If you have ever been to a YMCA or some type of gym before, you have probably seen a large, square room with two people in it slamming a hollow rubber ball into a large wall in front of them. Looked a little weird, right? Well, if you ever go to LA Fitness on Tuesday or Saturday evenings, you might just see a group of Jesuit students participating. This new club, the Jesuit Racquetball Club, began meeting just months ago after club founder Robert Brandao ’14 began inviting students of all ages to join.
During the spring of his sophomore year, Brandao suffered a neck injury in football which forced him to give up that sport. He was discouraged at first because he wanted to find a new sport to play, but couldn’t find any he really enjoyed participating in. One day his dad asked him to come play racquetball casually and that’s when he found out he was in love with the sport.
Brandao continued playing racquetball with his dad and his friends for the next two years every Tuesday for fun and it was the best way to alleviate stress, get exercise, and have fun playing a sport he loved. Junior year is when the idea of starting the club first came to him, but he never really got to it because he was working to keep his grades up for college.
He explained, “I wanted to do something special with my senior year so I decided to finally start the club and dedicate my time to making it real.”
The goals of the club are to attract students who want to have a fun, physical activity that can relieve stress during the heavy workload of school. This sport is for everyone, beginners, intermediate, and advanced categories and anyone can join. He encourages everyone who wants to try it out to come out and pick up the sport. He especially invited those who did not make it into a particular sport or have been injured and really seek another way of exercising with their Jesuit brothers. He hopes to build brotherhood and unity through the sport. He is proud of all of the members who have worked so hard and come together as a team.
Brandao credits Mr. Joe Howard for sharing equal responsibility in starting the club. Mr. Howard played a key role in getting the club funded by student council. Brandao also said, “He is our moderator and he’s been such a great help by attending our practices and playing alongside with us, helping the students feel more comfortable with the club now that we have a teacher playing with us.” Another administrator who has been absolutely amazing to the club is Coach Steve Koch, who motivated Brandao to start the club and get a set up with reservations at LA Fitness.
Thanks to LA Fitness Vice President Rodrigo Ricaud, the Jesuit Racquetball Club is inquiring if other schools such as Highland Park and Lake Highlands want to start their own racquetball clubs, and compete with Jesuit on weekends. Brandao elaborated about his goals for the club. “I’m very ambitious with this club and I really do hope to see it become a varsity sport with more underclassmen participating so that it can continue to prosper.”
There are currently 21 members in the club, but it is looking to expand especially with the football players ending their season. They practice on Tuesdays from 4-6 p.m. and are looking to expand the practices to Wednesdays and Saturdays for those who can’t make it on Tuesday.
