Ditch the racquet. This is handball, baby.

And its nitty-gritty, streetwise players are tearing up the courts in Worcester.

By Brian Goslow

Castle Park’s two handball
courts couldn’t be more hidden. Even if you know where they’re located — a block away from Main Street in the King Street area of Main South — it can be a workout just getting there. You could skulk your way in from several side-street and broken-fence entrance points. Then there’s the main Ely Street entrance — a weather-worn private road off of Queen Street behind the Family Health Center.

Once you walk past the well-used basketball court, there’s a winding walkway, its direction somewhat murky and unclear to the first-time visitor, ‘til you arrive at the makeshift soccer stadium with two rusting net-less goals where a local El Salvadoran group plays court soccer matches every Sunday.

On the other side of the “stadium” wall, back-dropped by an unclimbable fence and a decaying yellow nursing home, sits the two handball courts, site of the 2008 Castle Park 23 and Under Handball Tournament.

About a dozen participants, the youngest 10, are on the two side-by-side courts, hitting the pink ball at a variety of levels and speeds. Like most days this summer, the sky is ominous — with three afternoon thunderstorms already to its credit — but the players, competing for one of the trophies for the three top teams, don’t seem too concerned.

This is handball - street-style. Sweat, blood and bruises are not optional.

The event was one of two handball tournaments in the city that week, organized by Worcester resident Will Ortiz. He fell in love with the sport at the age of 7 in the Knickerbocker section of Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood. He brought his enthusiasm for the game with him when he moved to Holyoke in 1983; since that time, he’s put on an annual tournament in the Western Massachusetts city. Ortiz came to Worcester in 1999 and has been trying to jumpstart the sport locally ever since. He’s started a Web site, smackitsports.com, to spread the word on local events and encourage players throughout the East Coast’s handball community to network through it.

A little handball history According to the United States Handball Association Web site, the first record of a game being played by hand took place in Egypt in 2000 B.C. In his writings, Homer mentioned a handball game invented by a Spartan princess in Greece and Alexander the Great is believed to have spread it to Greek colonies in Italy, Spain, France and other parts of the Roman Empire in 450 B.C. In more modern times — 1000 A.D. — it was mentioned in numerous writings, and by 1300, it was documented in the medieval annal of St. Foix as having been played by players bearing gloves. The first U.S. courts were built in San Francisco in 1873. The indoor version of the game became an Olympic Sport in 1972. “It’s the oldest sport with a ball,” Will Ortiz says. “They play it overseas a lot. In Ireland, it’s almost their national sport.” The sport has a rich history here, too. Worcester resident Jack Brady recently earned the 50-plus Singles Masters National Championship title. o

On the court, Ortiz goes by the tag “Will the Cannon.”

“Everybody who plays gets a name,” he says. “I picked a name that fits my style of handball. I hit the ball pretty hard.”

He estimates he can get the pink orb buzzing at 90 to 100 miles an hour; the average speed for players, he said, is 60 to 70 miles per hour.

Last year, after Ortiz and others repeatedly asked District 4 City Councilor Barbara Haller to see if there was any way to get them repaired, the courts at Castle Park and Harry Sherry Park on the corner of Cambridge and Camp streets were renovated through what was truly a community effort. A $10,000 donation by the Worcester Rotary Club, coupled with donations from the Friends of Worcester Neighborhoods and private individuals, made that dream come true. The Worcester County Sheriff’s Department, the City of Worcester Parks Department and Zu Development carried out the physical work.

“It was only meant to be a quick fix but it’s held up well,” says Zu Development’s Frank Zitomersky.

On the court and out of trouble

Ortiz hopes both parks can produce a growing number of young men who’ll use the sport as a springboard to seeing more of the world.

”Any park has potential,” Ortiz says, before giving examples on how the sport can be a way out of town — even if it’s just for a weekend.

“New York takes their kids to Ireland, Canada, everyplace — and they play at a high level,” Ortiz says. “I know kids who’ve played handball all over the world.” When a local player goes to the national tournament, his counterparts will kick in some cash to cover their expenses.

It’s easy to tell the difference between those who’ve been playing the game for a while and those giving it a shot for the first time.

“Some of them are just getting started,” Ortiz says. “Give them two years and they’ll be experienced.

