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ItaE
Posts:60
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| 01/11/2009 1:28 PM |
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WELCOME 
INTRO: Mike Locker, who hails from Duluth, is arguably, the greatest racquetball player to ever come out of the great state of Minnesota.
Mike’s trail blazing covers Duluth thru the Twin Cities Metro area, the IRT-tour across the USA, & internationally, via coaching the Dominican Republic's national racquetball team .
He stayed consistently in the top ten ranking on the IRT-tour as an IRT-pro, before he retired.
< look for his stats on line at < WWW.BOSSCONSULTING.COM/IRT >
<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>
The adopted format is for me to post one Question at a time, daily, & the Lockman,
schedule permitting, would post a response/Answer daily or as soon as possible.
This means, the Q&A postings would be completed, per the Forum, in about fifty days.
So, here we go - let's get started < enjoy > 
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ItaE
Posts:60
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| 01/11/2009 1:29 PM |
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| Do you or did you have any nicknames? |
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Locks
Posts:115
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| 01/11/2009 10:01 PM |
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Posted By ItaE on 01/11/2009 1:29 PM
Do you or did you have any nicknames?
Locks & ML were most common. Todd O'neil and a few others on tour used to call me "foot locker" so that stuck for awhile also.
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Mike Locker
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ItaE
Posts:60
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| 01/12/2009 1:36 PM |
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*** Snowy Monday in Minnesota***
The Beginning: Do you recall at what age you picked up a racquetball racquet for the first time?
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Locks
Posts:115
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| 01/12/2009 1:44 PM |
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Posted By ItaE on 01/12/2009 1:36 PM
*** Snowy Monday in Minnesota***
The Beginning: Do you recall at what age you picked up a racquetball racquet for the first time?
I am almost certain I was 9yrs old...not much older if at all. |
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Mike Locker
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ItaE
Posts:60
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| 01/13/2009 11:58 AM |
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Junior:
Your parents have been very instrumental in your success.
What did they teach you that helped you become the person and the player that you were? |
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Locks
Posts:115
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| 01/13/2009 12:53 PM |
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Posted By ItaE on 01/13/2009 11:58 AM
Junior:
Your parents have been very instrumental in your success.
What did they teach you that helped you become the person and the player that you were?
Both my parents were athletes and I think I was blessed with some natural talent which helped in the development of my athletic abilities. One of the main ingredients my parents always stressed was to make sure I was having fun enjoying what I am doing whether it was racquetball, tennis, hockey, baseball or golf. They supported every move I made but It was contingent on how much time, practice and the enthusiasm to warrant that type of support. Sports are very expensive to play especially at a higher level and if the committment isn't there, the support system breaks down as it should.
Before racquetball took center stage, our family played tons of tennis as my dad was the GM of TCA (Tennis Corporation of America) and ran a huge indoor tennis, racquetball & squash facility in Rochester, NY prior to relocating back to our hometown of Duluth to build his own health club back in the late 70's. Being around racket sports was a huge bonus thats for sure!
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Mike Locker
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ItaE
Posts:60
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| 01/14/2009 9:54 AM |
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| “Lemme” get this straight: You were born in Duluth, Minnesota and you did spend some of your earlier childhood years in Rochester, New York? |
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ItaE
Posts:60
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| 01/14/2009 11:10 AM |
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| Besides your parents, who was the other big influence in your junior racquetball career? |
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Locks
Posts:115
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| 01/14/2009 12:54 PM |
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Posted By ItaE on 01/14/2009 9:54 AM
“Lemme” get this straight: You were born in Duluth, Minnesota and you did spend some of your earlier childhood years in Rochester, New York?
That is correct! My father was the GM for a company called Tennis Corporation of America (TCA) in which he ran a massive indoor/outdoor tennis, racquetball and squash facility located in Rochester, NY. In the late 70's, my parents wanted to move back to Duluth, MN to raise my brothers and I so he decided to build and operate the Duluth Court House racquetball club. This is how my brothers and I got started in racquetball.
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Mike Locker
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Locks
Posts:115
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| 01/14/2009 1:03 PM |
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Posted By ItaE on 01/14/2009 11:10 AM
Besides your parents, who was the other big influence in your junior racquetball career?
Great question!
I would have to say many of the racquetball players at my dad's club as well as the pro racquetball tour. The members used to always be inviting to allow me to jump in the court with them. They were generally pretty entertained that a junior player could kick their ars. There were many side bets rolling around the club back in the days especially when the new guy came in for a one day pass in on business and looking for a racquetball game. My dad would set him up to play me after school hours. I would show up on the court and the reaction(s) that took place were classic.
In regards to the pro tour influence, the likes of myself, Scott Daugaard, Brett Stinson, Cary Freeman and others used to play racquetball right after school. Then once ESPN came around showing racquetball during prime time hours, we had the ability to watch pro racquetball on TV right at my dads club. We would watch Marty Hogan, Dave Peck, Mike Yellen etc. play matches and then we used to go find an open court and play a match while at the same time, pretending we were pro's just like on TV.
We all wanted to be pro racquetballers back then. Thoughts of traveling the country in a sweet RV going from town to town.... |
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Mike Locker
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ItaE
Posts:60
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| 01/15/2009 10:53 AM |
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***brrrrr!!! - it’s a minus(–) 20degF Thursday morning in the Frozen tundra Twin Cities <> must be yet colder up there in Duluth!!! brrrrr!!!***
It's safe to guess you & your playing buddies did finally meet these primetime ESPN pro-racquetball stars (Marty Hogan, Dave Peck, Mike Yellen) in real life, i.e., in person, while you were a junior?
Your dad’s racquetball club, called, The Duluth Court House, had 10 courts, a bar and a big screen TV.
(1)Did the courts have panel or concrete walls?
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(2)Do you prefer to play in a panel court or concrete walls? |
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Locks
Posts:115
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| 01/15/2009 1:45 PM |
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Posted By ItaE on 01/15/2009 10:53 AM
***brrrrr!!! - it’s a minus(–) 20degF Thursday morning in the Frozen tundra Twin Cities <> must be yet colder up there in Duluth!!! brrrrr!!!***
It's safe to guess you & your playing buddies did finally meet these primetime ESPN pro-racquetball stars (Marty Hogan, Dave Peck, Mike Yellen) in real life, i.e., in person, while you were a junior?
Your dad’s racquetball club, called, The Duluth Court House, had 10 courts, a bar and a big screen TV.
(1)Did the courts have panel or concrete walls?
&
(2)Do you prefer to play in a panel court or concrete walls?
It is definately flippin' cold out there. Can't wait to get to Las Vegas Monday for some warm weather !
Most of us did get the chance to meet some of the pro's from back then. One of my first pro events was down in Dallas, TX back in 1988. I was staying out there with Mike Guidry for 2 weeks to play in two pro tournies. In one of them, I had the chance to take down Drew Katchik who was a top tour player at the time in the semi's to have the chance to play the great Dave Peck. I was in awe and very nervous to say the least. He was one of my racquetball idols and to actually play against him in a tournament for some $$$...priceless. The classic story of that match was that Dave was a serious "crowder" and loved to take your shots away. He was a big tough intimidating dude that nobody would mess with. Well after awhile, he kept blocking my passing lane and was forcing me to shoot lines and then he would rekill. I finally had the nerve to just blast him to let him know I was not going to hold up and change shot selection. Keep in mind that back then, there was no such rule as an "avoidable hinder" so play would just go on. So anyways, I smoked him hard and the ball flew right outside the court. He was stunned and looked back at me and I was like a deer seeing headlights. Someone from the gallery threw the ball back in and it ended up rolling into the back left corner and Dave came back to retrieve the ball and he had some not so kind words to say to me in which I cannot say on this forum. Needless to say, I lost the match in a tiebreaker but what an experience to play one of the worlds racquetball greats.
My dad's club had concrete racquetball courts. I really never had a preference as to concrete or panel but they do play differently. Panel for example, allowed my cutter serves and really move almost like a knuckleball and added additional bite on the walls which threw players timeing off. The concrete courts really kept my splatty down and it would spit out at different angles making it tought to judge. So in a nutshell, I enjoyed both types of courts and really did not have a preference. |
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Mike Locker
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ItaE
Posts:60
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| 01/16/2009 10:33 AM |
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<> Viva Las Vegas
(1) What junior title did you most covet & in what age bracket did you win this Title?
(2) BTW, since you didn’t sustain any injury from almost physically brawling with Dave Peck (hah, hah!!):
Have you ever had an injury that threatened your racquetball career?
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LeftyStringer
Posts:62
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| 01/16/2009 11:04 AM |
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| Hey Mike, do you exhale or inhale on your backswing? and does it matter forehand vs backhand? |
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Locks
Posts:115
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| 01/16/2009 7:16 PM |
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Posted By ItaE on 01/16/2009 10:33 AM
<> Viva Las Vegas
(1) What junior title did you most covet & in what age bracket did you win this Title?
