Could I still do it?
That was the question pounding in my head as I set out to the combined NMRA/IRF (National Masters Racquetball Association and International Racquetball Federation) event in Chicago in late July.
It had been five years since my last national tournament, thanks first to COVID and then to a serious back injury and subsequent surgery, a setback so severe that I was confined to a wheelchair for the month prior to the operation.
My previous experience at similar events had been mostly successful, including numerous Finals appearances and a national championship in Centurion Doubles with my son JB at the US Open in 2017.
So I knew I was, or had been, capable of competing at the highest levels and against the best players. But this would be a different kind of challenge, trying to regain prominence after nothing less than spinal surgery.
As I said, deep in my brain—Could I still do it?
I was signed up just for 70 Singles. In the two years since my surgery, I had recovered, rehabbed and trained hard, and had dominated every singles tournament I played in my home state of Florida.
But this, the NMRA, in Chicago, would be a whole new level of tough. The best of the best, from all around the globe.
My early group play was encouraging, with three routine victories to start. Then, in my final group match before the semis and finals, came my first real test: Pete Chmielewski, from Texas, the defending champion, who was an overpowering ball striker with a lethal serve. He was truly formidable.
Could I still do it?
On this day I could. I played lights out, serving great and consistently converting opportunities, winning 11-4, 11-2.
If felt like old times.
That put me into the semifinals against John Vohland from Colorado, another tenacious and top-rated player. He was strong, but again, I was up to the task. The scores were 11-7, 11-4, though the match felt much closer than that.
And so, there I was, five matches played, five matches won, and just one more mile to go.
But my final would be against Arizona’s Frank Taddonio, who is, and has been, the gold standard in our division. He rarely loses. I had beaten Frank several years before, but had also lost to him three times in down-to-the-wire finishes.
I’d like to report a happy outcome, but I can’t. Frank demolished me 11-4 in the first game, I returned the favor in the second, also winning 11-4, and then in an epic display of flawless serving, Frank took the breaker 11-3.
Silver was not the color medal I had come to Chicago to win, so that was undeniably disappointing. But at least I finally, gratefully had an answer to that persistent question in my head. Could I still do it?
Absolutely.
