Benefield: Handball enthusiasts play with a hard-earned devotion to their game

Francis Breining of Santa Rosa is a former semi-professional soccer player but only laces up his soccer shoes these days to keep his cardio up for his real love: handball.

Former NFL quarterback Jake Plummer turned down a multimillion-dollar contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and now spends his energy playing handball and hosting a nationally recognized tournament. Astronaut Alan Shepard was an avid handballer, as was Santa Rosa’s Robert Ripley.

Handball? Believe it.

It’s the sport played on a court much like racquetball court but with a smaller, harder ball and without those pesky rackets with those large, helpful faces. These players knock the ball around with their hands wearing gloves barely thicker than baseball batting gloves.

And Breining says it’s the hardest thing he’s ever done.

“You use your whole body,” Breining, 55, said. “You start cramping up where you never thought you had muscles. It’s incredible.”

There’s likely a whole lot of cramping going on in Santa Rosa this weekend as more than 100 handball players are expected to descend on Parkpoint Health Club in Santa Rosa for the 34th annual Turkey Shoot Handball Tournament. Players with a range of abilities, from nationally ranked to enthusiastic weekenders, will vie for prizes that include trophies, frozen turkeys and beer.

In preparation, players, most of whom will suit up this weekend, emerged from the hotbox of a court at Parkpoint Health Club in Santa Rosa this week dripping in sweat, shoulders drooped in fatigue but smiles bright. Maybe it’s the pitcher of beer or glass of wine that awaits, or the gentle ribbing from players who have watched each other swat at that tiny ball for years. Or maybe it’s just that the game is blast.

“It’s a game that looks so simple until you get in there and you see how fast this ball is really moving,” said former mayor of Santa Rosa Jerry Wilhelm.

Wilhelm, 74, flew in from his home in Florida for the annual tournament that has some of the feel of a reunion.

“It’s become a treasure,” tournament founder John Niklus said of the Turkey Shoot that now draws pro handballers to town. Eight states will be represented this year.

The modern game is believed to have come from Ireland where participants would smack a ball around between pints at the pub. The alleys between drinking establishments were the courts and the name stuck - some aficionados still call courts “alleys.”

Handball can be played with one wall, three or four but the rules are generally the same. The tournament this weekend will be played on four-wall courts meaning all four walls are live as well as the ceiling.

“It’s a bad habit,” Niklus said after emerging from one of the glassed in courts at Parkpoint. “Once you have become proficient at handball you don’t want to stop because it takes so long. You don’t want to give it up.”

Wilhelm picked up the game 40 years ago in law school but walked away when his hands became too battered “because I didn’t know what I was doing.”

But he couldn’t stay away. Wilhelm, who now splits his time between homes in Michigan and Florida, travels every year to Santa Rosa to team up with his regular partner Bob Williamson of Santa Rosa.

“We have played together so long it’s like riding a bike,” Wilhelm said. “It’s a dance. You have four people out there.”

Eddie Hernandez, 26, used to be an avid soccer player until he discovered handball. He said the game has transformed him.

“When you are in the court you turn into another person,” he said.

Intrigued, I asked who exactly the affable Hernandez turns into when he pulls the goggles on.

“The Hulk really,” he said. “I can’t change colors though.”

Well that’s not necessarily true. The guys emerging from the court this week tended to look a deep shade of lobster.

“It’s a challenge of complete physical conditioning,” Breining, a former national champ, said.

“For someone who hasn’t seen the game at this level it’s interesting,” said local player Gary Zatkovich. “It’s surprising. Some ‘real athletes’ - football, baseball players - walk in and come out all red-faced and say ‘It’s too tough.’”

That brand of tough will be on display all weekend.

You can reach staff columnist Kerry Benefield at 526-8671 or kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.com and on Twitter @benefield.