Things have quieted down considerably since the French trounced Iceland in Beijing for the gold medal.
On the home front the handball clubs have returned to action. There is a typical, and very cyclical, muted handball excitement. Chicago and North Carolina are preparing their their annual Fall tournaments – THE US handball's autumnal equinox.
In the Lone Star State, Texas Team Handball Clubs' Austin club – the RockStars – have been scrimmaging all summer long with the Houston Firehawks. Additionally, Houston Stars/Firehawks will look to host West Point for a weekend scrimmage tournament in late September, which would take place in front of a packed high school gym.
Dede Piankova (remember her?) is back. She has already begun work on taking the Texas Team Handball Clubs to the next level. More cities will be added under the TTHC umbrella and a statewide league will start play soon. The league will feature youth and juniors games, along with adults.
Miami is also kicking it up a notch. The Sharks are circling the warm waters of the Caribbean and are set to take on teams from Puerto Rico, Dominican Rep, Ecuador and T&T (oh, but they do play handball there…). All in preparation for the 2009 French Ligue Final Four, to be hosted at the AA arena in downtown Miami. More on this and other huge announcements later.
As I go through all your emails, I will add more information re: where the rest of the country is heading and what the team handball agenda will look like for the 2008 – 2009 season.
Thanks again for keeping me in the loop and giving me the opportunity to be your "voice".