Student turns pastime into club

Senior Mike Hernandez has been playing racquetball since he was 8 years old. So when he came to IU and saw there was no racquetball club, he decided to start one.\nHernandez implemented his idea last spring, but the club was not an official Division of Recreational Sports club at IU until this fall. The original membership consisted of a group of three friends, including Hernandez. Since then, the club has grown to a consistent showing of eight to 10 people for the twice-a-week meetings. Hernandez hopes to see that number grow to about 30 people.\nMembers meet from 8 to 10 p.m. Monday and Wednesday at racquetball courts one to four in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. The only requirement is every player must wear safety glasses, which, along with racquets, can be rented from the sports desk in the HPER building. There is also a $20 membership fee, which covers the cost of a club T-shirt and travel for planned tournaments. In order to become an official Recreational Sports club, Hernandez needed to find two safety officers to monitor the meetings and be on hand as a first response to injury.\nJim Tippin, one of the safety officers for the club, has been involved in racquetball for some time. \n"I've been playing longer than most of these guys have been around," he said. Tippin, whose son is a junior at IU, met his wife while waiting for a racquetball court in the HPER building when he was a student at IU.\nIU is just one of several universities in the Midwest, including Indiana State University, Purdue, Ohio State, Illinois and Wisconsin, to have a sanctioned racquetball club. The other college groups have helped Hernandez get IU's club off the ground, and he hopes to start a rotation of tournaments with these schools. \n"Ultimately we would like to host a tournament here at IU," Hernandez said.\nClub meetings begin with a 10 to 15 minute lesson taught by more experienced players like Hernandez. The leaders touch on a variety of racquetball skills, such as shot selection, form and game strategy. The group then breaks up to play games as part of the "challenge ladder," a system of games organized by junior Matt Yuknis, the club's secretary. The ladder is broken up into two brackets -- one for advanced to intermediate players and one for beginners. The challenge ladder is used to help players improve their skill level and be competitive with other club members. \n"We try to keep it fun and provide people the chance to be competitive, but it's all about having fun," Hernandez said. \nHernandez also said the club is always looking for new members to come out, and prior experience is not required. \n"It's open to beginners as well as advanced players. Anyone can come and play," he said.