Paddleball Greatness Doesn't Come Easy for Mike Czabala
January 3, 2010
Leave a Comment
|
||||||||||
| Printer Friendly Story View |
Mike Czabala -- Formerly of Auburn, MI
Czabala (Left) and Wisniewski in 2002 after a big win over "The Andys."
By LOU GIAMPETRONI
(Reprinted from the National Paddleball January 2010 Newsletter)
(Reprinted from the National Paddleball January 2010 Newsletter)
When great paddleball players are mentioned, the name of Mike Czabala rarely comes up. And I wonder why. Over the last 16 years, Czabala has played in 12 of 14 NPA National Doubles Tournament finals which indicates something about his skill and his consistency.
The fact that he has won only two of them is a little disheartening but consider that he and his partners have faced the best paddleball teams ever in those contests. And of course, as in any outstanding effort, we have to remember that the journey is just as important as the goal.
Czabala, 33, a transplanted Michigan resident, also has been in four National Singles finals since 1998. And his batting average in those is zero.
But if you list his foes in those matches, you can understand why -- Mike Wisniewski in 1998, Andy Mitchell in 2000, Chris Crowther in 2006 and Kelly Gelhaus in 2007.
So basically, Czabala of Camarillo, Calif., and formerly of Auburn, Mich., has been facing the best of the best when it comes to paddleball.
Why are Mike's national records not better, aside from the fact that in doubles you have to rely on a partner?
"You had to bring that one up," Czabala said. "I think you hit the nail on the head that it had to do with the competition. Although there are a few I think I could have had. There are a couple that haunt me. The biggest one being the loss to Mitchell in 2000." He lost to Mitchell, 21-20, in a tiebreaker.
Many outstanding players have played in no championship finals, or just a few, in their many years in the sport. Czabala has played in 16 national finals!
That's amazing.
Czabala and Wisniewski won the national doubles championship in 1998 over Jim Owens and Mark Piechowiak, 21-16, 18-21, 21-3.
But Czabala's biggest victory came when he and Whiz teamed up to win the national doubles crown in 2002 over the best team in NPA history, Mitchell and Andy Kasalo, 10-21, 21-13, 21-13.
It was one of only three finals losses by "The Andys" in a remarkable career that saw them win 20 national doubles titles.
The next best total by a team is four by Dick Jury and R. P. Valenciano. Gelhaus has won four but with two different partners.
Czabala is no slouch, which is obvious because along with Wisniewski, he has teamed up with Bob Groya, Randy Hoyle, Bob Sterken and Crowther in the other finals.
Generally, Czabala has been on the right side in those finals and he's one of the premier players there. He's one of those guys who seems to get everything. He's tough to score on. Although he does his share of putting up points.
Czabala, who is an official of Disney- ABC-ESPN Television, is quick and a good shooter, both requisites of players at that level. He has studied the game and said he began playing paddleball as a 5-year-old in the basement of his parents' home in Auburn, near Midland, Mich.
"I used to spend hours ... playing made up tournaments with just about everyone I knew from watching at tournaments or got to know," Czabala said in an E-mail. "And I had some interesting match-ups. Who knows I might have had you beating Marty Hogan at some point and I would have 64-team draws.
"Anyway, the space I played in at a front, back and left wall was no more than 20 by 10 and I would see how many times in a row I could hit the ball without it bouncing or skipping ... Literally, I was probably 5 to 10 feet from the wall most of the time."
How much did he learn from his father, Frank, a very good player? "Just about everything in the early years," said Czabala. "He was the only person I played with and most of the credit should go to him. But I also give a ton of credit to all the guys from Midland who would play doubles with my dad and I when I was 9 or 10 and pretty much a novice. Learned a ton from them and they all helped me grow."
Who's the best PB player he's ever seen? "Tough one," Czabala said. "But I will go with Marty Hogan. I was too young to know everything that was going on with the game at that time but when I saw him in '87 in Ann Arbor and watched him dominate guys that I saw as the best, I was amazed."
But he adds that Andy Mitchell is the best doubles player. "Hands down," said Czabala. "Smart, fiery, determined and always can find a way to win. You replay those doubles matches against him and Kasalo on a weekly basis, it would be quite a thrill. Those were the best matches and something I wish everyone could experience."
Czabala said he's quite busy with work and his family -- wife Tammy and stepchildren Zhirelle (8) and Kiera (6) and a baby girl due this month -- and also does not have anyone to play with consistently. So he hasn't been playing much.
By the way, Czabala in those other two national doubles tournaments where he did not reach the final -- he and his partners finished third. Not a bad record overall for a guy whose name seems to escape paddleballers when great players are mentioned.
| Printer Friendly Story View |
|
|
Guest Columnist |
|
|
|
Printer-Friendly Story View
0200 Nd: 04-22-2024 d 4 cpr 0
12/31/2020 P3v3-0200-Ad.cfm
SPONSORED LINKS
12/31/2020 drop ads P3v3-0200-Ad.cfm