try to make your swing as smooth and even as possible. Erase all other thoughts from your mind. Donít think about the score, your opponent, the last point, the next point or anything else. Just make each swing the smoothest you can and all the other phases of the game will fall into place.

Imagine you are David Chapman hitting pass shots, Naty Alvarado Jr. hitting serves or John Bike hitting kill shots. Imagine their relaxed strokes and their perfect timing. Your timing will improve by osmosis.

Terry Muck won the 1973 national title.