Growing up, Letteri played almost every sport imaginable. Football, soccer, swimming, volleyball--you name it, and chances are that Letteri at least dabbled in it for a few seasons.

It was only by accident, however, that Letteri, who lettered in seven sports while attending high school at Boston Latin, was introduced to the game that he would eventually grow to love most.

When he was eleven years old, Letteri, used to juggling several sports at once, decided he needed even more activities to keep him busy.

"During the summer, baseball was usually the only thing I did," Letteri recalled. "I needed another sport to play."

And so one day that summer, Letteri accompanied a friend down to the neighborhood athletic center, intent upon learning the ins and outs of racquetball. When he arrived at the courts, though, he was surprised by what he saw.

"There were a few people down there who played racquetball, but there was a whole slew of handball players," Letteri said. "They used to get upset at me when I would take the court to play racquetball, saying that I should play handball."

Eventually, Letteri fell in line with the crowd at the athletic center and adopted handball.

"The more I went down with these old guys--they were about fifty or sixty-years-old--the more they would encourage me to try it," Letteri said. "After a while I just really fell in love with the game."