What happened to... all the IRT Greats after they retired? Conversations on the IRT forum in April, 2004 inspired this. Most of this is unofficial and subject to the memory of the Legends themselves... All information was initially as of 2004 time frame unless noted otherwise.

I vastly updated this in May 2018 based on copious research on linkedin.com and other sources for the recently retired players. Always welcome more input.

2/28/21: facebook discussion drives more updates to this document, and catching up information on those known.

(In rough order of their tour Careers and retirement)

Early Players: 1970s

  • Bill Schultz: Wikipedia page: Won the first ever Racquetball national title in 1968 after coming to the sport from Paddleball. Never played a professional event (he was nearing the age of 50 by the time the pro events started occuring). After ceasing to compete, he returned to his roots and began organizing Circus performances in the mid-west. He retired in 1984, wrote some books and was a substitute teacher, and passed away in 2009
  • Bill Schmidtke: Also converted to Racquetball from Paddleball; was runner-up in the first ever national championship.
  • Craig Finger: US Amateur Champion in 1970, runner-up in 1971, never really competed professionally.
  • Dr. Bud Muehleisen Wikipedia page. Dr. Bud was always a practicing Dentist in the San Diego area, becoming Racquetball's first amateur champion in the years pre-dating the pro sport. He eventually left the pro tour in the mid 1970s (by which time he was in his mid 40s) to focus on age group play. He was the first person elected to the Racquetball hall of Fame.
  • Steve Serot: retired from the sport at 25 to begin his career; currently president of Steve Serot & Associates in St. Louis. Inducted into the Racquetball hall of Fame in 2012: see This St. Louis Today link for a story on his induction.
  • Charlie Brumfeld: Wikipedia page: 5-time champion (3 pro, 2 amateur) with another 3 runners-up finishes in National tourneys). The sport's first great champion. Upon retirement, became a practicing attorney in his hometown of San Diego, CA. Currently serves as in-house counsel to a biotech firm outside of San Diego. After retiring from pro racquetball, returned to Paddleball, which he continues to compete well into his advanced years.
  • Steve Keeley: Wikipedi page: post racquetball/paddleball playing, he traveled the country extensively, prolifically writing books and self-publishing, some about racquetball. As of 2020 he resides in the lawless Slab City, California and continues to post about his life experiences.
  • Steve Strandemo Linkedin Page: became the first leading professional Racquetball Instructor, retiring from touring in 1980 to found Strandemo Sports. He continued to provide racquetball instruction for years and also became a golf professional in the San Diego area.
  • Charlie Garfinkel
  • Ron Rubenstein:
  • Jay Jones became a Stunt Actor in Hollywood, perhaps best known for taking the big fall in the action movie, The Poseidon Adventure. A link to his stuntman career is here.

    Golden Age Players: late 70s and early 80s

  • Marty Hogan: Wikipedia page: 5-time pro tour champion, generally considered the greatest player to ever play. After retiring from full-time playing, returned to live in St. Louis on his ranch. He remains active active in promoting and playing the sport though, founding the Legends tour in 2002. He continues to play and compete at the highest level in Outdoor racquetball.
  • Davey Bledsoe: The shock NRC 1977 Nationals champion toured regularly until the 1981 closed tour shut him out. He then began a long career working in Telecom, ending up living in Atlanta. He retired from ATT as a Director of Network PLanning & Engineering. From there, he started his own consulting firm and spent time working for federal contractors in the Washington DC area. He was inducted into the Racquetball Hall of Fame in 2010. He passed away in late 2019 of what his family belives was a Heart attack. He was 68.
  • Jerry Hilecher: Linkedin page: I own a technology company in Los Angeles selling Business Phone Systems and managing their business IT. I started in the industry at a self betterment seminar the day i decided to retire from pro racquetball. A person in the seminar owned a phone company and i started selling phone systems for his company the next week. 8 years later, i started my own phone company and two years after that, bought out the company that hired me initially 10 years earlier.
  • Rich Wagner: WAgner toured more or less full time into the mid 1980s. From there, "I co-owned a racquetball club with 11 courts for 15 years. After that I worked for AT&T for 22 years and retired in 2018." (Wagner's own words from facebook 2/28/21).
  • Craig McCoy:
  • Ben Koltun:

    Mid 1980s

  • Gerry Price: In 1990 I was hired as a Firefighter in California and over the last 3 decades enjoyed being a part of the Fire Service while staying involved with my first love, Racquetball!! (copied from Price's own facebook comment 2/28/21)
  • Scott Oliver linkedin profile: returned to his native Northern California and embarked on a career in Commercial Construction Sales and management.
  • Doug Cohen: linked in page: living in St. Louis, went into Real Estate in 1986 post retiring from playing. He founded Douglas Properties in 1998 and continues there to the present day. is the home page for his firm.
  • David Gross: living in Hollywood, working on a sitcom pilot.
  • Andy Gross: Wikipedia page: moved to Hollywood with his brother, eventually pivoted careers to become a national touring Magician. In 2020 active on social media posting entertaining magic videos while waiting to start his touring schedule anew post Covid.
  • Corey Brysman Linkedin Profile Embarked on a career in the Craft Brewery business in his home state of Florida. In 2017 launched a cookie brand called MacDaddy's Righteous Cookies. Recently relocated to San Diego to continue working for a distributorship in Southern California.
  • David Fleetwood: works in Marketing. He performs Media placement/buying. Like an advertising Agency but did not do any creative. Lives in Memphis
  • Mike Yellen, retired after the 1992-3 season to work full time in insurance, living in Macomb, MI. Eventually rose to be COO of the company before acquiring it with his brothers Sheldon and Joe. Now serves as COO of Belfor USA, which was recently featured on the reality TV show "Undercover Boss" featuring his CEO brother Sheldon Yellen; see this Detroit local CBS news story for more on the appearance.
  • Dave Peck: Linkedin page: lives in Austin, is a long-time Sales Executive in sporting goods/footwear companies. At current he is a Principal with the SW Sales Group, a position he's held since 2009.
  • Gregg Peck Linkined page Lives in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Like his brother, became a long time Sales Account Executive for Sporting Goods-related companies specializing in shoewear and outdoor goods. Inducted into the USAR hall of fame in 2019 after years of public pressure. Died suddenly at his home in May 2020; he was just 57. After his passing, Pro Racquetball Stats wrote an obituary for him in this space, and here's a link to his career retrospective done to support his Hall of Fame candidacy.
  • Jack Newman; Working as a Stockbroker in Chicago, one of the major sponsors of the annual IRT stop there along with Geoff Peters.
  • Egan Inoue: Retired from the tour in June 1994. Was a co-founder of E-Force but sold his share in 1993 and started Grappling Unlimited, a MMA/Jiu Jitsu training academy in his home state of Hawaii. Won multiple world titles in Jiu Jitsu, then competed on the MMA tour until 2003. He now trains at multiple locations of his academy. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egan_Inoue and https://www.grappling-unlimited.com/about.
  • Bret Harnett: Living In Las Vegas, working in Construction along with the founder of 3WallBall, Mike Coulter.
  • Dave Johnson: ??
  • Ruben Gonzalez: Embarked on a farewell tour in 2011-12 season (the season where he turned 60!), finishing 16th. Played in his final event in the 2012 US Open. He's now retired, has relocated to Hilton Head, SC and actively plays Pickleball. He also continue to sell racquetball-themed art via his website http://www.rubenracquetball.com/.
  • Doug Ganim linkedin profile played pro tournaments for nearly 20 years, but never full time after a successful junior and amateur career. He started "Ganim Enterprises" in 1986, focusing on Sports event management and has turned that into a career. He was the long-time Ohio State director, running one of the most successful state orgnaizations in the country. He was a long-time natioanl representative for Head. Lastly, in 1996 he created (in conjunction with USRA) the US Open and served as its director for 25 years. He retired from all other endeavors in 2020 and will be stepping back from the US Open after its 25th iteration in Oct 2021.

