BB Shots

BB Shots
by Brett Broxey
President of the MSHA

Happy New Year, handballers! I hope you had a great holiday season and are getting ready for the 1998 MSHA tournaments.

Congratulations to the University of Minnesota and Matt Hiber on an outstanding Fall Classic Tournament. This is truly one of the premier events in the Upper Midwest. Here are the components which make this tournament such a success:

Facility - the University's courts, viewing areas, and locker rooms are equal to or better than the area's best.
Participation - The tournament had nearly 90 entries from all over the Midwest. All the divisions had full draws. The "C" division even had six players recruited by Matt playing in their first tournament! The Open division featured three pro players.
Organization - This is the part of the tournament you don't think about until things go wrong. This tournament ran smoothly in all aspects including match start times.
Hospitality - Matt has played in so many tournaments he knows what handball players need. Hospitality included an excellent Saturday lunch and beer specials at Stub and Herb's.

The sum of these components equals a fun tournament for the players. The MSHA Board ensures our four state tournaments meet or exceed the above key criteria. The key factor is your participation. The entry forms for all four MSHA State Championship tournaments are enclosed with this newsletter. Please enter as many as you can, and encourage your friends and club members to do the same.

Once again this year, you will be receiving a phone call early in the year to remind you of the tournaments and encourage your participation.

The annual Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet is scheduled for Friday, May 15, 1998. We are trying a new location this year - the Fort Snelling Club. We are extremely excited about this year's event because of our Hall of Fame inductee and new location. A great program and meal are being planned. For those of you concerned about the length of the program, last year's Hall of Fame presentation and inspirational acceptance speech by Terry Muck was only 20 minutes long! We are planning on making this banquet a memorable one. Make sure you don't miss it. See you on the courts!