German website, Handball-World recently posted an interview (Carstens explains US adventure – return option for Bundesliga) with new LA Team Handball head coach, Frank Carstens. I was struck by how much he seems to have already figured out about handball in the U.S. There are several quotes where he summed up things pretty accurately. That said, I think he’s in for some more education. As a public service for him and the rest of the world I’ll provide some additional context to further educate.

On helping handball in the USA: Carstens seems to have a good perspective on this. Like many in the handball world he understands the importance of growing the U.S. market, but he also notes that his involvement is perhaps “a small step in that direction.” He’s certainly right about that. Having an experienced coach a club handball team in the U.S. sounds cool, but it can only accomplish so much.

There are a few born and raised stateside Americans on the LA team who will benefit from his tutelage, but it’s mostly a team composed of expats which will in turn will play against mostly other expat heavy teams (the lone exception is the USA’s top collegiate team, West Point). These matches will also be played quietly with few spectators beyond the players on the other teams. There might not even be any seats to watch in some venues. Little, if any, press coverage. Essentially, just a bunch of people (mostly not American) who love handball getting together for some spirited competition. Assuming the team qualifies for the IHF Club Championships next year having a name coach will provide the team some additional credibility with the greater handball world, but will be meaningless back in the U.S., where maybe only around 500-1,000 or so people even know that such an event is taking place.

Unusual USA Structures: Carstens accurately describes the competition structure, but I don’t think the article fully captured one aspect. Teams will be playing four matches in a 48 hour window with one match on Friday afternoon/evening, two matches on Saturday and one match on Sunday. And, you thought that the workload of top athletes in Europe was too high! The reason for the high workload is due to the large size of the U.S. and the reality that cost wise it’s less practical for amateurs to fly across the country regularly to play only 1 or 2 matches. And, the new National Cup competition with three weekends of travel is certainly going to test that price point for some amatuers. Yes, most people are paying out of pocket for a plane ticket and lodging to attend the 3 competition weekends.

Stretching the Definition of a “Club”: I really appreciate Carstens flat out stating the following:

• “players from all over America or even Europe come together for these qualifying tournaments, have a single joint training session beforehand, and then the games are played.”
• “but the team has, of course, changed completely again. We’ll actually be meeting there and getting to know each other for the first time”
• “I’m staying in Germany and only flying there for the tournaments. I’ll have one day there for preparation, and the rest are the days for the matches,”

And, why do I really appreciate it? Well, because club leaders in the U.S. typically like to down play or even hide these realities. To essentially mask the fact that the club wearing the shirts saying they are from somewhere… is only sort of connected with the location they say they are from. And, in doing so, also hide the accompanying reality that this “club” has very little in common with the typical club playing handball in Europe or other parts of the world. Yes, in most of the world clubs consist of athletes living in the city they represent and regularly practice together. It’s kind of silly that I have to state something so obvious, but I have to. And, it’s not the first time. Here are a few commentaries I’ve previously written on this topic.

• Sorry, I Can’t Get Very Excited about Electic Mercenary Victories at the IHF Super Globe (Nov 2023): Link
• Is it Still “The Battle for LA” if only Four Athletes Live anywhere Near Los Angeles? (Jul 2024): Link
• IHF Club Championships: The More Things Change… the more they Stay the Same… for the Most Part (Sep 2024): Link

For the past few years the LA THC team rosters have been somewhat comical with the standard joke being “Who’s going to play for them at this tournament?” The roster for the current team, the team that played in the NACHC Club Championships in July and the USA National Championships in May are all significantly different. We’re not talking about a few players… but, wholesale changes.

We could get into a debate on whether any of this makes sense, but I’ll first emphasize that nobody is breaking any rules. The rules have changed over the years, but for the most part clubs were free to add any players they wanted regardless of where they lived. For this season, USA Team Handball restructured qualification to make it somewhat harder for clubs to form super teams. The restructured competition requires clubs to play in three weekend events instead of just one event. (previously the national championship weekend tournament). As, I’ll discuss later this hasn’t stoped LA, but I think it has impacted some of the other teams participating.

