je suis un racqueteur

at the peak, or rather valley, of winter, i was getting bored and had no activities that sounded fun to me. i wanted to do something that kept me active while being able to enjoy it as well. this is about the time a friend of mine told me he was playing racquetball at a local tennis and racquetball club, the sports racket.

i knew that was what i needed to start playing again. i had played when i was a kid a bit (well probably imagined hitting homeruns in the enclosed space) and took a class in college (the only way to use the courts for free), but racquetball is what i needed to play to shoot the breeze with some people while trying to be active at the same time.

i headed over there and signed up for $18/month and started hitting the ball around by myself. the second day i played with my friend and was still trying to get used to hitting the ball. in no time, i met norm who IS lynchburg racquetball. i then met wes and jay, fellow libertyers - both better than me. i then met "outspoken garry," scott (whose in a "big fat loser competition" and is using racquetball as his weight-loss program - and doing well at it too), greg (a semi-retired engineer), ernie (who sounds exactly like my uncle wayne, and who i usually get paired up with in doubles), debbie (the short fiesty lady who beats most of us), and a few others that play occasionally. the network has been really great and i could find someone to play with every day of the week if i wanted.

i started off slowly but slowly got better. norm would keep me after games to practice drills. i finally started lowering my shots and being patient. the one thing i knew i could do no matter how good my skills were was hustle. people who play with me know that they'll have to work to beat me, because i anticipate their shots and hustle to the ball. it doesn't always work, but it works more than me not hustling. jay is also a great hustler, but his 6'3" body gets to more balls than i do.

i started getting into a slump at the end of febrary. i was hitting some good shots and tried to always hit the same shots even when i should have changed it up a bit. i then took a few weeks off for a vacation and when i came back i was ready to go. i beat norm and greg in cutthroat. i beat jay and wes in cutthroat. i beat wes two games. norm and i beat scott and garry. ernie and i beat greg and norm. i played 7.5 hours in two days. it's getting to be a lot of fun, and people have been commenting on my progression and constant hustle...i like this racquetaball stuff. you might as well call me a racqueteur - one who loves racquetball (according to me at least).