Hi All, Another wee question after my Achilles Tendon one, having been reassured here about my healed injury will hold out, i have been upping my playing and invested in a new Yonex Voltric 60 to bring myself up to modern racket technology, after 2 months acclimatisation, i got to say i am not getting on with it, my clear and smashes are down in reach and power, to an extent my net shots lack feel, these points have all been confounded when i returned to my 1st issue Carbonnex 21, is it technique thing or are these new tech rackets less forgiven?, anybody experienced the same and returned to their old racket?, i am eyeing up the Victor JS10 for future upgrade but don't want to make expensive mistake after this episode. Thanks in advance.
The Voltric 60 is a light racket and isn't particularly head heavy so wont be that good for all out power shots. It should be a quick racket good quick tempo, drive wars, intercept and follow up smashes. Either train more, get coached to improve technique to extract more power from racket or get a more head heavy racket. The drop in your net game is more likely to be psychological.
When I packed in the game in 2000 I got rid of my old racquets. When I decided to take it up again in 2014 I did a fair amount of research and was quite impressed by Paul Stewart's recommendation for the Voltric 80 (the older model) on the Direct Badminton Website and bought 3 of them. Really happy with them. Glad you're getting on OK with your Achilles
Thanks for the insight, what you said explains why it takes more effort to clear to the back line and definitely not as powerful for smahes, net shot feels....well hollow, i bought it 2nd hand (£60.00)and the seller said it was strung to 25lb, think thats too tight for my skill set at the moment hence my inability to control the beast, does modern stiff rackets require a more wristy action?, been watching Youtube and researching like mad on the modern game. Thanks for the good wishes and for your reassurances on my injury thread, it helped me a lot about coming back, touch wood i am still playing and enjoying it immensely, my lust for a JS10 is via Paul's recco,but i feel i've got to rediscover my form before i think about it, will persevere with the VT60 in the main time.
I am pleased you are still enjoying the game! I reckon persevering is worth it - at the end of the day, its your skill not your racket that makes the difference. I would recommend a lower tension with a softer string - it will "give" you a little more power with the current racket at your current skill level e.g. BG65 at 23 lbs. Finally, and obviously, I would state that the best investment you could have is to have one private lesson with a coach. Work on your overhead and see if they notice anything you could improve. Its cheaper than buying rackets Let me know if you need any advice about rackets or finding a coach!
Hi M, Most helpful post thanks, you've hit the point in the back of my mind regarding string tension (have noted BG65 @ 23lbs)and that the VT60 is really too stiff for my current state of play. Second point about coaching is sound too but i feel i still have decent hitting ability from all those years ago, i just need a hitting partner to get the technicalities back on track,the group i am playing with don't practice, it's few hits,shuttle in the air then play. Definitely agree with you about coaching is better/cheaper than chasing the new fangle rackets, but these modern sleek Iso headed rackets are so sexy, as the saying goes a good tradesman shouldn't blame his tools. Cheers! Andy.
Hence i've gone back to my old Flame, pardon the pun, truth in what you say though, much happier with my Carbo 21 but would love it to work with the new 'bitch' thats VT60. :crying:
Hi Andy - this is exactly why I recommend ONE session of coaching. Your technique is probably good enough that once told what is "going wrong" you can immediately fix it. One session with a good coach will give you enough to "fix yourself". Its just a fast track way to get a hitting partner, and rediscover the power in your technique, but do it in a single hour rather than over the next few weeks. Good luck!
I used to love my old Carbonex 20s in the late 80s I knew I had to have a head heavy racquet if I was going to play again, which is why I love my Voltric 80s now.
Thanks guys, all constructive advice indeed, planning to try a few differing rackets to find the sweetie,will report back in due course how i go. Cheers!
