After Dwight Eisenhower left the presidency in 1961, he and Mamie retired to their farm near Gettys-burg’s famous battlefield.

A few years later, newsman Walter Cron-kite interviewed the former president on the site. Film of their meeting showed the two men walking slowly along a road, discussing Ike’s life and legacy.

At one point, Cronkite asked Eisenhower why he had moved to a farm near Gettys-burg for his golden years. Eisenhower, ever a man of few words, replied that he wanted to leave a place better than he had found it.

So this retired general and former president, a man whose fate it was to lead his-tory’s greatest seaborne invasion, whose armies dealt widespread death and destruction from Normandy to the heart of Germany, ironically sought to improve a plot of ground near one of the most famous battlefields in American history.

As most people who remember Eisen-hower know, he was also addicted to the game of golf. Perhaps it was this game that gave him the notion of improving a place over the condition in which he found it.

Golfers must replace their divots and fix ball marks on putting greens. If they show outstanding sportsmanship, they will repair others’ ball marks too. They leave the course in better shape than they found it.

In handball, we really don’t have this kind of greenside duty, although personal integrity and sportsmanship are certainly as highly valued as they are in golf. Of course, a diligent handball player will be sure that the court is kept clean, but such duties are usually done by others.

Players really don’t have an expectation to leave the court in better shape than we found it. For the most part, handball players don’t encounter the same problems that golfers do.

Nevertheless, the basic idea is one that all in the handball community should emulate. I don’t mean to make it a personal task to dry-mop courts or scrub walls. What I have in mind is something along the lines of the overall "state of the game."

We have all had our group of good friends who play regular games. We miss them and the game when they are hurt or on vacation, or when anything disrupts the usual routine. We have our favorite places to play our preferred version of handball.

Quite often, however, our connections to players and locations are somewhat incidental. Even though the USHA regularly provides a state-by-state list of good contacts, most players use less formal ways of finding other players.

If you really love handball, then let me ask you to look for those opportunities to "leave the game in better condition than you found it."

There are countless ways of doing this, large and small. Share your enthusiasm for the game at every opportunity. Without becoming a bore, talk it up. Encourage new players, young and old, whenever possible.

The USHA has all the instructional materials you’ll need to do a good job of teaching the game to eager kids. Know the many benefits of the game — and look for those opportunities to spread that good news.

The USHA plans to conduct clinics around the U.S. with top players showing members how to improve their game. Put together a group of players and let us know you’d like to host one of these clinics.

While you’re doing that, also look for ways to make a contribution to the USHA’s annual fundraising effort. As I said in my last column, see if you can skip a latté or two here and there — slim down that waist a little too — and donate the savings to the good of the game.

The gift that truly keeps giving is a bequest to the USHA Endowed Legacy Fund. One of the best ways to ensure that handball thrives is to have generous support available for developing young players — those in schools and colleges. This fund provides endowment income that will broaden the flow of young people being introduced to the game.

Donations to the handball development will build on our success of showcasing handball to new players in nearly 40 states.

Tournament play is one of the best ways to make the game known to a wider audience. Get your local news media involved. Every handball player has a great story to tell, whether it’s the heart-attack victim who has returned to an active lifestyle, a youngster who has found a strong support group or a coach who knows the cross-training benefits of handball. There is no limit to how you can bring handball to the attention of the print and electronic media.

In sum, challenge yourself to find useful, neat ways of leaving the place better than you found it. You know how much the game has meant to you over the years. Now is the time to get started on those projects, large and small, that will make all the difference down the road.