(2) BTW, since you didn’t sustain any injury from almost physically brawling with Dave Peck (hah, hah!!):
Have you ever had an injury that threatened your racquetball career?
(1) Junior title I would have to say winning the Junior Worlds (they no longer exist) in Miami, FL - 18 & Under Doubles with Mike Guidry. The entertainment of that week was cow tipping and smacking racquetballs into the cattle. It was funny at the time of course as all you would hear is "whack" and then the ball thumping off the cattle and every now and then you would get a loud MOOOOOOO. That is also the year one of the best players in the world was on film puking his guts out for consuming too many cold beverages. Players name will not be mentioned.
(2) No I have not suffered anything major other than a few battles here and there with dehydration. I was fortunate not to have an injury that took me out of action for too long. I did break my jaw back in the late 90's but I was only out for a couple weeks. I tried to play here and there but was not very successful....Frautschi would have a great story for you while we played pro doubles in Sun Prairie about 3-4 days after my jaw just got wired up for 7 weeks.
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Mike Locker
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Locks
Posts:115
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| 01/16/2009 7:18 PM |
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Posted By LeftyStringer on 01/16/2009 11:04 AM
Hey Mike, do you exhale or inhale on your backswing? and does it matter forehand vs backhand?
Inhale on the backswing....Exhale at contact. I do not think it matters either way. |
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Mike Locker
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ItaE
Posts:60
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| 01/17/2009 9:34 AM |
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For clarification against cruelty to animals, one can conclude the “cow” in the hilarious game of “… cow tipping and smacking racquetballs into the cattle..to get a loud MOOOOOOO” game, was/is a man made mechanical/electronic cow, for the sake of those who are unfamiliar with this game.
The broken jaw was from a non-racquetball injury, kind of like big Ben’s (Pittsburg Steelers qtrback) “off season” broken jaw, which was not from a non-NFL injury, if I recall correctly?
Pro-racquetball players do not insure their bodies/limbs with multimillion dollar insurance like other pro athletes do due to the money factors, I suppose?
The Hockey regimen must have helped in the cross training dept to keep you injury free too, yes?
By which other means did you cross train - treadmill, stair master?
& did you cross train with weight lifting?
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ItaE
Posts:60
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| 01/17/2009 9:39 AM |
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< correction >
.............................kind of like big Ben’s (Pittsburg Steelers qtrback) “off season” broken jaw, which was a non-NFL injury..............
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Locks
Posts:115
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| 01/19/2009 11:06 AM |
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Posted By ItaE on 01/17/2009 9:34 AM
For clarification against cruelty to animals, one can conclude the “cow” in the hilarious game of “… cow tipping and smacking racquetballs into the cattle..to get a loud MOOOOOOO” game, was/is a man made mechanical/electronic cow, for the sake of those who are unfamiliar with this game.
The broken jaw was from a non-racquetball injury, kind of like big Ben’s (Pittsburg Steelers qtrback) “off season” broken jaw, which was not from a non-NFL injury, if I recall correctly?
Pro-racquetball players do not insure their bodies/limbs with multimillion dollar insurance like other pro athletes do due to the money factors, I suppose?
The Hockey regimen must have helped in the cross training dept to keep you injury free too, yes?
By which other means did you cross train - treadmill, stair master?
& did you cross train with weight lifting?
You are correct T-Rex....they were "mechanical bulls" not the real thing.
The broken jaw was not a racquetball related injury. I cannot imagine (but one or two may??) any of the players insure their arms, legs or other parts of the body like the big ticket athletes or super models. There was not enough $$ to justify the insurance.
Playing hockey I felt was great for the development of my racquetball game. It helped work on the explosion from standing still to going full board and the physical contact helped with building strength and balance while shooting the puck helped with wrist strength and angles.
I did a bit of cross training primarily on the treadmill and Cybex machines. I was not the hardest cross-training guy in the world thats for sure. I spent most of my time on the court.
Weight lifting was a very very small portion of my workouts. I did not like to increase my muscle mass much if at all because I felt that it would restrict my swing and slow down my reflexes. I am sure some may differ with that opinion which is cool but it is just my personal experience. I use the same rule of thumb for my golf game. I do believe in light weight type workouts (high reps) to maintain and increase strength but not the heavy dumbell regimen to bul up muscle mass. |
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Mike Locker
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