We chat about professional indoor lacrosse, the upcoming Ohio State spring break trip to Hungary and some more discussion on scholarship sports and what the talent level of the U.S. men is compared to collegiate basketball
Here are some topics and links to what was discussed:
According to this National League LacrosseStatistics website the attendance for the Saskatchewan Rush – Colorado Mammoth match was 10,449. I think the only pro handball club in the world that regularly beats that match attendance is Kiel. And, indoor lacrosses is a pretty minor sport in the U.S….
Moneyball Handball: Commentary and analysis regarding how USA Team Handball should apply “Money Ball” like tactics to identify and recruit athletes for its National Teams (November – December 2013)
Part 1: Broad Categories for Athlete Identification: Link
Part 2: Pushing the Outside of the Recruiting Envelope: Link
Part 3: USA Team Handball Recruiting (Past, Present and Future): Time for a Change in Mindset: Link
Commentary with USA Team Handball quote to start focus on former NCAA athlete recruitment: Link
If the current U.S. Men’s handball played basketball as their chosen sport where would they land on the NCAA talent scale.
And, sorry for the technical difficulties…
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Pat Spencer, was the top Collegiate lacrosse player in 2019. He then used his 5th year of eligibility to play college basketball, played basketball professionally in Europe and now has signed a 2 way contract which allows him to play in the NBA and the NBA’s G League. He was a good high school basketball player (so not entirely new to the sport), but this is still a remarkable talent transfer story and was our entry point for a broader discussion on talent transfer and NCAA scholarships.
Here are some topics and links to what was discussed:
Article on USA GK, Sophie Fasold signing with Buxtehuder SV Link
The challenges of a 3 GK and 2 GK tandem
Andreas Wolff with the greatest “caught” save of all time: Link
Key point 1: Some sports have more scholarships available
Key point 2: Some sports are “Head Count” (all full ride scholarships) and some sports are “Equivalency” (scholarship awards can (and, usually are) split into partial scholarships)
Why, on average “Head Count” sports are more likely to have more talented athletes
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Tom Brady: How good of a handball player would the American Football GOAT have been? Wikipedia
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Team Handball is a great sport and virtually everyone introduced to the sport has wondered why this most American of sports hasn’t caught on in the U.S. As someone who has followed handball development (or the lack thereof) in the U.S. for over 35 years I have been continuously frustrated with the overall lack of planning to move the sport forward. Our small community is very committed and has been willing to work hard, but without a plan… we’ve mostly been spinning our wheels in place or worse, regressing backwards as other niche sports have passed us by.
Retrospective
While I’ve been having the typical after match, barstool discussions on these topics since the late 1980s I didn’t start to document those opinions until I started this website. In 2014, I first systematically addressed planning with the identification of several alternative initiatives for consideration. These options included strategies for improving out national teams, placing more emphasis on collegiate handball, on women’s handball and the adopting a regional (instead of nationwide) development strategy. Links to these initiatives and others from the original series are at the end of this post.
In 2018, USA Team Handball developed and approved a Strategic Plan. While not a perfect document the organization now had a documented starting point to guide efforts to move the sport forward in this country. In 2019, with new leadership in place I took the opportunity to reboot the original series and to first assess where USA Handball stood as an organization and how that might fit in with the goals and objectives of the strategic plan.
I covered what “What We Have” and “What We Want to Be” pretty thoroughly and those links are at the end of this post in the First Reboot (2019) section. Surprisingly… or not surprisingly the What We Have section is still pretty accurate 5 years later.
The New Reboot
The 2019 Reboot ended, however, with my just barely having started the hard task of assessing “How We Get There” and the necessary changing of “What We Want to Be” to “What We Actually Can Be.” This incomplete effort was partly due to the COVID Pandemic and partly due to my actually working for USA Team Handball for a brief time.
Now in 2024, with the COVID pandemic clearly behind us and Olympic qualification guaranteed for 2028 it’s high time to move forward. The next four years present a lot of challenges, but also a lot of opportunities the sport in this country has not had since the 1990s. Honestly, the opportunities are so great we could basically muddle through the next four years haphazardly and still make progress. We could… but, we don’t do that. Instead we need to maximize these four years as much as possible with a constant eye towards actions and initiatives that can help lead to sustainable growth after 2028.
