By J. P. Mitri

The racquetball courts in the Houston Gym are experiencing a lot of activity.

“There seems to be a lot more activity in the racquetball courts than there used to be, and I don’t really know why,” said Don Herlan, the recreation coordinator at Buffalo State College.

According to Herlan, it hasn’t gotten to the point yet, where players are coming to play racquetball and finding out that they have to wait for an open court, but if that time comes BSC recreation will deal with that problem.

“Usually there is only one or two racquetball courts being used at the same time, but lately there is so much activity we may decide to have people reserve a court to guarantee some play time,” said Herlan.

“I notice a lot of guys who play sports on teams here (BSC) are getting into racquetball as sort of an off-season activity,” said Herlan.

“I play football in the fall, and play racquetball to stay in shape in the winter, and it’s a good way to keep myself active,” said Mike Haynes, a sophomore at BSC.

According to Herlan, the popularity has drawn the demand for leagues or a bracket system where players can see who is an advanced player or a beginner. Then anyone who wants to play someone else on the bracket can call him or her up and set up a time to play.

BSC students interested in playing racquetball can check out The International Racquetball Federation www.internationalracquetball.com, to see how big the sport is and check out local tournaments.

“I’ve just started playing racquetball for the first time because my friend said it was fun, and you don’t have to be in shape to have a good time doing it,” said Dean Blum, an elementary education major at BSC.