2005 ANNUAL REPORT
The
Perfect Game
T H E O F F I C I A L N E W S L E T T E R O F T H E I N N E R C I T Y H A N D B A L L A S S O C I AT I O N , I N C .
New York City Handball
LAKE FOREST COLLEGE ACADEMIC CONNECTION Mike Dau
It started innocently enough in the Spring of 1967 after having read an article in ACE handball magazine about two outstanding Jr. players from the Bronx, Wes and Willie Yee. The college was in the final stages of constructing a new sports facility that would include three handball courts and a decision had been made to organize an intercollegiate team.
Davidson protege via Flamingo Park (Fla.) where Bob spent his winter months. With the graduation of the Yee’s in 1972 two other DeWitt Clinton alums joined the Forester ranks, Ray Estevez and Mickey Guzman. They were the spark plugs in capturing three successive intercollegiate team championships, 1974, 1975, and 1976. Another N.Y.C. player of that period was Artie Diemar (Manhattan Prep) who the won college’s first intercollegiate
QUJHO’s Mike Watson. Jai Ragoo (Brooklyn Tech) Noel Shurak and Satra Wasserman (Bronx H.S. of Science), Keith Vassall (Brooklyn Tech), Ferrence Dominguez (New Town) and most recently Billy O’Donnell (St. Francis Prep) and Jon Iglesias (Forest Hills). The Foresters have enjoyed a great deal of success with this N.Y.C. transfusion all who have made major contributions toward winning intercollegiate team championships 5 out of the last 6 years. It should be obvious to anyone that without attracting the New York contingent of Jr. players over the last 37 years many of the 27 national intercollegiate titles achieved at Lake Forest simply would not have happened. And the search continues for players from the metropolitan area who seek an outstanding educational opportunity and a handball program with a tradition of excellence.
HIGHLIGHTS
Coach Mike Dau and the 1999 Lake Forest Handball Team featuring ICHA Travel Team members Keith Vassall, Satra Wasserman and Jai Ragoo
In seeking experienced players I contacted the Yee brothers coach at the Castle Hill Beach Club, Bob Davidson, and then followed up with their High School coach at DeWitt Clinton, Neil Seiden. And the rest is history as the Yee twins became the foundation of the handball program at Lake Forest College. Willie became our first national intercollegiate champion winning the A Singles title in 1969 and Wes followed up with successive Open singles titles in 1971 and 1972. The Yee brothers were the prime force in L.F.C. winning their first team championship in 1971. Another fine player of the same era with a New York connection was Steve Jamron, a
doubles title with a player from Florida, Ray Prosser. It should be mentioned that there were several outstanding New York Jr. players that simply “got away” but not without me trying hard to convince them of a Lake Forest education, most prominently Steve Lott, Ken Ginty and later on Eric Klarman. In spite of not landing them they all have been helpful over the years in recommending Jr. prospects. Throughout the 1980’s and the early 90’s there was a dry spell of New Yorkers on the team roster but in the middle 90’s a resurgence occurred with the help of Inner City Handball mentor Paul Williams and
Message from the President
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ICHA Award Dinner & Raffle Notice
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2005 Contributor ’s List
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Who are the ICHA Travel Team?
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25th Annual Long Island Open Application
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New UK Inner City Fives Association Based in London 7 Long Island Open Results
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High School Meet Results
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Mayor’s Cup Results
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Junior Big Blue Results
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ICHA Membership Form
ICHA P.O. Box 30125 Brooklyn, NY 11203 (718) 703-7699 Fax: (718) 940-0207 E-mail: handball@icha.org http://www.icha.org
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