I’ve
never been much of an athlete or at least haven’t been because I never stick
with anything for too long. I’ve played
soccer and done swim team. I’ve also
been in cheerleading in high school, but nothing compares to the enjoyment I
gain from playing handball. For those of
you scratching your heads right now wondering what the heck that is, I’ll tell
you that it’s similar to racquetball in that you play on a court usually
enclosed by four walls. There are many
different kinds of handball though and those include four wall, three wall, one
wall, singles, and doubles. You can
combine singles and doubles with any of the court types, but I much prefer to play singles
on a four wall court. Without going in
to too much detail, I will say that three wall hand ball is a great way to fine
tune certain skills that are not completely necessary in four wall, but are
extremely helpful. Unfortunately,
Missoula only has four wall courts (besides a one wall court which as the name
describes only requires a wall)…
So why I
am I giving you a mini lesson on handball? Well, about four years ago a group
of students, myself included, went on a short Ireland study abroad. I made friends with a “man” (so weird to call
my friends man or woman) who knew how to play handball (an Irish sport
originally) and taught a couple of friends and I when we returned to
Montana. We were all thrilled to
participate and although it required a lot of hand-eye coordination followed by
thousands of failed attempts, we persevered. Now, the other two girls and the friend who
taught us have moved away and I am the only one who remains. I had taken a break, not willingly, but
because after graduation from the University of Montana, I no longer had a gym
membership with a facility that had courts.
Well, as most of you who have been reading know, I recently joined the
Peak Health and Wellness Club and they have courts! Six of them to be precise,
and most of the Missoula handball players go there to play.
The best part about this sport is
that an eighty year old can still play a twenty year old and win. It’s not necessarily a “muscle” sport but
requires strategy, patience, and a lot of practice. Most of the men who play are of an older
generation and are trying to pass on their knowledge and skill set to a younger
generation so that the sport doesn’t disappear completely. It’s an amazing feeling to be a part of a new
generation learning a sport that has so much history and a wonderful community
of players to support us. I might also
mention that I am currently the only woman in Missoula (that I know of) who
plays. Women are scarce among the ranks
of handball players (besides those in Ireland who are badass) and I have only
met a handful (mainly pros) who play. We
need to step up in this man’s world and show them what we’re made of. Once upon a time, women weren’t even allowed
in the clubs where the men would go to play and now I have played with a male
partner against other males. All I can
say is that I feel empowered to show them what I can do and to one day
completely blow their minds!
Unfortunately, it’s going to take a
lot of practice and training, but I now feel the motivation to complete all that
work. After losing all of our doubles
matches in the Montana State Doubles Handball Tournament, we have nowhere to go
but up, and believe me; I’m reaching for the stars on this one!
Get out there and try something new!
You may surprise yourself at how much you enjoy whatever that may be.
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