The ball’s attacked a variety of ways — some players use their open palms while others prefer punching at it with their fists, perhaps to give it more power — if not the unpredictability — of a Tim Wakefield curveball. The difference between winning or losing a point can be paying full attention — or watching the way you place your legs or the way your arm arches; think of it as racquet ball — without the racquet.

Ortiz moves around the area, talking up the sport to anyone who will listen, telling his older listeners if they play hard, they’ve got a chance to take those skills outside Worcester.

“It’s a tough sport to keep going,” he says. “I introduce the new guys to our guys and encourage them to network so they can go play in tournaments in Lawrence and New York City.”

He knows there’s a greater importance in giving them something to fill their time.

“Anything that keeps them out of trouble, that’s a good thing,” Ortiz says. “I know what it is to be in trouble.”

Whether it’s the rain earlier in the day or the hard-to-find location of the park — not to mention its location as one of the most dangerous parks in the city — the turnout’s less than Ortiz had hoped for. Regardless, he feels the event is a worthwhile effort. He supports Parks & Recreation’s attempt to encourage greater use of areas like this.

“They’re trying to change the way the park is and its lack of accessibility,” Ortiz says. He asks some of the more advanced players who came just to watch to play, to round out the brackets.

Rebirth in Worcester

When the weather gets colder, many players will retreat to the YMCA, which holds the Warren Chase Four-Walls Handball Tournament in December; it’s named after a late former national champion from the city.

Ortiz helped design the most recent version of the courts at Green Hill Park. While the courts are a familiar sight to anyone who visits the park, they’ve got one major drawback.

“I’d like to hold the tournaments there if it had some fences,” he says.

In many ways, the sport received a major rebirth when Worcester’s first Doubles Handball Tournament was held here last summer, right after the rededication of the rebuilt courts at Cambridge and Camp streets. The inaugural event attracted 100 players from all up and down the East Coast. The oldest player was in his 70s.

This year’s doubles event on Aug. 16 coincided with a large tournament in New York City, so many of the players who had traveled great distances to play here the first time around didn’t return for 2008. It still attracted a huge group of players from throughout the state, however, including Lawrence, Springfield, Holyoke and Boston.

Approximately 25 of the players came from Worcester, including Jose Rivera, who arrived wearing his gray-brick-design Yankees hat backwards, a white scarf underneath, and painter pants from which his cell phone dangles. He’s been playing for more than 35 years, having caught the bug back in the Bronx.

Gloves or bare hands? Some of the players wear gloves. Some don’t. The more accomplished the player, the harder the shot — and with courts only 34 feet long from the wall (which stands at 20 feet) to its back line, and having a width of 20 feet, there’s little time to react. It’s a sport that demands quick reflexes. James Perez of Worcester first began playing at the now-demolished handball court at Great Brook Valley. His parents used to play the sport when they lived in New York City; while there were no female players at the tournament, Perez isn’t shy about giving credit for his handball roots. “I kind of got it from my mom,” he says. “She used to tell me stories of how she was pretty good.” Once in a while, she’ll come by the court. “If she goes for a walk, I’ll encourage her to come over and watch.” During the warm-weather months, handball is certainly a major part of Perez’s life. “When I get out of work at 4:30 p.m., I come over here and play ‘til it gets dark,” he says. “On a good night, there’s always a game on with seven or eight people waiting for the next one. So little by little, it’s coming back to Worcester. We’re getting older players and the little kids.” Perez likes the fact you don’t need a huge group of people to play handball. “This is not like basketball, where you need five people to fill out a team,” he says. “Handball is a two-man sport.” He likes the fact it can be a simple leisure activity or a way to make a name for yourself. “You can get recognition if you want it and if you work at it. It depends how much you practice. There’s lots of hand-to-eye coordination.” He’s yet to play outside the city but wants to, especially after all the encouragement he’s gotten from organizer Will Ortiz. “He’s done a lot,” Perez said. “When I first met him, I felt that I had known him for years.” Perez has avoided wearing gloves when he plays. “[With gloves] you can grip the ball better and not feel it as much when it hits your hand, but I can’t play with them,” he said. Not so for Manny Nunez of Springfield. He started wearing gloves in his late teens. “My hands crack using my open hand,” Nunez says. “Before you know it, it bleeds everywhere. When you start wearing gloves, you get a better feel for the ball. It gives you an advantage when you cut the ball when the leather goes against the plastic.” Along with the aches and pains of competition, there are also little souvenirs when a hard-hitter like Ortiz snaps the ball off the wall. “I’ve been hit so hard I had a bruise for a week,” Nunez says. “When you get hit and it hurts, you know it’s a guaranteed bruise.” o

“It’s just a workout,” he says. “It keeps you in shape.”

