SAN ANTONIO — This sound of a blue rubber ball crashing into a wall can be heard every weekend on San Antonio’s West Side — thwonk, thwonk, thwack, thwonk.
“Bola [ball],” Flaco Pereida said before smacking the ball.
The game that Pereida and his friends play is handball — not your typical handball that’s played in New York or California — it’s its own style of “bola.”
“So when I got transferred to TDC, you know, that’s when I picked up on the game,” Pereida said.
Pereida has been out on the handball courts at Escobar Park for over 13 years, but he’s still not as seasoned as Buddy Herrera, who is the legend of this handball court.
“I’ve been playing here for 50 years ... I’m still here,” Herrera, 74, said.
What makes this space unique is that it’s welcoming of everyone, especially folks who were once incarcerated. Pereida was behind bars for three years, but he found a second home at the handball courts in 2007.
“Get some exercise and, you know, releases some stress,” Pereida said.
A few studies conducted in Europe show how sports can benefit the previously incarcerated. Research out of the University of South Hampton shows inmates are 30 percent less likely to reoffend when they are in sports. Data here in Texas is limited, but Pereida believes that they are proof handball is beneficial.
“You know, it’s like a getaway for me, it’s like my church,” Pereida said.
A sanctuary that’s open seven days a week.
“Once we get on that handball court, it’s strictly business,” Pereida said. “When it’s all said and done, we are still homeboys.”
Homeboys playing “bola en el barrio.”