Why racquetball isn't our national obsession is beyond my comprehension. It is the most fun game I've ever tried. And what has always fascinated me is how consistent that is. I've seen a couple of total novices having an absolute blast playing the game. They had no idea what they were doing, but they could keep the ball in play and were laughing their heads off as they chased it around the court. And racquetball stays fun as you get better. No matter what your level, this is a wonderful sport that will give you a great workout.

Racquetball is like pool, except the cue ball is going about a hundred miles an hour when you take your shot. It's played on an enclosed court. Most communities, universities and sports clubs have courts, but you will need to find a place to play and reserve some court time. Don't just show up and assume that a court will be provided. Next you'll need a partner. Call up a friend who's as inept as you are, and you can learn together. You'll also need a racquet and a ball. You use the racquet to hit the ball. I suppose I'm being facetious, but it isn't much more complicated than that. (Usually you can rent the racquet and ball.) Oh, and if you want to feel really cool, get a glove for your racquet hand. It's not essential but it can cut down on the chance of a blister. I just like the feel of the glove. I can imagine myself a samurai with racquet in hand instead of a sword.

The basic idea is that as the ball comes off the front wall from your opponent, it can only bounce once before you hit it. Once you've hit it, it has to reach the front wall before it hits the floor. The rest of the rules are just the technicalities. You can bounce it off the ceiling, off the side walls, even off the back wall. Just make sure you get to the ball before it bounces twice. And then pray that by hook or by crook it makes the front wall still in the air.

Part of the challenge of racquetball is figuring out where the ball's going to end up so you can get in position to hit it. Remember, that ball is careening off this wall and then maybe another, maybe the ceiling. It's complicated. In time you develop a sense of the angles that would do a pool hustler proud.

As you and your partner improve and learn to hit the ball better, the speed of the ball will increase, making everything much more difficult. Talk about living in the moment. You've got to move quickly into position by imagining where the ball will end up, and then take a crack at this blur as it speeds past you. Once you've got the knack of it, it's truly remarkable how accurate you can become with your own shots. But even if you miss, the court makes the game very forgiving. Your ball will usually still be in play even when you miss your shot. That's one of the things I like about the game, there's not a lot of time to beat yourself up over bad shots. It all happens way too quickly with too many twists and turns to bother feeling bad about anything.

And yet, this is a thinking person's game. There's a real satisfaction in hitting the ball well. In placing your shots such that they careen off the wall away from your opponent. Or a kill shot that hits the front wall so low it just rolls away. I saw a racquetball t-shirt once that read "Old age and guile beat out youth and speed any day." If you like strategy, you'll love racquetball.

Since the rules are so simple it's hard to get into a lot of arguments about whether a ball was inside or outside the line. You will have moments when you're not sure if the ball made it to the front wall without touching the ground. But there are clues to help you make that decision and your ability to judge such things will improve as such close calls become more likely.

So if it's everything I've touted it to be, how come you've never seen much of racquetball in the media? Well, there are pros who play the game with incredible finesse and speed. They're astonishing to watch. However you will rarely see them on TV. While it's breathtaking to watch them live, on a TV screen the ball is moving so fast you can hardly see it. The pros can hit it as fast as 140 miles an hour. And it's not a big ball. So on TV what you see is a couple of incredible athletes diving all over the court with no real sense of where the ball's going next. The sport would be much more marketable if they made the racquets smaller and slowed the ball down.

But life shouldn't be about watching others. Life should be about participating. And I would be hard pressed to suggest another sport you'll be able to play with such continuing satisfaction. It burns a ton of calories. It's low on injuries. And is great fun. Find a friend. Find a court. And see if you can remember ever laughing so hard over the antics of a little ball.

© Bruce T. Holmes 2000 All Rights Reserved