St. Louis, MO, WPH Press, 1/6/25
St. Louis’s New Hinder Club officially opened in the final weeks of 2024, ushering in a new era and creating a handball-only mecca in the Gateway of the West.
The New Hinder Club Officially Opens Its Doors for the 68th Annual USHA National Junior 4-Wall Championships
The 68th Annual USHA National Junior 4-Wall Championships officially opened the New Hinder Club, making it the first tournament held at St. Louis’s new handball institution.
“Nothing could be more rewarding to me than to see the future stars of our sport playing the first ever matches on our freshly finished courts in our brand new club,” stated St. Louis Hinder Club ambassador and builder Jeff Streibig. “Our future was very uncertain at the beginning of the year, so to bounce back and be able to host this tournament in St. Louis is a dream. We are back.”
“Hosting the USHA Junior Nationals Tournament as the inaugural event is crucial for the club’s success, the growth of handball in St. Louis, and the development of youth athletes,” stated “Mrs. Hinder Club” Janaki Streibig. “It establishes a foundation of excellence, creates lasting memories for young players, and strengthens the global handball community. Through this event, the club is not just starting a new chapter in its history but helping to foster a legacy.”
Regrouping, Finding, and Building the New Hinder Club
The day after the Race 4 Eight Chapman in late January of 2024, the Hinder Club members and volunteers were devastated to learn that their handball home was being turned into a storage facility, thus leaving the St. Louis handball community virtually homeless overnight.
“In January, on the very night we concluded hosting a successful pro stop, the St. Louis Hinder Club was devastated to learn that our lease would not be renewed, leaving us with the urgent task of finding a new home,” continued Janaki. “However, in what felt like a stroke of divine intervention, the very next morning we discovered the old Spaulding Racquet Club, a facility built with the perfect foundation to be repurposed into a world-class handball venue. It would soon become the new home of the St. Louis Hinder Club.
With unwavering support and tireless effort from countless club members, we successfully relocated to our new facility. The move involved significant planning and coordination, including the careful relocation of essential assets such as handball court floors, lockers, gym equipment, and treasured Missouri Hall of Fame memorabilia. A major achievement in this process was the transformation of an old gymnastics foam pit into the foundation for four state-of-the-art handball courts, with the first four courts now completed and ready for play.
Renovations at the new facility included extensive work to ensure the courts were tournament-ready. This involved preparing and finishing the floors, building the foundational walls, paneling and painting walls, and installing new lighting. In addition, we focused on upgrading the overall property, carrying out both indoor and outdoor clean-up efforts, removing outdated flooring, enhancing the landscaping, and upgrading the mechanical room. The parking lot was also expanded, sealed, and striped to meet land-use and occupancy permit requirements.
Beyond physical improvements, we made significant strides in securing the necessary occupancy and land-use permits, ensuring full compliance with local regulations. Our hard work culminated in a successful Open House, welcoming our members to their new home and laying the foundation for future events, including the prestigious Junior National Handball Tournament. The club is owned and operated by dedicated volunteer members.”
Volunteers
The Missouri Handball community collectively volunteered hundreds of hours to transform the New Hinder Club into the handball-only mecca that opened its doors just months after the acquisition. Thank you to Jeff Streibig, Dave Streibig, Matt Igelhart, Eric Schmidt, Erica Schmidt, Janaki Streibig, Brandon Muir, Eric Hillgren, Katie Hillgren, Mike Benkelman, Will Goldstein, Brian Watson, Kevin Pettus, Matt Recker, Brian Dilthey, the Dirnbeck family, John O’Shaughnessy, Greg Fielner, Ray Feilner, Glenn Farmer, Roger Huelsing, Frank Gaal, Larry Morini, Mark Lucido, Steve Campbell, Derrick Olson, Rich Aubuchon, Aaron Streibig, RP Murphy, Ron Gronemeyer, Mark Etling, Denny Schmidt, Taylor Rumping, Jim Ward, Jim Fox, Jerry Carns, Marty Metzler, MSU Handball Team, and Jim Smith for volunteering their days, evenings, and weekends to create and build the New Hinder Club.
Events
The St. Louis Hinder Club members are not just interested in the weekly games, they want to host the best handball pros, juniors, masters players, and skill level players in the biggest and most prestigious tournaments in the world at their facility.
“The 2024 Race 4 Eight Chapman created so much enthusiasm amongst the St. Louis handball community and was the reason we were able to gain the momentum to acquire the new club after learning we had lost the lease on the old facility,” stated Hinder Club ambassador and volunteer John O’Shaughnessy.
The New Hinder Club hosted its first event in late December, welcoming the 68th Annual USHA National Junior 4-Wall Championships to the new facility. The New Hinder Club will host the January 17-19, 2025 Missouri State Doubles, with many events on the horizon, to include future Race 4 Eight stops.
Thank you to the Streibig’s and all of the incredible Hinder Club volunteers and donors from throughout the world for their passion and tireless efforts in growing the sport in St. Louis and beyond.
What the New Hinder Club Means to the Pros
Former Missouri State All-American and R48 #8 Sam Esser: It’s hard to put into words how much the new Hinder Club is going to mean to the sport. Handball has never had a place that it could exclusively call its own in my lifetime, and it couldn’t come at a better time as other clubs continue to close or modify their courts.
I can’t think of a better group of people or better part of the country for the hinder club to be located. The heart of handball beats strong in Missouri.
Former Missouri State All-American and WR48 #3 Mikaila Esser: I am so excited for the new Hinder Club. You can see through speaking with members of the club and all of their updates how much work they have put into this place. It’s crazy to think a year ago, they weren’t even sure what their plans would be for the club. I’m so excited to see it when it’s all finished and to play future tournaments there.
Former Missouri State All-American and R48 RFC finalist Max Langmack: The St. Louis Hinder Club has been a hub of handball in the Midwest for a number of years. I have memories of watching or playing in great matches both with and against great friends at the old club in Arnold. While I’ll miss that Hinder Club, I’m very excited for the new handball center. There’s a very talented, hardworking, and motivated community that is establishing a potential model for the future of handball with their efforts to build this club. The pictures I’ve seen online are spectacular and their hosting of the Junior Nationals looked like a great time! I’ll look forward to returning soon for a tournament, catching up with everyone there, and trying to support them in any way I can.
Former Missouri State All-American and WR48 NYAC finalist Suz Entzeroth: The new Hinder Club is going to be the future of our sport as we know it. There is no other facility that is like it with the capacity that it holds. I am so excited to see how we grow Handball nationwide. And even more excited to host the largest tournaments in my own backyard. All the Hinder Club members have worked tirelessly to get the club to where it is now, and even though there is a lot left to be done, our club members and their families are pitching in left and right to get it up and running. I want to personally give a shout out of thanks to Jeff Striebig, not only did we find this facility because of him, but he’s sacrificed so much (as have so many others) to get this off the ground. I’ve never been more proud to be a Hinder Club member than I am right now! My three kids are going to have a state of the art handball club to play at, and grow this sport for the next generation. The Hinder Club is a family more than anything, and when they shut our other club down, it was actually a blessing in disguise. Thanks to everyone who’s made this dream a reality, please donate, there is more to be done.
Enter the January 17-19, 2025 Missouri State Doubles HERE
Watch the Hinder Club video, produced by the WPH HERE
The 68th Annual USHA National Junior 4-Wall Championships Wraps at the New Hinder Club HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer