Rocky Carson fondly remembers the first time he “ripped” his dad.

The two were playing racquetball. And “he was talking trash,” Rocky explains.

“He was in my way, and I told him if he didn't move, I would hit him.”

Avoidable hinder: When a player does not attempt to move sufficiently to allow an opponent a shot.

Rocky, a hyper-competitive teenager at the time, served the ball, received it, and ...

“I think he still feels it,” Rocky says with an ear-to-ear grin , peering over at his pops.

He ripped him. In fact, as Rocky remembers it, he sent his father to the ground.

Advertisement

“I think he was proud of me,” the now-29-year-old says with a laugh.

Rocky also, more importantly, remembers the first time he beat his dad - “I was 13 or 14.”

The sting of defeat must wear down over the years, especially when one's son becomes the No. 1 racquetball player in the world.

A lot has changed since those days - days when Rocky scored 25 points per game for Valley Christian Academy basketball, or hit .536 and averaged a home run every 10 at bats for the baseball team. Yet, one thing remains the same, Rocky Carson doesn't take a backseat to anyone when it comes to racquetball. The former Santa Maria resident is currently on top of the professional racquetball world.

This isn't Sunday at the local YMCA. Rocky is part architect. He knows all the angles. The difference an inch might make on the rebound, or the way to strike a serve to a projectile impossible to return. He works like an auctioneer, at a furious pace.

“At the top levels, you will see incredible athletic ability, quick hands, quick feet and the ball flying at up to 190 miles per hour,” Rocky said. “Shots that are so precise, that you're thinking ‘How does a guy actually put it right there, where he wants to.'”

It's improv at times, a photographer's dream; Rocky diving to a shot, Rocky pounding into the wall, Rocky pacing, in essence, a constant 20-yard shuttle. Yet, despite the speed, it's calculated. “I know what I'm doing, I have a game plan,” he said.

At the basic level, it's a simple game requiring little equipment. For years, the sport has been on the rise, played at local sports clubs, YMCAs and gyms. Popularity has especially grown within the inner-city, where courts are cheap to build and easy to fit inside the most cramped high-rises.

Racquetball is a game played with a small hard ball and a short-handled racket in a four-walled handball court. Really, it's punching the fast-forward button on a tennis match. And Rocky takes it to a whole new level.

Just this year, Rocky really broke through, having scaled the ranks since he was a youth in Santa Maria - winning the juniors events each year.

At the pro ranks, racquetball in the U.S. is handled by the International Racquetball Tour (IRT). There are four grand slams, a la tennis. World-wide, there is the biannual World Racquetball Championships.

This year, Rocky finally defeated rival Jack Huczek for the IRT singles title, and also traveled to Ireland to represent Team USA at the Worlds.

The 2008 season finally over - a September to May blitz that involved 20 to 25 traveling weekends - Rocky made his way up to the Central Coast from his home in Ladera, Calif., to revisit his roots, see family members (including his dad, who is no doubles slouch himself) and do some work for Racquetball Warehouse out of San Luis Obispo.

Rocky stays in shape using a regiment Spicoli would embrace. He surfs. He hangs out at the beach. Lifts some weights. Plays a little tennis. And racquetball, of course. Yet, it's work - and he's carved a successful career from it.

“Baseball was one of those things I think I could have followed, or tennis, and been successful at making a living doing it,” Rocky said. “But I didn't have a passion for it like I did for racquetball. It's not as much a money-making sport, but it's provided a lot for me, financially and I met my wife through racquetball. I'm passionate about it. I Iove teaching it and helping others.”

Financially, he's done quite well. Rocky is the first pro to earn sponsorship from outside the sport, signing contracts with Verizon Wireless and Motorola.

From first to 12th grade, Rocky grew up in Santa Maria, attending Lakeview Junior High, VCA and Righetti High. Stan Bickley was his coach at VCA.

Despite excelling in baseball, basketball and tennis, Rocky dedicated most of his time to racquetball.

“I could have gone on and played college (basket)ball, maybe Division I level, but I injured my ankle halfway through my senior year,” he said. “... I was a shooter. A shooting guard. Halfway through the season, I tore ligaments in my ankle. At that point, I accessed the situation. I'd never make money playing basketball. I'm good, but not going to make money.”

His dad thought he might have a future in baseball.

“We wanted to see what my senior year would be like, but I was playing so much racquetball that I only played 12 games,” Rocky said.

He finished his career with a home run - but baseball wasn't in the cards. He turned pro, in racquetball, at age 18 in 1997.

“It's a tough tour,” he said. “After a year, I was in the top 10. It took a while to compete with the No. 1 and 2 guys.”

On the surface, the surfing workouts seem hardly tough.

But, “I travel a lot,” he said. “I leave on a Thursday, get back on Sunday a majority of the time. It makes it tough. When I'm in season, it's two to three tournaments a month.”

He could take a four-month break if he wanted but, “I love training, staying physically active. I consider my training to be surfing, lifting weights and playing racquetball. I mix in tennis. A lot of times I'll do three or four things in a day.”

Racquetball is his career. Surfing is his escape.

“Surfing is my release,” he said. “I try to surf as often as possible - three to four times a week. San Clemente is packed every day. That sucks. I go out for a break and there are 50 guys sitting out there. Now it's becoming stressful. But I paddle as many waves as I can.”

Rocky also finds time to teach kids at Renaissance ClubSport in Aliso Viejo.

He remembers how much it meant to have his dad pushing him as a kid - but also how important it was that he made his own decisions, finding “his escape” as a youngster in other venues.

“As a young kid, hey, you have an opportunity to never have to get a real job, but my dad let that be my decision,” Rocky said. “I played other sports. It's one thing I see, kids get burnt out because they make that sport their job. It's OK for it to be their job, but you need to have fun doing stuff. That's what I have surfing for.”

Rocky is one of the more popular characters on the tour, wearing emotions on his sleeves.

“I want people to know I'm having fun,” he said. “I'm pumped on good shots. On bad shots it's ‘Ah God.' I try to get the crowd into it.”

So, does he toss his racquet?

“One of my best moves as a kid,” he said with a chuckle. “I broke plenty of dad's rackets. I wouldn't listen, I was fired up. He'd have to let me cool off, talk to me later about it.”

The new season kicked off in late September, and next up is the U.S. Open in Memphis, quite possibly the most prestigious of the grand slams.

Rocky is looking to “rip” his way to another title there, defending his win from last year.

Indeed a lot has changed since his dad “got in the way” many years ago.

Rocky's the one in the way now, in front of the entire sport.

October 23, 2008