The first player to come to mind for me was 'Atain', Dania's
George Z was right there, so I'll just add some info on this great
backcourter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A natural phenom in the sport,Atain won the Backcourt Championship
as a rookie at Dania in the 1992/93 Winter season. It was one of
seven backcourt championships he won. Three Most win titles, 4 singles
Championships, the NAJF Tournament of Champions, Citrus Invitational,Dania/Miami
Summer Showdown, World Series of Jai-Alai, there isn't a championship
or tournament Atain hasn't won.
Atain will leave behind some stellar statistics
* 10,736 games played,
* 1897 wins
* 1,537 places,
* 1,447 shows,
* a .176 win percentage &.455% in the money
And don't forget about the Olympic Gold Metal he owns from the
1992 games in Barcelona.
Dania Jai-Alai will honor #11 Atain in a ceremony on the Dania
court on Friday night August 30th. Everyone from Dania would like
to wish Atain the best of luck in life and thank him for all of
the great memories he provided us.
Numerous knee surgeries have forced Atain to an early retirement. He's
made several comeback attempts in the last few years,including
his run for one final backcourt championship in the 2000 summer
season. Bit Atain has decided that it's time to hang up the Cesta, time
to give his worn down knees a rest. Yet, one still wonders what
could have been for this Jai-Alai star if he hadn't been bitten
by the injury bug so often.
Atain was the top star because nobody wanted it more, he was the
greatest because he studied,practiced, and performed harder than
anyone else who stepped foot on the court. Atain's picada throw
was in a league of it's own because he learned the technique better
than any other player of his time. And Atain's backcourt caroms
were the most lethal because he threw them with the most explosiveness
and with the most accuracy.
And with saying that Mr.Jai-Alai would like to give the 'High
Cesta' to #11 Atain.
NOTE: Atain's name was left on the Summer roster until just before
his retirement Ceremony, probably with hope he may again attempt
another comeback but it was not to be. His name was removed from
the roster on August 25th,2002.
* Atain was 5'11" tall and weighed 199
* Born: December 21,1969
* From Markina Spain
* According to his Bio he was Honest,
* The serious type
* He prayed everyday,
* Didn't like it when people would cry after every point
* Favorite food Steak
* Hobbies Basque cards 'mus',
* He also loved soccer
* The Proudest moment in Atain's life was when he won the Olympic
Games in 1992 and when he won the NAJF Tournament of Champions
in 1996
This article was originally written by Dania's former Mr Jai-Alai
Todd Sorensen
