Kevin Morris, left, and Mark Storey, rookies and vets respectively with the Capital Splats Racquetball Association. (Morris photo by Kevin Majoros; Storey photo by Art Thomas)

The Capital Splats Racquetball Association was launched in 2010 and now offers three seasons of league play that run four months long. It has close to 60 players who are split among five divisions and have experienced a lot of crossover from other LGBT sports including a big influx of softball players.

This week in the long-running Blade series on the rookies and veterans, who make up the LGBT-inclusive sports teams in D.C., we take a look at two gay players from the Capital Splats.

Kevin Morris has moved up two divisions since he started playing with the Capital Splats in 2014. He is one of the softball players who has joined the league and has been playing with the Chesapeake and Potomac Softball League since 2005 along with stints playing with Stonewall Dodgeball and the Capital Area Rainbowlers Association.

“I played racquetball recreationally in college and always saw the Splats at Capital Pride,” Morris says. “I put my name on their sign-up sheet several times and finally joined after I heard a friend talking about them.”

Morris grew up in Springfield, Va., where his sports focus was on baseball and tennis. While he was earning his degree at Longwood University, he played racquetball and flag football. After teaching for 12 years, he switched to administration and is now working as an assistant principal.

Even though he gets exercise from participating in multiple sports, Morris finds he gets something extra from playing racquetball.

“Racquetball is an amazing cardio workout and it makes me feel healthy,” Morris says. “It is much more enjoyable than spending time on an elliptical.”

Another plus for Morris is that the Splats league doesn’t run on a set schedule. The players reach out to each other to schedule their matches which are all contested at the Washington D.C. Jewish Community Center. Along with league play, the players are offered coaching from veteran players and are able to have matches outside of the league with players who have higher skill sets.

“I like playing people who are better than me as long as it is competitive,” Morris says. “This sport is like chess at 100 miles per hour and you have to stay ahead of your opponent’s thought process. If the other guy is sweating and out of breath, then I know I am doing my job.”

Mark Storey is a former commissioner with the Capital Tennis Association and when he co-founded the Capital Splats in 2010, it was in a vein similar to the tennis template.

“I was playing in a racquetball league in Virginia, but there was nothing being offered in D.C. for the LGBT community,” Storey says. “We were able to work out a special deal with the JCC to get the league started.”

Storey is from Des Moines, Iowa and competed in football, basketball and track & field on his high school team. Sports were put on the back burner, except for recreational racquetball, while he earned his degrees at Georgetown University in Russian area studies. He’s employed as a consultant with an international development firm.

The next season for the Splats begins on Oct. 1 and to make the transition easier for new athletes, the veteran players meet with the rookie players for an orientation clinic.

“I think it is an easy sport to pick up,” Storey says. “We offer a variety of things outside of league play such as doubles, cut-throat and in-house tournaments. It gives the players a chance to experience all aspects of the sport and to meet the other players.”

As for Storey, he continues to enjoy the sport for many reasons including as a path to recovery from an injury.

“I broke my leg a few years ago and racquetball is a very efficient way to get an all-body workout,” he says. “Plus, I have a competitive streak and this sport helps to feed that need.”