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Handball is sorta like basketball in that you can get really good at it by just playing in the park every day, there's no cost and you get an incredible workout. When I think about the amount of money that we pay today for trainers and gyms and we'd be more fit if we got a $1 "spaldeen" and played handball, flies up, punchball or stickball for a few hours.
And, for the girls, an hour of jump rope also does a world of good. Thanks for sharing this. It brought back some great memories.
Handball is sorta like basketball in that you can get really good at it by just playing in the park every day, there's no cost and you get an incredible workout. When I think about the amount of money that we pay today for trainers and gyms and we'd be more fit if we got a $1 "spaldeen" and played handball, flies up, punchball or stickball for a few hours.
And, for the girls, an hour of jump rope also does a world of good. Thanks for sharing this. It brought back some great memories.
You made some excellent points, Queensgrl. I used to "practice" playing handball and paddleball by myself sometimes when my friends weren't around and it helped me keep in shape. Later, when I took up tennis, I used to practice that too by hitting the ball against the wall. I also used to play punchball in the schoolyard or in the playground with my friends. In elementary school, we used to play punchball during gym. It was a very cheap activity.
I remember waiting in line to play at the courts on Surf Ave near West 5th St. I think we used the school behind Trump Village for practice since the gates were never closed.
The unique thing about handball is that after all these years it still remains a grassroots activity. Unlike other sports, handball has not been molested by the ravages of commercialism. There are no commercials of handball players hawking medication, there is no equipment industry involved in selling handball equipment to suburban players and a lack of special interests involved with promoting or profiting from games of handball. Thus the game has somehow survived the onslaught that has tainted almost everything else and remained pure. For the people by the people. In a city that many move to for authentic experiences; experiences away from synthetic materialism, handball remains the last vestige of the people. Participation sport with only positives; it yields lifelong health, brings people together and keeps people out of trouble.
^^^Because, fortunately for those of us who appreciate the game, handball flies under the radar. If the powers that be in the media thought they could attract sponsorship by hyping it on TV, well...it would be game over!
This is an awsome thread! You are absolutley right. My friends play handball all the time and I've been thinking about getting in shape...I think I know how I'm gonna do that.
Handball has a bad rep also for drug dealers. Every park you go to with handball ull see a few hanging around.
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whole documentary on youtube
