Making a racquet

It’s not a stretch to say that Mingo Guerrero is trying to pass his love of racquetball onto a younger generation.

Guerrero teaches racquetball at the Montana Athletic Club every Tuesday night from 5:30 to 6 p.m. He is promoting the sport to high school students and those ages 8 and up.

“If I can get the young kids interested, when I get too old to play someone else can take over,” he said.

Guerrero began teaching racquetball classes two years ago. “He’s done an unbelievable job with building the racquetball program here,” said Doug Mahlum, who co-owns the business with his wife Nancy. The sport declined in popularity over the past 10 to 12 years, Mahlum said, but he believes it’s on its way up. Locally, that’s due to Guerrero’s efforts, he said.

Guerrero, 69, has been playing the sport since 1974 and has won competitively in California.

He started off playing handball while working as a corrections officer in the California state prison system. He did that for seven years. Many of the corrections officers were playing the sport, and that’s what got him started. However when he stopped working in the prison, Guerrero said he couldn’t find anyone to play the sport with. So he took up racquetball. He has won many regional doubles tournaments and competed nationally as well. At one time he was the No. 1 player in Napa, Calif., he said.

Guerrero is a survivor of kidney cancer and didn’t play racquetball for two years while fighting the disease. However, he has been actively involved at the Montana Athletic Club since his recovery, which Mahlum appreciates. Getting kids involved in racquetball and other physical activities can help counteract the epidemic of obesity, Mahlum said.

Playing racquetball helps one develop hand-eye coordination and is “extremely good exercise,” Guerrero added. Although he notes “it’s more like weight training as opposed to cardio.” If one plays racquetball, one still needs to ride a bike, run, walk or swim, for example, to get a good cardiovascular workout.

Racquetball helps one build leg, shoulder and arm strength, he said. “It’s a fast game. It takes a lot of skill, but women can become almost as good as the men,” he said. Guerrero said he enjoys playing mixed doubles because it’s not quite as competitive and more fun.

Free to start

All one needs to start taking racquetball lessons is some tennis shoes. The Montana Athletic Club provides the rackets, balls and safety glasses. The first four classes are free.

With proper training, one can avoid injuries. That’s where Guerrero’s instruction comes in to play. He advises stretching prior to a game to avoid Achilles tendon issues. His instruction also helps one avoid tennis elbow by using proper technique and knee injuries by using proper form.

Guerrero started teaching racquetball because he enjoyed it and someone asked him to give lessons.

There are a variety of programs offered at Montana Athletic Club, including yoga, pilates, zumba, tai chi, spin, spin jump, boot camp, squash, swimming, water aerobics, tanning, massage, weight and cardio training and basketball. A hot tub, sauna and steam room are also available.

High school students with a 4.0 grade point average can get a membership at the Montana Athletic Club for free, Mahlum notes. Other high school and college students can get a discount, and members of the public may qualify for income-based scholarships as well.

Parents and siblings can sponsor children age 13 and younger.

For more information or to sign up for racquetball, call 837-2582.