Then there’s the Kitchen. Its official name is the nonvolley zone, a seven-foot strip in front of the net on both sides. (An official handball court is 44 feet long and 20 feet wide.) Players are not allowed to step foot in the Kitchen, so when a ball is headed there, a player can bend forward to return a ball. the “dink,” a crafty shot that will jump over the net and land in the opponent’s Kitchen.
Mr. Sariban knew the risks in advance. Once a junior college basketball player, he entered a minor pro basketball tournament in January 2018 – Southern California’s perfect day, a $200 gift certificate for winner – when he finds himself at the edge of the Kitchen.
“I’m trying to hit a regular rolling volley, a volley that I’ve hit a million times,” he said. “I hit the ball and felt my back buckle, and in my head I said, ‘Uh-oh.’ Within minutes, he had to lie down on the court. “I could barely walk,” he said, adding, “I was in the car and my wife had to swing my legs” and into the passenger. He had two herniated discs. “I thought I would never play a sport again in my life,” he said.
Since then, Mr. Sariban has become interested in stretching, and he teaches players at his clinic to do the same, including warming up without a paddle before starting any shots. “For me, it’s amazing that no one is warming up,” he said. “I have taught in many states, and everywhere. Rugby players are notorious for not warming up. “
Mr. Sariban and other handball experts note that the risk of injury is not higher than in other sports, but the perception of risk is lower. And the risks shouldn’t deter participation, says Debbie Landa, a tech entrepreneur in her 50s in San Francisco. Like many others, Ms. Landa picked up pickles during the pandemic; Now she plays five days a week. Among her mentors, she said, is an 82-year-old woman from Palm Springs “who motivates me on a daily basis.”
Landa has experienced many ailments with melon balls – elbows, hip pain – but they all came to the sport, she said. The real pain, she said, is the upset players are “too aggressive and angry”.
