Cold Spring 15-Year-Old Is World Champion At Racquetball

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - For most people, it's a way to stay in shape at the health club.

But the best 15-year-old racquetball player in the world isn't like most people.

He's won more gold medals (18) in national and international competitions than he has lived years (15) on this Earth.

And he lives right here in Minnesota.

"I learn by watching a lot, so watching my opponent really helps," said Jordan Barth of Cold Spring. "I just watch my opponent and pick up his weaknesses."

He starting playing racquetball when he was only 2 years old. It's a family thing. And he's in that little white box five days a week – practicing, playing, preparing – for the big matches outside of it.

"It's been my home, like, my whole life," Barth said, adding that he prefers the bigger matches to the enclosed practices. "I play a lot better, to be honest, when there's a lot more people watching."

Like when he went to Colombia -- the country not the college -- and won the 14-and-under world championship in October.

"It really didn't hit me until the plane ride back. I was like, I'm a world champion," Barth said with a laugh.

It landed him a spot in Sports Illustrated. But it was where that plane ride back was headed that gives him the most pride. In representing his country, his home state, and his hometown.

"Cold Spring's not a very big town," he said. "It feels good to bring the gold back to Minnesota."