Bottom Lines… Up Front
While I generally prefer a methodical process without pre-ordained answers there’s not a whole lot of time to waste. Honestly, this sort of effort should have started in the midst of the pandemic when all we could do was plan for the future. That said, I’m alreadly leaning towards several bottom lines that could inform a Strategic Plan update as well as follow on actions that should be implemented. I’ve even already written some commentaries addressing one of the topics. Here are some bottom lines… up front:
National Teams
The U.S. Men’s Sr national team is already sufficiently competitive for the upcoming 2028 Olympic Games. The team should continue to be supported at roughly the same level
The U.S. Women’s Sr national team is currently not on a path to be sufficiently competitive at the 2028 Olympics. A plan to effectively broaden the existing talent pool and train newcomers should be developed and implemented as soon as possible.
The level of support to Jr and Youth national team competitions and training should be reassessed based on our expected Return on Investment (ROI)
Domestic Competitions
Collegiate handball is the “sweet spot” for development in the U.S. The bulk of available resources should primarily be focused on establishing/sustaining new collegiate clubs, improving the overall level of play, and promoting collegiate handball
Support to adult, recreational handball competitions should be limited to basic organizational support. These competitions, while important to existing members have very limited prospects for growth and/or promotional benefit,
Support to any professional league efforts should not be provided or encouraged. The current sporting landscape in the U.S. makes it all but certain that such an effort will be unsuccessful.
Support to youth, recreational activities should be focused towards the establishment of sustainable local competitions or some other follow on target.
Marketing and Promotional Activities
Team Handball currently has a very small footprint with major sports entities with a linear TV, streaming and social media presence. A plan should be developed and significant resources should be applied to improving this footprint for international national team, professional and collegiate competitions
Based on the current TV landscape a strong case can be made for a documentary/reality show focused on the development of the U.S. Women’s National Team. A plan should be developed and significant resources should be applied towards making this happen.
Fundraising/Revenue Generation
Sponsorship opportunities should increase as we approach the 2028 Olympics. A plan should be developed to maximize those opportunities. This may or may not necessitate a contractual arrangement with an agency.
Membership dues provide other sport NGBs with a significant portion of their overal revenue. USA Team Handball should fully assess whether that model can also apply for handball and, if so, develop a plan to facilitate membership growth.
Beach Handball
As long as beach handball is not on a path for inclusion in the Olympic Games, resources applied to support beach handball should be minimized. This is because there are simply not enough resources and manpower to be applied towards one discipline… let alone two disciplines.
I’ll be putting some more “meat on the bones” on these bottom lines and you can already see two posts that I’ve written on the challenges facing the U.S. Women below
Picking Winners and Losers
It goes without saying that these proposed bottom lines are going to make some people unhappy. The good news for everyone is that I’m just some guy with a website. I’ve got some influence, but the reality is that this is a Board Member/CEO driven process. The bad news is that these things take time and USA Team Handball has historically been a risk averse, keep as many people happy as possible organization. One that has often avoided picking winners and losers. And, the really bad news is that indecision is essentially just a decsion to maintain the status quo.
I’ll go on record that my intent here is to hopefully be read and to stir discussion towards decision making. Preferably, adopting what I’m proposing, but I’ll take actually making a decision as a little victory too. Because, the reality is that there isn’t always one clearly right answer, but multiple possibilities to choose from… Pick one and move out.
Subject to Revision
I’ll also go on record that I’m more than open to having my mind changed. To be introduced to new data that makes me rethink my bottom lines. One thing that I’ve learned is that when one starts to go beyond yakking over a beer and puts their thoughts down on paper… what was once certain can become a bit fuzzy. Can even lead to a full 180 degrees change of view. That’s happened more than once and that’s a good thing. We’ll be discussing many of these topics in upcoming podcasts, sometimes with guests that are sure to have contrary views. So don’t be surprised if over time this post get revised.
