While most high school sports rely on full teams, one student is keeping racquetball alive at South all on his own. 

Racquetball is a fast-paced indoor sport where players use a racquet to hit a rubber ball against the walls of a court. The goal is to hit the ball so your opponent cannot return it before it bounces twice.

Junior Alec Hayes has been playing racquetball since seventh grade, first inspired by his sister who played before him. For the past three years he has been the only racquetball player representing the school. Although that might sound isolating, Hayes says the sport’s community makes up for it.

“It’s interesting being the only player,” he said. “I get to make a lot of friends in the racquetball community. It’s not just about the game—it’s about the people you meet.”

Without teammates at his own school, Hayes often practices with players from Parkway West. Over time, those competitors have become both rivals and friends. 

“I play with West, I would say that’s my team but everyone else is kind of my friend. I see it kind of like friends first and rivals second,” said Hayes

This season, Hayes placed fourth at nationals and won the red bracket at nationals in singles. He also competed in doubles at nationals, finishing fourth with his partner after a competitive final match. This hasn’t been done by a South player since 2018, when a Patriot won the national title.

Many South students don’t know the history of racquetball in Parkway. Parkway West (including players from South and North) won the national racquetball championship in both 2017 and 2018. This year’s event was held at Vetta Concord in St. Louis. The national championship event alternates between St. Louis and Portland, Oregon each year. 

This year the Parkway West team (along with Hayes) placed 4th in the nation at the national tournament. The top 4 finishers were all schools from the St. Louis area. Parkway beat schools from California and Oregon.

Looking ahead, Hayes has ambitious goals. Next year he hopes to become Parkway’s number one seed and reach the final eight in the nation in singles, while also aiming for top finishes in doubles and mixed doubles.

Also, although he has a senior year to look forward to at South, he is already looking to play racquetball in college. 

“Yes, I do plan on playing intercollegiate at Mizzou,” said Hayes.