Sophomore Eric Craven loses his footing on the wooden floor and feels the blue blur as it rushes over his head. The rubber ball rebounds off of the wall behind him, leaving a faded mark among the hundreds like it. Jake Tecklenburg retrieves the ball and prepares to serve again. He is winning, 3-0. Other than the balcony behind them, they are completely boxed in. The sport they are playing is almost unique. This is racquetball.
Racquetball is a sport that differs greatly from others. Held indoors and outdoors on specialized courts, it is easy to play but difficult to master.
“You can hit the ball off of any of five surfaces which makes it really hard to judge where the ball is going next,” Jake said.
In a match, both players face the wall that is opposite the one with the door and take turns hitting the ball to it. As long as the ball hits the far wall, players can hit the ball off of any surface, including the ceiling. The rally ends when one player fails to return the ball before it hits the floor twice in a row. Players can only score if they are the server. The server is determined by the winner of the previous rally. Rallies often start and end quickly due to the tremendous speed of the ball.
“[The hardest part] is the amount of coordination it requires,” Eric said. “It’s a very good workout, and it’s very intense.”
The ball makes loud “POW”s and “POP”s as it strikes against the walls and racquet’s; the sound is amplified by the small room. Eric is ahead, 9-7. He serves and the rally begins. They move back and forth across the court, adjusting their positions to the wild movements of the ball. Jake jumps to return a high bounce and swings too far to the right. He repeats the motion, correcting himself this time to improve his form.
Both Eric and Jake learned to play from their dads at West James Courts in St. Charles, which is where they continue to play today. They both remember losing to their dads whenever they played because of the difference in skill levels. Although they have been friends most of their lives, Jake and Eric didn’t know until this year that they shared this similar passion. They began playing the sport together soon afterwards.
“I think it’s good,” Eric’s father Pat Craven said. “Whenever you get out and exercise that’s always a good thing.”
The game has hardly broken open. Eric leads by two with a score of 19-17. Jake serves the ball low and in the corner, which Eric does not reach in time. Jake repeats the serve and gets the same result. After a long rally, Jake scores his final point of the game by hitting the ball softly to the front. Eric claims the rest of the points, ending with a return that arcs high and grazes the back wall. Cries of “NO” and “YES” echo simultaneously as the ball hits the ground a final time. Final score: Eric wins, 21-18. They take a break to get a drink of water then return to the court for round two.
The sport that they both play for fun has strengthened their skills and expanded their friendship. Eric and Jake play other sports, and they feel that playing racquetball has been useful in getting better prepared for them.
“It’s a really good cardio workout,” Eric said. “After about twenty minutes you’ll be sweating like nothing else.”
For the pair, the exercise is part of the fun and part of why they will continue to play. Playing racquetball together has brought them a greater interest in the sport that they hope will carry on beyond their time at North.
“It’s easier to play with someone who has about the same experience as you,” Jake said.
“It keeps the game more interesting,” Eric said.