    1990s era

  • Dave Sabalesky: A top east coast amateur player who played parts of pro seasons throughout the 1990s. Mow a senior design engineer in robotics for a global corporation.
  • Mike Ray: Retired to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, still plays casual racquetball. His son Mick is a top pickleball touring professional, having grown up playing pickleball at the Palmetto Dunes club in HHI.
  • Drew Kachtik: ??
  • Tim Doyle: ??
  • Kelly Gelhaus: ??
  • Andy Roberts linkedin profile: stopped touring in 1999 and immediately pivoted to working as a representative of Ektelon (his racquet sponsor). He then joined FedEx as a District Sales Manager in 2001 and works for his hometown corporation to the present day. He recently relocated to Chicago and had been promoted to Worldwide Sales Manager for the company.
  • Tim Sweeney: Linkedin Profile: Living in Chicago, works as a Sales Manager/Account executive for a Recycling company.
  • Dan Fowler: stopped touring in Oct 2004. Immediately post retirement, was involved in day trading and other local businesses, continued to coach Racquetball. In 2009 acquired the Poolesville Athletic club outside of Washington DC and has served as the owner/operater for a number of years. In 2020 now in Real Estate.
  • Adam Karp: Since retiring in 2001, Karp has owned his own IT Recruitment firm Flying Fish Resources. He was also involved in Event Development for the IRT for a number of years.
  • Jeff Conine: left racquetball to become a professional baseball player, had a 17 year career playing for 6 teams. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/coninje01.shtml Hired by the Miami Marlins after his retirement, served as a special advisor to the team for a number of years before being let go by the Derek Jeter-led new ownership group in late 2017. In 2018, Conine (along with some of his Miami Marlin's coworkers) participated in the '777' challenge, running 7 marathons in 7 days on 7 different continents to raise money for charity. Conine did this feat knowing he needed hip replacement surgery and helped raise more than $2M for 11 different charities.
  • Woody Clouse: lives in Denver, now runs Effective Presentations, a consulting firm that teaches public speaking skills. https://www.effectivepresentations.com/
  • Dan Obremski: splitting time between Pittsburgh and Myrtle Beach, runs Dano Fast Fit http://danofastfit.com/, personal fitness advisor. His son, Dan Obremski Jr. is a fledgling PGA golf pro.
  • Mike Ceresia linkedin worked in Racquetball and sporting goods sales for a time after retiring from active play; has been in advertising Sales for Toronto TV and Radio stations since 2005.
  • Tony Jelso: stopped touring in 1999, has been with Northwestern Mutual as a financial advisor/wealth manager ever since.
  • Aaron Katz: stopped touring full-time after the 1994-5 season, which coincided with his graduating from law School. Eventually joined Sysco and rose through the corporate ranks; now in executive management of a food services company in Oregon.
  • Eric Muller linkedin profile: played the pro tour while attending Harvard Law, then headed to Wall Street, eventually rising to be a partner with Goldman Sachs before leaving to join a specialty investment firm in 2018.
  • Todd O'Neil linkedin profile has worked as a Sales rep and a Marketing associate in the Furniture industry since his retirement from touring full time.

    2000s era

  • Sudsy Monchik; retired in 2004 due to a back injury, took a job representing Head. Attempted a pro tour comeback in the 2006-7 season. Worked for Scott Hirsch in Floriday for a bit. Worked with Dunlop Sports in the 2013 timeframe. Was named the coach of the Ecuador Racquetball team in 2015 and re-located to Ecuador. Married LPRT pro Veronica Sotomayor in 2017. Launched his coaching career with World Champs Racquetball, collaborating with fellow legend Cliff Swain. Today works as a Coach and Ambassador through his website Sudsymonchik.com. Sudsy continues to be a racquetball influencer in the present day, collaborating with John Ellis on a weekly facebook live series called "Beyond the Court" focusing on current issues in the sport.
  • Cliff Swain: retired from full-time touring after the 2005-6 season, but continues to play competitively to this day (mostly in outdoor now). Co-launched training venture with Monchik World Champs Racquetball. Now a full time coach/instructor, travelling to clients around the country via CliffSwain.com. He recently got his Real Estate license and is now representing clients in and around the Boston area.
  • Mike Guidry Linkedin: retired from full-time playing in January 2006; joined Converse's sports apparell department in Sales. Also stayed involved in teh sport, serving as a coach for the US Team from 2009-2011. Now working as a regional manager for Lacoste and serving as a Financial Advisor in the Dallas, TX Area.
  • Derek Robinson Linkedin profile: Retired from playing full-time in April 2005 and began working full time for his sponsor Wilson. Was a Key national account manager for Wilson for more than a decade. Recently began a new career as a VP and Mortgage consultant for a bank in the Richland, WA area.
  • Josh Tucker: ??
  • Mike Green: Wikipedia page. Green is the most decorated male Canadian racquetball player in their history, winning 11 national singles titles and another 10 National doubles titles in his career. He played the pro tour full time in the early 2000s with some success, then stepped back playing part time until 2016. He retired officially from the National team in 2018 In 2016, Green began working as a Realtor in his home town of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada linkedin page.
  • John Ellis: Retired from touring full time in January 2008 due to shoulder issues. Currently the Director of Racquetball of the In-Shape chain of Health clubs in the Stockton area. Runs a large, popular program known for its excellent development of youth players. He also co-hosts a weekly Facebook live interview series with Sudsy Monchik.

