The Road to the USA Junior Nationals Racquetball 2022

It’s time again for the next Racquetball Junior National Championships, and it jogs fresh memories of our last trip to the USA Junior Nationals at Des Moines, Iowa in 2022. My kids were fortunate to participate in their biggest national event for juniors racquetball, and it was indeed a memorable Road trip for the family!

The first summer post covid, we decided it will be a relatively less chaotic and predictable travel experience by road. While the boys had mixed emotions and were anxious about the tournament, the journey from Texas to Iowa was refreshing and quite a learning experience. Something we learned along the way is that Texas’ most important natural resources is its soil and there are more than 1,300 different kinds of soil recognized in Texas. In shades of brown or red, pale-brown through reddish-brown to dark grayish-brown clay loams, sandstone, shale, limestone, gneiss and schist bedrock – Texas soils are complex because of the wide diversity of climate, vegetation, geology, and landscape.

Similar to traditional junior tournaments, USAR groups players into 10-and-under, 12-and-under, 14-and-under, 16-and-under, 18-and-under and 21-and-under age groups for boys and girls. All Team USA Qualifying Divisions are either Olympic Format Gold Draw, Single Elimination Main Draw, or Round Robin Main Draw. All players are required to play within their age group based on their age at the year start.

While the sheer number of kids at these tournaments can be intimidating and nerve racking for these young minds, there are some valuable lessons for anyone playing at this level and key takeaways – for parents as well. Especially, for juniors starting in the 10U and 12U divisions, they get to learn the foundational racquetball rules around rally scoring, screen serves, hinders, timeouts and other situations they might have not come across in their local tournaments. One other cool aspect is that the players get to referee a match immediately following a loss. Check out the official rules here – USA Racquetball | USA Racquetball Rules D Self Officiating

The best part of the trip are the friends these kids make, and the opportunity to connect and share their journey with the broader racquetball community. My boys are now eager and excited to meet their friends at the USA Racquetball Junior Nationals 2023 to be held at Pleasanton, California from June 21 to 25. Looking forward to the next adventure …