1985

Racquetball

My first Racquetball racquet

Around this time Elias introduced me to racquetball.  Back in the early 70’s I had played handball with my buddies and at that time “racquetball” didn’t exist although we would sometimes see people using wooden paddles on the handball courts.  By ’85 those wooden paddles had turned into racquets, likely the first ones being sawed off tennis racquets but by this time were made specifically for racquetball.  I had mentioned to Elias that I had played handball so one day he invited me to play racquetball with him.  Elias had been playing for a while and had a membership at a local sports club that had indoor courts.  The first time we played Elias had an extra racquet he let me use, he explained the rules and we played a few games. He kicked my ass, I don’t think I got more than 10 points in the three games we played. Even so I enjoyed the game and went out and bought my first racquet that was one of the latest with the frame made of fiberglass instead of wood.  Elias and I continued to play and although I improved, seldom won a game.  Elias was highly competitive, and played several times a week with other players he knew.  I remember he was so serious about it that he had a hand grip strengthener device that he would have in his hand most all the time when he was in the office. 

My game did improve and when I found out I still needed a physical education class for my degree at UCF I signed up for a racquet ball class at the Brevard Community College collage and then transferred the credit to UCF.  Most of the other students in the class were new to racquetball and I won the playoffs between the students at the end of the session making an A for the class.  

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