By Raul “Luckyshot” Fantauzzi The Ultimate Challenge

 There are over 2,000 handball courts in NYC.  By the 1920’s Charles O’Connell convinced the Parks Department to build these courts.  Simplicity of the game is why the game has become so popular. All you need is a pair of sneakers or tennis shoes. A ball, or racquetball would be better and a wall.

The Ultimate Challenge  Rules are simple: Person serving the ball is the only one that can score. Game is 21 points. You are allowed 3 two minute timeouts. The server drops the ball once and hits the ball towards the wall. The ball must pass the short line to be good but not go beyond the long line.  On one bounce, receiver must hit the ball back to the wall. Once the the ball is returned, the server and receiver will hit the ball back and forth until someone misses.  Remember: only the person serving can score.

The Ultimate Challenge  Sounds easy? Anyone can play this game.  Mastering the game: To master the game takes a tremendous amount of hand/eye coordination. Once you master that, you have 50% of the game.  Champion: To be a champion you must train your mind to work with your body.  You must learn when to be aggressive, when to hold back, and most of all, how to set up your opponent.

The Ultimate Challenge  Conditioning is a key factor in any sport if you’re planning to compete. It is a key factor…  Tournaments: Once you feel you have mastered the game you can compete in a tournament.  Because of the popularity of the game, there are different levels of play. Such as A,B,C with A being the toughest division and C being a beginner.

The Ultimate Challenge  Officially the sport just became Pro in July  Right now they are quickly putting together a Puerto Rican and United States team to compete in Spain.  There is also talk of putting together an Olympic team.  The only consequence, once you start playing, is that you get hooked! Thank you…Live long…Play hard! Lucky Shot…

By the 1920’s Charles O’Connell convinced the Parks Department to build these courts. The simplicity of the game is as follows: first you need a pair of sneakers or tennis shoes; then you need a ball - a blue racket ball would be better. The rules are simple: the person serving the ball is the person who can score a point. The server drops the ball once and hits the ball towards the wall. The ball must pass the short line on the serve in order for the ball to be good. The ball must not pass the the long line. The person receiving the ball must then hit the ball back to the wall on one bounce. The receiver could take the ball before it bounces but not on the second bounce. Once the ball is returned by the receiver the server and the receiver will hit the ball back and forth until someone misses. The server is allowed two chances at getting the ball on the serve. Passing the short line 21 points is the game. Remember only the person serving or up can score. Sounds easy? Anyone can play this game. To master the game takes a tremendous amount of hand eye coordination. If you master that, then you have 50% of the game. To be a champion you must train your mind to work with your body. You must learn when to be aggressive, when to hold back, and how to set up your opponent. These things plus conditioning will make you a good player. One of the problems of the game is that once you start to play it becomes very involved. You become hooked because of the popularity of the game. With so many people playing there are levels of mastery such as a,b,c: a being the best level or the toughest level to compete in. It is time consuming. Officially the sport just became pro in July of Right now they are quickly putting together a Puerto Rican and USA teams to compete in Spain. There is also talk of putting together an Olympic team.