Rivera’s lived in Worcester since 1989 and, like most of the local players, spends a lot of time at the Cambridge Street court.

“If the weather’s good, I’m here,” he says.

The game

The players arrive by foot, bikes, motorbikes, scooters, cars, trucks and vans. Some of the older ones have entourages — usually their sons and daughters — to tote their coolers or chase after the ball when it leaves the court. Repeated warm handshakes and hugs greet each new participant as they arrive, before they lay claim to their plot of land with a lawn chair. The event has the feel of a combination tournament and community cookout; Zu Management is providing free drinks and food, with Zitomersky flipping the hot dogs and burgers.

Ortiz hands out limited-edition tournament T-shirts to the early arrivals and volunteers manning the food table. Some players put them on immediately while others keep on their Celtics and brand-name shirts, old school T-shirts or no shirts at all, letting their bronze tans soak up the rare sun.

As the action gets cooking, the play resembles that of pro tennis doubles, with teammates knowing when to let a ball go for the player behind them and when to cut in and take advantage of the element of surprise. When players scoop the ball at a low angle, they resemble Jai Li players.

There’s not a lot of hooting and hollering from those playing, as they give their full attention to the action on the court. And unlike Wimbledon, no one cares when a cell phone goes off in the middle of a match, even if it belongs to a line judge who’s just as apt to stop to yell at a friend driving by.

The players are expected to follow the “Handball Code of Conduct,” which hangs from the fence: No swearing. Tone down your language. No drugs and/or alcohol. No bad sportsmanship (lack of cooperation will result in forfeiture).

Ortiz is constantly on the go, welcoming each player as they arrive, explaining the setup and schedule, moving cars so the food can be brought courtside and somehow, keeping it all on schedule. As he’s finishing out the brackets for the Over-23 portion of the day, Ortiz puts Worcester handball into perspective: “People have been playing up at Green Hill for 50 or 60 years,” he says.

As the courts fill up, people driving by are waving and honking their horns, some because they recognize one of the players, others because they’re excited to see something going on.

James Perez of Worcester is wearing a graffiti-artist-made T-shirt with a waving Puerto Rican flag on the front and his name on the back. Playing in screaming yellow sneakers, he was seeking to make up for losing last year’s final game in the Under-23 bracket with teammate Hector Brugos.

Just after noontime, Perez’s team gets revenge for last year’s loss. He grabs a hot dog and walks back to the waiting area, doing a little victory dance.

“It felt good to come back and take it,” he said.

That makes him a champion in the Cambridge Street neighborhood his family moved to a little over five years ago; the renovated court has changed people’s attitude toward the park.

“It’s made a huge difference. The courts look better and people want to come and play here because it doesn’t look trashed.”

After the Under-23 tournament concluded, players are gathered together for a photo with state Senate candidate Michael Moore, who contributed to the renovations in his role as a manager with the Worcester County Sheriff’s Department, which helped with demolition and paint work.

“This is a very important way to bring the community together to interact and they carry that back into where they live,” Moore says. “This has been a very positive thing. A year later, there’s no graffiti. The neighborhood’s watching over it and maintaining it.”

And, in a small way, the courts are building the city’s reputation throughout the region. Manny Nunez of Springfield was making his second visit to the Worcester tournament. He’s been playing handball for at least 15 years and started traveling to play this year; the previous week, he was in East Boston.

“It’s the strategy to up your game,” he says.

Nunez knew Ortiz from his work hosting tournaments in Holyoke. “I’ve known Will since I was a little kid,” Nunez said. “He’s done a lot of tournaments out there.” Knowing there’s going to be a friendly crowd — and good eats and drinks — makes the hour-plus ride worthwhile.

“I love this,” Nunez says. “As long as I can, I’ll go to tournaments at a reasonable distance. You start going more and more and you get that family atmosphere where you get to know the players, their girlfriends, wives and children. Throw in a nice cookout like this and you can’t beat it.” o