Part 2) The Looming Decision Can’t Wait any Longer: Link
The Original Series (2014)
In 2014, I wrote several commentaries on the newly implemented Residency Program at Auburn. Over and over I hammered away with all the concerns I had with this well intentioned, but poorly conceived effort. After some reflection, though, I thought it would make sense to identify some alternative strategies. Here are some links to the commentaries from that series… and some missing links as I never finished this effort:
Introduction: Many Options + Limited Resources = Hard Choices: Link
1) Modify the National Team Residency Programs to focus strictly on player development: Link
2) Increase the emphasis and support to National Team recruiting: Link
3) Develop or participate in a European based residency program to provide athletes more competition: Link
4) Upgrade College Team Handball: Following the rugby club model to nationwide participation (Part 1; Part 2)
5) Upgrade College Team Handball: Seeking NCAA status on the heels of the O’Bannon Ruling
6) The “Title IX Field Hockey Strategy”: Focus 90% of USA Team Handball’s resources on Women’s Programs: Link
7) The “Iceland Strategy”: Focus a large percentage of USA Team Handball’s resources on one geographical location (Part 1; Part 2; Part 3)
8) The “Alberta Strategy”: Fully assess Alberta’s successful development program and fund a U.S. version in one region of the U.S.: Link
9) Youth and Junior Teams Emphasis: Fund U.S. participation for up and coming athletes first
10) Funding direct to clubs: Reward high performing club programs with real and tangible financial support
11) High School Team Handball: Following in Lacrosse and Flag Football’s footsteps
12) True Youth Movement: Follow the AYSO soccer model to develop a massive player and fan base at even younger ages
13) U.S. Olympic Handball Festivals: Bridging the gap between club and national teams
USA Men’s National Team (Part 1: A Closer Look by Position- GK and CR): Link
USA Men’s National Team (Part 2: A Closer Look by Position- BC and RW/LW): Link
Demographics (Women)
American Citizen Female Athletes (Overview): Link USA Women’s Elite Player Pool (Overview): Link
USA Club Programs
Part 1: Understanding the USA Club Structure and At-Large Men’s Clubs: Link Part 2: Collegiate Men’s Clubs: Our Most American Competition with Opportunities for Growth: Link Part 3: USA Women At-Large and Collegiate Clubs: Link Part 4: Why there are so Few Clubs and Why the Rosters Mostly Consist of Expats: Link
Finances
Part 1: USA Team Handball Revenue (Grants, Contributions and Sponsorships): Link
Part 2: USA Team Handball Revenue (Membership and the Importance of Tracking that Data): Link
What We Want to Be
Part 1: A review of the USA Team Handball Strategic Plan and National Team Targets: Link
Part 2: A review of USA Collegiate Development Targets: Link
Video of Finland’s Michael Kallman in action (watch a minute: You’ll see a 2 minute call followed by the exact same jump shot that caught me woefully unprepared): Link
A couple of high level players, reportedly with USA citizenship
Should handball in the USA have a shorter “season” similar to other U.S. sports? (instead of the long European season model that over time has gradually been adopted)
List of U.S. urban areas by population: Link (Very highly correlated with existing U.S. Handball clubs)
Our new and likely recurring topic assessing how good athletes from other sports would be if they played handball. First up: Serbian and Denver Nuggets basketball player, Nikola Jokic
JD’s brief discussion with Barstool’s PFT commenter on Jokic: Link
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USA National Team Captain, Ian Hueter, will have a new club starting next season. Hueter, 26, who has been with TSV Bayern Dormagen since he was 10 years old recently signed a two year contract with ASV Hamm-Westfalen. Both clubs are in the Handball Bundesliga 2nd Division (HBL 2), but Hamm is currently in 3rd place and in a tight battle for promotion to the HBL. Here are some quotes from German news sources:
Ian Hueter:
On leaving Dormagen: “It wasn’t an easy decision. After all, TSV is something like a family for me. Until the end of the season I will give TSV my full commitment. I hope to be playing again soon and to contribute to our big goal of staying in the league,” (Hueter is currently injured with a pulled hamstring)
On potentially playing in the HBL next season if ASV Hamm is promoted: “That is, of course, a goal of mine. ASV is welcome to win all games, just not against Dormagen.”
TSV General Manager, Björn Barthel: “The fact that Ian is looking for a new challenge outside of Dormagen at the age of 26 is a shame for us as a club, but it is certainly understandable. We would like to thank him for his many years and hope that together we can avoid relegation so that we can say goodbye to Ian with a good feeling.”
ASV General Manager, Guido Heerstraß: “With Ian we are getting one of the top center backs in the 2nd Handball Bundesliga with leadership qualities,”
In 2021, I interviewed Ian and Patrick Hueter and one of the questions I asked was regarding the prospects of either of them playing in the HBL. Here’s that interview queued up to that discussion
Last Wednesday (31 Jan 2024), Barstool Sports put out the welcome mat for the US Handball Union in their Chicago facility. Several athletes including former national athletes, Ty Reed, Alex Recker and Michael King, referee, Josh Forsthoefel and USA Handball Talk co-host, JD Orr were on hand to demonstrate, play and talk handball with the Barstool Crew.
