If it's good enough for soccer, it has to be good enough for handball…

http://www.thenextamericanrevolution.org/

Initially, this article was a comment I posted as feedback to another, authored by [link=http://teamhandballnews.com/comment-n359.html]Michael Chamberlain[/link]. Without a doubt, after reading it again, it is best suited as a blog entry.

It's hard not to get frustrated. This is no different than government politics. Everyone runs on a certain platform, trying to make a difference. Once they reach the top they turn dumb. In government politics you have to deal with special interest groups and the corruption associated with becoming someone's b**ch… In team handball, other than meaningless perks and a few paid international trips, sprinkled with some virtual power (nothing to lead or control), I just don't see it.

Sarcasm and personal opinion aside, how can something so bad and inefficient last for so long? I know apathy is at the root of why nothing has changed. Au contraire, matters have gone South instead.

In the end we are all responsible. The fact that we get frustrated and give up, fosters more of the same. It is time that others speak up and start developing, even if it is one high school at a time.

The development of this sport should be treated like a business. Those who have been at the helm of team handball over these past tumultuous years have, I have no doubt, had the best interests of this great sport in mind. Unfortunately, they've failed. This is nothing personal. Their failures do not make them bad people. Inept? Maybe.

Hurdle was right (and he still is, whenever he crawls from under his rock)! He called it like it was and, in the process burned a lot of bridges. Hey! TRUTH ALWAYS upsets those who HIDE IT. Hurdle did what had to be done, at the right time but in the wrong place and to the wrong people…
Never one to win you over with diplomacy, he did tell the US team handball community what they did not want to hear. He often antagonized and that was used against him. Rightfully so, I might add. Two years later, his blunt and tactless statements still ring true.

And yet, developing handball should not be a popularity contest. It is a business. Should be run as such. With goals, plans, responsibilities and, most importantly, accountability.

If you are in this business to just play handball or to further your own personal agenda, say so. It's OK to be a leech and an egomaniac. Besides, you will not be alone. Admit it and move on. You will sleep better at night.

In the end, there will be room for everyone, in this vast world of team handball… Just take a side. Burn a few bridges. Get to know your friends. Avoid your detractors. Most of us are still young enough and full of energy with plenty of enthusiasm left, to see that team handball still has a chance in the USA.

This is not about the new ATHA (of which I am a part of) or its quest to earn the NGB certification but it may as well be. Detractors will see to it to make it so…

Some (and you all know who you are…) are still looking for a free ride. Others are genuinely frustrated with the persistent status quo. Still, a small faction is out there trying to figure out new ways to fool everyone yet again. And the rest, I am happy to say, have joined the ATHA.

To each his/her own. There are options available. All you have to do is pick! That's the easy part. The hardship begins as soon as you will have to hold yourself accountable.

Don't be shy. Fire back at me… If you can spell and reason, I'd love to read what you have to say.

… not a peep from anyone "in-the-US-Team-Handball-know" regarding who (if anyone?) would be representing the United States of America at the IHF Congress about to start in Madrid in less than 10 days (April 27-29)… Should anyone like to take a “stab” at this, I’ll throw in a free t-shirt!

Oh yes, one more thing. Yesterday, I was the lucky recipient of en email informing me that the team I brought to the 2007 Nationals, (Houston Stars) was no longer eligible to receive back its performance bond.

Fifty dollars! Gone… Just like that!

Here is a copy of the email authored by Jan O'Shea and approved by the US Team Handball Competition Committee:

"Bogdan, because your team did not have numbers on the front of their jerseys as required by the rules of the tournament (IHF rules as well), the Competition Committee determined that you would not receive your performance bond back. This has been a rule now for several years and it is one that the Committee considers a major performance bond item."

What??? A major performance bond item? You mean like, uh… James Bond?

Let me get this right. I just spent two full months coercing, bribing, heck… even begging my players to participate to the 2007 Nationals Competition (announced on short notice and held over the Easter Weekend Holiday). Never mind the endless hours spent emailing, making lodging and airfare reservations, changing business and personal schedules and spending money none of us had! And, never mind the fact that I volunteered to update – LIVE on the web, mind you – the 2007 Nationals tournament scores, stats and standings, using my personal internet connection, on my personal spare time and laptop. All of this, set up on a folding table I had to personally find and drag around the Delaware Fieldhouse complex, despite prior written requests to the Competition Committee for a THN MEDIA courtesy table.

Oh… to hell with it.

Shame on me! Really. Shame on me, for going above and beyond what most gravy trainers would! I deserve what I got! I stand guilty as charged. Let’s be honest. My team, my players did not have those damn little numbers on their jerseys. And yes, I am also guilty as charged because I failed to read the fine print and disregard the IHF rules.

Did I just type IHF? Oh yes, I did!

You know, the International Handball Federation. The same federation which so happens to clearly state in its rules that, among others, the legal handball court size for adults is 40 meters +/- 1 by 20 meter +/-1) and that a full adult game should last 60 minutes (2 x 30 minutes halves) with 1 timeout per half, per team… I could go on and on… but you get the gist.

The moral of this story (ok, rant!), is this.

Beware of the USA Team Handball Competition Committee. It is comprised of a detailed and experienced former team handball players, coaches and international team handball veterans. This Committee has an intrinsic understanding of what it takes for a US team handball Nationals tournament to be successful: i.e. it SEES and GETS the big picture. Which is exactly why the Competition Committee is so exigent. Style over substance IS how they roll!

Take it from me folks.

Next time you pay four hundred of your hard earned dollars to cover the cost of your team’s jerseys, remember: it’s the small numbers that count!