Handball

[Coyote]

An old sport making a comeback in Omaha?



It's a sport that your grandfather probably played at the YMCA. Handball is making a comeback in Omaha. Fox 42's Bill Steckis reports a grass roots effort could bring the sport back to glory. "It's a really good sport to develop hand eye coordination. We're trying to see if we can grow handball in the Omaha community," said Marcus Harris. The sport dates back to the 16th century, but in America it was popular from the 60's to the 80's.

Then the sport faded. Now, it's in the grass roots stages of a resurgence in Omaha. "There is one wall, three wall, four wall, big ball, and small ball which is what we are playing today," said Harris. Marcus Harris is the founder of the Omaha Handball Association. He's planning tournaments for kids to get a young generation fired up for the sport. He's also planning tournaments and matches for adults of all ages.

Including these septuagenarians. The organization offers free clinics and touts the fact that hand ball playing can improve hand-eye coordination for other sports like baseball, soccer and volleyball. "We have tournaments that go up to eighty plus divisions, so people are playing this for life," said Harris. There are plenty of opportunities to practice here at the downtown Omaha YMCA. "We play about three days a week and there is an opportunity there. I am a certified instructor so I'm willing to do free camps for youth that's interested and try to help the sport," said Harris. It's a classic sport and it's fitting that a vintage email is where anyone can go for information in an effort "hand" down the passion to others. It's [email protected]. More information can be found at ushandball.org.