The Silent Assassin: Luis Moreno Walk into the Tucson Racquet Club and you will see plaques commemorating Luis Moreno’s Race 4 Eight Player of the Year, rankings with him at the top and articles detailing his greatness. Mention handball to any of the 3,000 non-handball playing members at the Tucson Racquet Club and their first response will be, “Luis Moreno plays here.” Everybody knows Luis Moreno, but no one knows him. Luis Moreno is perhaps the most quiet and humble superstar in professional sports. Content to collect titles and avoid the limelight, Moreno always lets his game do his talking. Moreno trains daily, playing up to three different opponents on any given day and sometimes playing 25 games per day. Moreno often plays at 6 am or 11 pm, seemingly to avoid the fanfare that comes with people wanting to catch a glimpse of their hero and the pressure that comes with that burden. Luis ties his shoes on the couch outside of the Tucson Racquet Club show court as the plaque that was awarded to him for winning five of eight Race 4 Eight events and the Player of the Year in the Race’s inaugural season hangs above his head. One of the club’s maintenance workers dusts the plaque as Moreno puts on his gloves for his practice match, having no idea that she is cleaning the plaque of the superstar sitting to her left. Moreno will spar with a top pro on this morning. His main objective will be to work on a few shots and prepare for the upcoming Race stop, until he trails 4-15 that is. Do not let his calm exterior and quiet disposition fool you; Moreno wants to win every time he steps on the court. The finals start in two minutes and Moreno is not yet in the building. His adversary on this day will be a hungry and determined Irishman who has been warming up for 30 minutes and desperately seeking to avenge his loss to Moreno from the previous event. Moreno appears, as he normally does, just seconds before the referee calls play ball. Moreno hits the ball twice with both hands and races to a 14-4 lead in nine minutes. Many watch Moreno play and believe that he was just born to play the game. His strokes are so smooth and his shots are so pure that it is difficult to think otherwise. Talk to any of his childhood handball contemporaries and you will quickly realize that his perfect strokes and sublime ball striking was the product of thousands of hours of playing, watching, practicing and studying film. Luis will not divulge that information, but then again, he will divulge very little, even to his closest friends. Talk to Moreno and you will quickly realize that he has a deep respect for the game of handball and all of his opponents. Never one to say a bad word about anyone, Moreno views every opponent as a challenge. When informed that Paul Brady backed out of an event one week prior to the tournament, Moreno was visibly upset. He wants to play the best. Luis does not talk in terms of being the best or trying to become the best player of all time. Instead, his goals are internalized. Moreno simply wants to become the best player he can be, recognizing there are areas that he can improve despite dominating professional handball for the past three years. An artist and writer, Moreno is as creative off the court as he is on. Moreno is an avid painter, poet and photographer, quests that would seemingly allow him peace and tranquility outside of the chaos of the 40x20 handball arena. Moreno has incorporated aspects of a number of player’s games, providing him with the unique ability to play several different styles effectively. Perhaps equally impressive is his mental strength and ability to improve his play in the later rounds, a time most players suffer letdowns from exhaustion. Moreno does not allow himself to be intimidated by opponents or situations, as evidenced by his spectacular play at the world championships in front of the largest crowd in handball history. Moreno is an unfathomable 9-1 in Race finals, demonstrating that he can rise to the occasion against the very best and elevate his game in the latter part of tournaments. Coached initially by John Henning and later by Hall of Famer Fred Lewis, Luis’s fundamentals were instilled at an early age. Impeccable fundamentals and incredible flexibility resulting from hours of weekly stretching enable Moreno to generate two-handed power that seems impossible from a 165-pound athlete. Moreno is undoubtedly the most captivating player in handball; just don’t expect him to say that. David Fink WPH Senior Writer
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 15:36:30 +0000
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