The 2024 Northshore Handball Tournament offered handball athletes from all areas of the country an opportunity to come together and challenge each other in the four-wall invitational held at the Duluth YMCA.

For those unfamiliar with handball, the strategy can be intense.

“Everybody comes in with strengths and weaknesses,” said Ryan Pesch, who has played handball professionally. “I’m right handed, so people are trying to hit it to my left and it’s up to me to figure out how to position on the court to mitigate those weaknesses and play against my opponent’s weaknesses too. Some people are really good with the overhand shots. Some people are really good taking the ball low and trying to figure out where your opponent’s weaknesses line up with your strengths. It’s a huge part of the game.”

“Generally speaking, the person who controls the center of the court majority of the time is going to win the majority of the points,” added Quinn Foley, who has played handball competitively for around 13 years. “Use strategic shots, like you use the roof and pass shots and other ways to get your opponent out of position. But to win the point, if you’re going to go for it, it’s called shooting the ball. You hit a kill shot. The lower on the wall that you hit the ball, the more it becomes unreturnable, obviously.”

Handball also allows for a social aspect to the game, as well as the competitive one that the athletes flock towards.

“I’ve flown all over the country playing,” said Pesch. “I played on the pro tour for a little while. Honestly, the people that you meet are some of the most accommodating, nicest folks that you can share a court with. Then after, you all hang out and socialize, it’s a great time. So there’s social aspects, there’s competitive aspects. It’s got everything.”

Pesch and Foley are seasoned veterans in the game, both advancing to the final four of the Northshore tournament.

The best part of the game though is the true passion of it, and even the nicknames.

“There’s nothing like it. My old man’s not around anymore, but he used to call it, ‘Leveling of playing fields across all demographics’. The USHA calls it ‘The perfect game’. It’s just a ball and a wall. It’s all you need.