It was a far cry from the 2020 dust-up which started when Barstool guest, former NFL QB, Jay Cutler, talked about the U.S. winning a gold medal at the Olympics. This claim and others led to outrage within the world-wide handball community… but, also some good publicity for the sport.
Last Wednesday was some more great promotion for handball and if you watch the Stool Stream on YouTube you’ll see and hear a lot of great dialogue with Barstool as they learn more about the sport. And, while the court was too small and narrow for a full handball experience, the Barstool crew also got a real taste for handball and how it’s harder than it looks.
On the podcast we discuss how the demonstration came about, some behind the scenes interaction and how the dialogue with Barstool might continue. Here are some links from the Barstool handball demonstration and initial controversy that erupted in 2020:
“Stool Stream” video of the entire handball demonstration: Link
Additional behind the scenes content: Link (starts at 11:29)
Xavier O’Callaghan interview with Barstool (14 Feb 2002)l: Link
“Pardon My Take” Spouts more Nonsense and USA Men’s Coach Calls for a Challenge match (7 Feb 2020): Link
Is the USA Team Handball CEO Take the Side of Jay Cutler and Pardon My Take? (24 Feb 2020): Link
Participants
*JD Orr – Columbus Armada
Josh Forsthoefel – Columbus Armada
Alex Recker – Columbus Armada
Jacob Roberts – Kentucky Stags
Cooper Black – Miami (Ohio)
Ryan Peterson – Milwaukee United
Ahmed ElHady ElSayed – NYAC
Mike King – NYAC
Charlie Harper – Ohio State
Bob Wise – Ohio State
Matt Bolger – Pickerington Pandas
Ross Miner – unaffiliated
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Stephen Neilson, the Chair of British Handball joins the podcast to discuss the Great Britain – Kosovo Euro 2026 Qualification match played in Derby, England on 13 January.
We take a deep dive into what was probably the best ever handball match atmosphere and presentation in a “non-traditional” handball nation. We discuss the crowd, venue, organization, logistics, finances and British Handball’s future plans to stage matches like that again.
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On this week’s episode we discuss what standards USA Team Handball athletes, administrators and board members are required or perhaps, should be obliged to follow. What’s appropriate in one’s private life and what’s appropriate in an official capacity? And, is it possible to entirely separate the two in a world where one’s thoughts and actions are amplified by social media? Here’s a rundown of the show and some links to the topics we discussed.
Pittsburgh Steeler’s Head Coach, Mike Tomlin’s “The Standard is the Standard” philosophy: Link
San Antonio Spurs Head Coach, Gregg Poppovich on standing during the national anthem: Link
USA Team Handball’s Code of Conduct Policy: Link (Note: I think there was once a separate, more athlete specific code that had to be signed as part of team selection, but I could be wrong.)
Towards the end we discuss a potpourri of topics to include:
Discussing handball outside our handball sphere and the “shade” often thrown our way
Relatives never really fully understanding what handball we play
My discussion with CalHeat’s Martin Bilello on youth handball challenges
The need to define objectives and establish metrics for handball initiatives… so one can then better assess what consitutes success or failure
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On this week’s episode we discuss two handball miracles: The remarkable showing of the Faroe Islands (population 52K) at the European Championships and the great handball atmosphere at the Great Britain-Kosovo Euro 2026 qualification match in Derby, England. Here’s a rundown of the show and some links to the topics we discussed.
