A few days ago, the German web site Handball-World published an interview with Ralf Uhding. http://www.handball-world.com/o.red.c/news.php?GID=1&auswahl=26283 He is a member of the Supervisory Board of the German Bundesliga and he is also on the Board of Directors with USATeam Handball. In other words, he brings a wealth of handball experience but he has also taken a very special interest in the task of developing handball in the U.S.

The interview has a strong emphasis on the much anticipated exhibition game between Germany and Poland in Chicago on July 17. But there is also a focus on the overall situation for handball in the U.S., and it is then reassuring to note that Ralf Uhding clearly has made an effort to get to understand the realities of the situation in the U.S., which is very different from what he has been used to in Germany.
In the past it has been more common that handball experts from abroad have offered ideas and solutions without first taking the trouble to understand the basics.

This is obviously very important in a situation where USA Team Handball has concluded that bilateral agreements with top European handball countries is a much more realistic way of obtaining support than the seeming illusionary approach of hoping for a serious collaboration with the IHF.