    2010s era

  • Jack Huczek Linkedin Profile: Stopped touring after the 2010-11 season (reportedly in a dispute with tour mgt); now a senior Telecom Sales account manager, currently at CenturyLink. Married top LPRT touring player Christie (Van Hees) Huczek and settled in the Dallas, TX area. Recently relocated to Bozeman, MT.
  • Jason Mannino: retired after 2009-10 season to take over as IRT tour commissioner and owner. Sold the tour to John Scott in Summer 2017, to then start embarking on a Real Estate Career. He works as a licensed Real estate Agent based out of Temecula/San Diego linkedin page. Also maintains ownership in the Victory MMA Fitness center in Southern California.
  • Javier Moreno: stopped touring full-time after the 2012-13 season and after becoming the most decorated International doubles player in the sport's history, male or female. ?? current occupation
  • Anthony Herrera: stopped touring full-time in 2013-14 season. Was sponsored by Gearbox towards the end of his career, and was approached by Gearbox owner Fillipini to come aboard the company. He joined officially in 2012 and now serves as the Marketing Manager of the entire company. He is based in Arizona and participates in the large pickleball community in and around Phoenix when not traveling to represent Gearbox at major events. linkedin.
  • Mitch Williams: badly injured his left shoulder in 2010 and never able to recover. While he was a full-time touring pro, he finished both his bachelors degree from NC State and his MBA from CSU-pueblo. Once he stopped touring full-time Jan 2011, he started a career in Telecom, working as a National Account manager for Ericsson, living in NYC and then relocating to Phoenix. Currently works as a Director of Sales for a smaller telecom firm in Phoenix. linked in page.
  • Jason Thoerner: after retiring, worked as National Advisor for Head/Penn, then was elected to the USA Racquetball board of directors. He rose to be the President in 2016, then was named Executive Director later in 2016. https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Racquetball/Leadership/Staff . He was terminated as the Executive Director in 2018 under investigation for allegations of Safesport misconduct.
  • Tony Carson: stopped touring full time in the 2014-15 season. Now an Advertising Manager for ROIrunner in Colorado.
  • Chris Crowther: Linkedin profile retired from touring after the 2015-16 tournament with sponsorship loss. Continued working as Director of Sales for E-Force racquetball until E-Force's financial issues in mid 2020. Now working primiarly as an investment/equity trader living in Los Angeles.
  • Shane Vanderson: retired May 2013, now a full time realtor for Sotheby's in the Tampa, FL area.
  • Andy Hawthorne: retired from touring full-time mid 2013-14 season; now a realtor in the Cleveland area.
  • Ben Croft: retired from full-time touring Oct 2015 after attempting to rehab a serious shoulder injury. Now manages the Racquetball Warehouse, featuring himself in the online commercials and plays an occasional singles event. Continues to be part of the #1 IRT doubles team with Kane.
  • Jose Rojas: Retired at end of 2016-17 season; took a job as a Manager at Larue Communications, the company of rball enthusiast Knox LaRue. Now is a freelance Direct Response Copywriter in the Stockton area. linkedin page.
  • Marco Rojas: Retired at end of 2016-17 season; completed degree in education from the University of the Pacific. Now employed as a Social Studies teacher in the Stockton Unified School District. linkedin page.
  • Jansen Allen: Stepped back from full-time touring at the end of the 2018-19 season; is a Manager for PlanBid, a Landscape, Irrigation, and Concrete Takeoff Service in Dallas area linkedin page.