Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 15, 1995 TAG: 9507170122
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
After making his competitive handball debut Friday, Mike Spede may experience a weird sensation when he returns to his more familiar spot in front of a soccer net.
The soccer ball may look as large as a beach ball.
And, Spede will never be so happy to be playing against people his own age.
Spede, 16, was the youngest player in the Commonwealth Games handball tournament by at least 15 years.
``I've played national champions,'' said Bill Morris, Spede's opponent in the first round. ``I played Jimmy Jacobs at a time when Sports Illustrated called him the best athlete in the world. But, I don't know if I've ever played anybody who was 16 years old.''
Tournament coordinator Andy Hudick had the idea of pairing Spede with Morris, who, at 56, is a three-time Commonwealth Games doubles champion and certified referee.
``I figured he'd learn the most from playing Bill,'' Hudick said.
Spede had learned the basics of the game from his uncle, Ed, a former Virginia Tech professor who was scheduled to play later in the afternoon Friday and arrived early at the Roanoke YMCA in order to watch his nephew's match.
Ed Spede and his brother, Jim, learned to play handball while playing an outdoor version of the game called ``one-wall'' in their native New York.
``Our father was a fireman,'' Ed Spede said. ``It was a game the cops and firemen played while they were hanging around on call.
``You don't see many young people playing it anymore. It's a sociological phenomenon. Kids want to do things immediately. You can pick up a racquetball racquet and have a decent game the first time you walk on the court.
``In handball, to learn to hit the ball with both hands, it's going to take five years.''
That was evident on Morris' first serve against Spede, a left-hander. The ball went deep into the right corner and, by the time Spede decided which hand he wanted to use, he had no chance to return it.
``The main thing I learned is that I've got to be able to get the ball off the corners,'' Spede said.
After a slow start, Spede won his first point with a serve into the corner and even had a few right-hand winners before succumbing 11-0, 11-2, 11-6.
``The thing that I noticed - and he probably didn't realize - was that he had a natural hook and a natural reverse,'' said Morris, who did not go for the jugular and was only too happy to conserve his energy for later matches.
``He was rushing his shots, but so do a lot of people when they get in tournaments.''
Spede started to play handball after watching his uncle in the Commonwealth Games and had served as a warm-up partner in recent years. However, his decision to play this year came at the last moment.
``I thought about playing after the Commonwealth Games booklets came out,'' Spede said, ``but it was right after soccer camp [at Roanoke College] and my parents didn't think I would be fit. I just decided there was nothing to lose.''
All the first-round loss did was send Spede to the ``B'' Division. Another loss would put him in the ``C'' Division, where one victory would put him in the medal round.
Added to that is the experience that comes from playing in a real game. Most of the time, Spede practices handball by himself on one of the courts at the Roanoke Athletic Club.
``People step back and look through the glass sometimes,'' Spede related. ``My friends say, `What's this?' They've never seen it before. Some of them have tried it now, but they don't really like it. They say it's too slow.''
Spede has tried baseball and basketball and he's not wild about those sports. He has elected to concentrate on soccer, in which he has played goalie for 10 years.
``Maybe this will help,'' he said. ``The idea is to use both hands and you have to be ready to move to either side.''
The world champion in handball is 19-year-old Californian David Chapman, so there is precedent for a teen-ager invading the adults' game.
``I'm so old I still wear Chuck Taylor's,'' said Morris, looking down at his white canvas, high-top sneakers.
Chances are, Spede didn't notice.
by CNB