The Texas Master of Science Programs attracts some of the best and brightest students from across undergraduate disciplines, but we also love catching up with our students in their extra curricular activities as well! Nate Frank, MS Marketing 2018 student, recently caught up with Student Executive Committee Marketing Chair Mariah McFadin on his achievements in Three Wall Handball…all while earning his MS degree here in McCombs!
Who: Nate Frank in MSM class of 2018
Undergrad: UT Austin Computer science
Event: United States Handball Association Three Wall National Handball Championship, August 31- September 4th
What is Three Wall Handball??
Three wall handball is a slightly different form of handball than the 4-wall handball that is played by most handball teams. It is an outside sport and unlike regular indoor handball, there are no back walls. It requires a very different strategy than 4 wall hand ball. I played in the B singles (20 person bracket) and B Doubles (14 team bracket) and won first in both! My doubles partner is a friend from Pennsylvania named Chris Persaud.
How did you get involved?
I got into the sport because my dad plays handball too. I am actually a fourth generation handball player. I’d always travel to tournaments with my dad as a kid, and I started playing in tournaments around age 11. My dad also won both his division’s at the tournament for Mens 45+ Doubles and the mens 55+ doubles.
How much time do you spend practicing?
I’ve been president of the team for about 2 and a half years, so it does get time consuming sometimes. I practice 4 wall three times a week for about 3 hours each time. But for this tournament, I had to practice 3 wall as well. The nearest 3-wall courts are in San Antonio, so I’d have to wake up early on the weekends and drive to SA to play for a few hours.” Mariah tell us he did this every weekend during the summer session. He was also running 3-5 miles every day to make sure he had the cardio endurance necessary for the tournament. All in the killer Texas summer heat!
How many tournaments do you have a year?
There are anywhere from 12- 15 tournaments a year that I go to. This is one of the biggest because it was a championship game. Because of this, it did require more prep especially since there aren’t any 3 wall courts nearby.The other major tournament I play in is the Collegiate 4-wall National tournament in February. So everyone should keep an eye out for him then and cheer him on!
Other wins: He won the 15 and Under division in 2010 and the 17 and under in 2012.
Congrats on the win, Nate, and we can’t wait to hear how the next tournament goes!
#TXMS Extra Coverage articles document our student achievements outside of the classroom. If you’re a current or former #TXMS with a story you’d like to share, contact your Program Coordinator for more information!
Contributions to this blog were made by Texas MSM 2018 & Student Executive Committee Marketing Chair Mariah McFadin.