Faroe Island’s Men’s National Team (Wikipedia): Link
John’s “Iceland Strategy” commentaries: (Part 1; Part 2)
(Un)Informed Handball Hour podcast on the Faroe Islands: Link
John’s commentary that compares the Faroe Island’s challenges with the current US team (which is sort of like a geographically dispersed Faroe Islands): Link
The Final Season (a movie about Norway, Iowa’s baseball team): Link
Jóhan Hansen: Right Wing from the the Faroe Islands that now plays Denmark: Link
ehfTV video of the Great Britain – Kosovo match: Link
Daily Oklahoman article about Chris Havlicek trying out for handball mentions the USA – Brazil match and the USA women playing Iceland in 1996: Link
Article on the USA – Drammen match that was part of the USA Men’s training camp in Norway: Link
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On this week’s episode we discuss handball tryouts and the complications that result from two very different cohorts: Stateside and and Overseas athletes. The catalyst for the discussion was this USA Team Handball Tweet and the reply it elicited from former USA Jr National Team athlete, Aaron Hamm:
Need to get something in the US… Can’t expect u21 guys in America to shell out $800 for a camp
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for handball. For what it’s worth my most recent Google search has the USA Team Handball website ranking 3rd for “team handball and 12th for “handball”
Here’s a 3 part series that John wrote in 2019 on handball dual citizens:
Part 1: What is a handball American Expat and Philosophically, What is an American?: Link
Part 2: Understanding this 51st state and its handball demographics: Link
Part 3: Can a small, but determined handball nation be competitive against larger nations? Can they win a title?: Link (Note: this commentary contains some discussion on the Faroe Islands)
USA Team Handball Facebook post on the recently conducted tryout in Los Angeles: Link
The MLB “all comers” tryout scene from the movie, The Rookie:LInk
JD’s Jr National Team tryout and John’s Olympic Festival tryout in 1987
The lack of an intermediate stepping stone between clubs and the national team and how the good deals from the IHF might unintentionally be hindering such a development
How the U.S. handball development “pyramid” is actually a “tower”
And, here’s a couple of bonus commentaries on youth development
Analysis of 2017 Youth and Jr teams (you’ll see some familiar names and some names that have moved on…): Link
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The 2024 EHF Men’s European Handball Championship will start this Wednesday, 10 January and will conclude on Sunday, 28 January. Here is some information on streaming, how to follow the tournament, and who the sports betting sites have favored to win the tournament and premliminary groups.
Streaming / TV
Your options for watching the 2024 EHF Euro will vary depending on where you live. Some nations will be able to watch all the matches on ehfTV while other nations will have all or some of the matches available on a TV Channel and/or streaming service to which the rights have been sold. This EHF article outlines how to watch in each nation: Link
Register with ehfTV: Link (ehfTV is a free platform, but does require a simple one-time registration)
USA: This EHF article indicates that matches in the U.S. will be on beIN Sport US. However, the beIN Sports channel guide currently doesn’t list any handball matches on its schedule. Additionally, for the 2022 Euro, the contract was also with beIN Sport, but ehfTV was not geo-blocked in the U.S. (We’ll soon find out if that will hold for 2024 as well. Regardless, I will update this post with the latest information.)
Canada: The EHF article indicates that matches in Canada will be on DAZN. I don’t know if ehfTV will be geo-blocked in Canada or not.
VPN: A Virtual Private Network (VPN) may be an aternative option. For more information on how to use VPN check this article out: Link
Spam Sites: You’ve surely seen the multitude of social media postings inviting you to watch the match on their “free” service. (These folks are relentless with their spamming) Don’t even bother with these sites. They typically will ask you to download a video player on your computer. Trust me… you don’t want that app on your computer and in all likelihood they won’t even have the match. Go with the provider in your country or VPN.
How to Follow the Competition
Competition Wikipedia Page: Link (For simple, easy to find schedule, results and standings Wikipedia is the place to go)
EHF Competition Page: Link (Official Stats and match summaries)
Links to social media, Twitch channe and the official EHF App: Link
It’s a New Year and the more things change… the more they stay the same. Here’s a rundown of the topics discussed:
The upcoming Men’s European Championships and the record setting crowd planned for the opening matches in Düsseldorf. It was Andy Schmid who was not a fan of handball in football stadiums: Link
How Ohio State’s starting QB’s transferring to Syracuse might correlate contextually to the U.S. Women’s national team (News article on the topic: Link)
The USA Team Handball Board Meeting Minutes drop: Link
The minutes from September reference a dialogue with the Handball Development Center in Dallas: “Mr. Branick had started to establish a dialogue with the Texas project leadership to determine how a partnership may evolve and impact the efforts to develop the women’s National team.
Why handball promotion is important and the USA Team Handball Working Group that will address ways to better promote Handball during the 2024 Olympics
The podcast with Joey Williams of Detroit where we discussed handball promotion: Link
The possibility of a handball demonstration in conjunction with the NBA All Star Game in Indianapolis
The EHF promotion process and the video that was shared in real time:
Good lord. I've watched this 10 times and I still can't see it. ▶️I need another angle in slow motion https://t.co/zdTKqicSoW
The Samala Cup played this past December and John’s view that it’s high time to rethink the concept of the “weekend tournament.” (Tentatively, the topic for our next podcast)
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