Club Ambitions: Coach Carstens states that LA THC wants “to become number 1 in the USA. The California Eagles have been the club that has reliably qualified for the Super Globe in recent years. Taking on this role is the goal. Even though the development work has taken place in a very short time, a few things have already emerged, and we naturally have the opportunity to further strengthen ourselves over the course of the season.”

With the California Eagles and last year’s national champions, NYC not even participating in this year’s competition, LA THC has clearly taken over the mantle of the #1 team. Looking at the rosters of the 6 teams particpating it’s hard to see them not winning the competition, most likely with a 12-0-0 record. Last season the California Eagles played only two matches (friendlies vs newcomers San Diego) all season and then assembled an all star team for the NACHC Championships in July and then another all star team (with several different players) for the IHF Club Championships this past September. Perhaps the Eagles will show up again at the 2026 NACHC Club Championships as the defending champions to battle LA THC. But, assessing who’s the better team will depend on their final rosters which, yes, could be significantly different.

An interesting side note: Social media influence and podcaster Lewis Howes was on the Cal Eagles team that won the NACHC Club Championships in July, but was left off the final roster that went to Cairo. I’m thinking his becoming the new LA THC Club President might be related to that…

I’ve also read other articles and social media posts that characterize LA THC as an “ambitious” club and as an American I chuckle at this notion as such thinking minsconstrues how sports are organized in the U.S. I think Europeans (maybe, even some Americans) view the LA THC project as a sort of Wrexham football club story: The pluckly little club investing in itself and becoming more professionalized. We don’t have promotion and relegation in this country and if (a really, really big if) handball ever became a professional sport in the U.S. it would be with entirely new franchises that will have nothing to do whatsoever with our current amateur teams. This has come to pass in multiple sports from soccer (MLS), rugby (MLR) to lacrosse (PLL). Even super obscure sports like Ultimate Frisbee (UFA). There really is no path upward.

Finances: Coach Carstens didn’t really address compensation directly, but states “that the whole thing isn’t really seen as a job, but more as a volunteer commitment.”

Handball in the U.S. is 100% amateur and I would be surprised if any clubs are paying salaries to their players and coaches. And, in most cases athletes and coaches are also paying all of their own travel expenses. I think this was the universally the case for many years, but when qualification for the IHF Club Championship became a reality, I think some clubs found the money to pay the travel expenses for a few key players. I say “found” because there is little, if any, revenue with amateur recreational handball in the U.S. Some people, however, for whatever reason, felt the prestige of their club attending the Super Globe was worth paying out of pocket to improve their chances. Not how I would spend my savings… but, it’s a free country.

With the new rules requiring teams to assemble three times for U.S. qualification and one more time for NACHC qualification I thought this would put a damper on such prestige spending. That clubs would be forced to be more traditional (location based) with perhaps a few additional players from other parts of the U.S. joining them, but traveling on their own dime. But, I’m thinking in the case of LA THC a GoFundMe has probably enabled them to afford paying travel costs for many of the top players in the U.S. and even some living in Europe. I could certainly be wrong… but, I’m guessing Coach Carstens and Virran Morros are happy to volunteer their time to play/coach a little handball and see the sights like a Chicago Bulls game, but they are less likely to pay the airfare and lodging costs to go along with that. And, I sure as hell don’t blame them for doing so. Would I prefer that LA THC spent the bulk of their finances on developing handball in LA or a Women’s team? Sure, but again, it’s a free country.

Return to Bundesliga: Coach Carsten states, “I have agreed to take on this task. But of course, it has also been agreed: As soon as I have the opportunity to play in the Bundesliga, that will of course take priority.” This should be pretty obvious to anyone as this is a part-time job with compensation probably limited to travel expenses and perhaps a small stipend.

I’ve also looked over the rosters of the six teams participating and have a message for any would be HBL clubs looking for a coaching replacement. If Coach Carstens can’t win the USA title you might want to think about looking elsewhere for your next coach…