Racquetball is back! The 14-time National Champions are storming the courts again in preparation for the 2020-2021 season. With the proper COVID-19 precautions, the St. Louis U. High racquetball team is able to start participating in their fall ladder league at Vetta. With the racquetball program having approximately 95 players, the coaches have had to split up the students into three groups but four practices throughout the week based on the placements and seeds from the year before.

“My hope is that we can create fun experiences for people to play the sport of racquetball,” said head coach Stephen Deves “I hope we can have fun playing the sport of racquetball while also being able to do it safely and to do it in a way that makes people feel comfortable playing.”

This year, there are over 70 returners and more new freshman players who want to give racquetball a try or have little experience in the sport. The freshman group goes on Sunday nights and seems to be making way for a bright future for SLUH racquetball.

“It's been great,” said freshman Vincent Weinbauer. “It’s been nice playing this fun sport that everyone can play and easily learn and it's also a nice opportunity where I can talk to some of the people from the other half of my class that I haven’t met yet.”

For the team’s returning players, competition is fierce as ever, regardless of COVID, as several upsets occurred the first practices. Currently, senior Danny Juerguens holds the top position, with juniors Max Telken and Will Shorey not far behind. 

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, players leave school excited to compete. Even with the pandemic over the summer, players were able to practice and get better, which ranged from working out on their own time, or participating in one of the four SLUH summer camps. 

“I was able to play at Vetta this summer through a camp,” said junior Max Telken. “They screened us every time we came in, kept us socially distanced, and made us wear masks unless we were playing.”

Even through the pandemic, the SLUH racquetball team continues to prepare for what could be their eleventh straight state championship. As of now, the season will hopefully start in early November.