Inner City Handball Association prepares to honor some of the sport's greats

When Paul Williams founded the Inner City Handball Association (ICHA) in 1991, the initial goal was to be a centralized source for local handball information. Williams also envisioned providing opportunities for boys and girls to play handball and expand their horizons as he had decades before.

- By LOIS ELFMAN

“Growing up, I loved the sport,” said Williams, a Brooklyn native. “I was sponsored by a gentleman into club handball. Instead of just playing in the streets, I ended up being a part of the handball team of Union Temple, which is a Jewish club in Brooklyn. Then, getting involved with the West Side Y and a few other clubs where I was able to travel and play handball across the country.”

Seeing a void in youth handball in the early 1990s, Williams decided to take on building a sustainable community in New York. At the time, he was the only Black member of the United States Handball Association (USHA) board. He started ICHA, formed a board, filed for nonprofit status and slowly built up the organization.