Team USA Places 4th in Tournament

Posted on August 26, 2013 by John Ryan

Team USA at the Le Pouzin Town Hall earlier this month

Team USA closed out the Bernard Ritter Challenge Tourney in Chomerac, France, yesterday with a narrow defeat to French club, Port de Bouc (N3) 28-27.

Tournament Result Summary: Link (Note: the score of the USA-Etoile is transposed; the USA won that match)

Below is a summary of the team’s recent results in France

Aug 14, vs. Le Pouzin (N1) Loss (34-14)
Aux 16, vs. Le Pouzin (N1) Loss (44-13)
Aug 17, vs. Le Teil (N2) Win (28-25)
Aug 21, vs. Livron (N3) Draw (27-27)

Bernard Ritter Challenge Tournament
Aug 23, vs. Etoile sur Rhone (N3) Win (25-24)
Aug 24, vs. St Julien Denice (N3) Loss (30-12)
Aug 25, vs. Port de Bouc (PN) Loss (28-27)

An explanation on club levels in France: As is the case in most European countries handball is organized in a pyramid structure with a small number of elite clubs at the top and more clubs playing at lower levels. In France the structure is currently

1) LFH: 1 pool with 10 clubs (10 total clubs)
2) D2: 1 pool with 12 clubs (12 total clubs)
3) N1: 3 pools with 12 clubs each (36 total clubs)
4) N2: 4 pools with 12 clubs each (48 total clubs)
5) N3: 8 pools with 12 clubs each (96 total clubs)
6) PN or Pre-National: Locally organized competitions (~200-300 clubs)

Caveats on the USA’s results: The USA team is composed of a limited number of players with widely varying experience levels from ages 16-32. Additionally, the team has had to “borrow” goalies from other teams and has had at least one of their players (veteran Kathy Darling) unavailable due to club commitments with Le Pouzin for some of the matches.

Team USA with opening match victory in Tourney

Posted on August 23, 2013 by John Ryan

Team USA and Etoile shake hands post match.

Earlier today in the opening match of the Bernard Ritter Challenge Tourney in Charmes-sur-Rhone, France, Team USA beat French club, Etoile sur Rhone (N3), 25-24. Tomorrow (Saturday, 24 August) Team USA will play the winner of the Sorgues (PN)-St Julien Denice (N3) at 1700 Local.

Tournament Schedule: Link

VIDEO: Hamburg vs. Berlin in pivotal early season match

Posted on August 22, 2013 by John Ryan

Hamburg’s Hans Lindberg with a penalty goal against Berlin’s Silvio Heinevetter. The first match ended in a 30-30 draw. Watch the 2nd match live on ehfTV this Friday at 1900 hrs CET (1500 hrs, U.S. East Coast)

Live Video: Match already played
On Demand Video: Link

Hamburg vs. Berlin Friday, 23 Aug 2013, 1900 CET (1300 U.S. East Coast)

The first leg ended in a 30-30 draw. On line betting sides have Hamburg as a 2 goal favorite for the 2nd leg.

(Note: As always, I will replace the live video link with the “on demand” video link when it becomes available. Additionally, we will not post the score on the Team Handball News website for those interested in watching the match without knowing the result.)

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All too often in European club handball the early season is rife with matches of limited importance. The upcoming IHF Super Globe which is a somewhat manufactured event is but one example. But, this season the Champions League has a Wild Card playoff showdown between Berlin and Hamburg that is truly pivotal. Both clubs are in the top 10 of Europe, both clubs have legitimate Champions League title aspirations and….

one of those clubs will be eliminated from the competition before the month of August is even over.

Instead of top shelf Champions League matches throughout the season, pivotal knockout matches next spring and a good shot at the Final Four, the loser will instead settle for the less prestigious EHF Cup.

Why are two great sides meeting so early you might ask? Call it the Liverpool Rule. Back in 2005 the Liverpool Football club won the UEFA Champions League, but finished to low in the English Premiership to qualify for the 2006 Champions League. That’s right. UEFA was in the situation of having the defending champions not even in the tournament. Not wanting this to happen the rules were bent a little and Liverpool was allowed to play its way into the tournament through qualification matches. Similarly, Hamburg won the EHF Champions League last year, but finished 5th in the German Bundesliga (HBL). Normally, the top 3 German sides automatically qualify and the 4th German side plays its way in through a qualification tournament. Hamburg, in fact, did that last year and even had to beat France’s Saint Raphael in overtime to make it into the main tournament.

I’m not sure if the EHF bent the rules or not, but it was determined that the fair way to resolve the situation this time around was to let last year’s fourth place team in the HBL, Berlin take on the 5th place team, Hamburg in a two game aggregate series.

Last night Berlin hosted the first match which ended in a 30-30 draw. The match apparently was not without drama as Hamburg stormed to an early 12-6 lead, only to see Berlin go on a 6-0 run to tie it back at 12 all. Towards the end of the match Berlin had a two goal lead, but let it slip to a 30-30 draw. Berlin, may well miss those last two goals as this makes tomorrow’s 2nd match in Hamburg essential a one match, winner take all affair. (In the event of another draw, away goals is the tiebreaker).

Here are some links from the EHF website with more information to get you up to speed

After match Report on Leg 1: Link
Preview of playoff series : Link
Hans Lindberg Interview: Link

USA draws French Club Livron 27-27

Posted on August 22, 2013 by John Ryan

Team USA played to a 27-27 draw last night against the French club, Livron. Livron plays at the N3 level which is a level below their last opponent, Le Teil (a 28-25 victory for Team USA).

Starting Friday, Team USA is taking part in a preseason tournament composed of clubs at the N3 or Pre-National (PN) levels. Friday they play Etoile sur Rhone (N3) at 1830 local time. On Saturday they will play either the winner or loser of the Sorgues (PN)-St Julien Denice (N3) match. On Sunday, they will then play a placement match for 1st, 3rd or 5th place.

Photos from Livron – USA Match: Link

Schedule for upcoming Preseason Tournament: Link

Auburn Residency Programs: A big decision that can and should wait for a Board of Directors

Posted on August 21, 2013 by John Ryan

Why USA Team Handball should slow down on its plan for residency program

Why USA Team Handball should slow down on its plans for residency programs

USA Team Handball is in the midst of ironing out a final agreement with Auburn University to establish Residency Programs for both its Men’s and Women’s National Teams. Going ahead and signing on the dotted line for this agreement which would last through the 2020 Olympics is one of the biggest decisions USA Team Handball has made in years. Arguably, it’s the biggest decision the Federation has made… ever.

I could certainly argue the merits of Residency Programs, but I’ve already done that extensively. I’m somewhat of a skeptic based on my own experiences and the changing times. I also have some doubts as to the timing and most certainly disagree with the total lack of strategic planning to underpin why this is the way forward for USA Team Handball.

No, this time around I will simply make the case that if USA Team Handball is going to start a Residency Program it would be better to take it’s time, do it right and get the full approval of a Board of Directors.

Here are 3 reasons why:

Reason #1) All options should be explored: USA Team Handball has not put out a solicitation notice of any kind and has not discussed the possibility of a Residency Program with any other University or city. That USA Team Handball is willing to go sole source without even a precursory exploration of other options is pretty much unfathomable to me. This is not to say that sole source isn’t justified in certain circumstances. Sometimes it’s clear that there’s only one viable option, but in this case USA Team Handball hasn’t even floated the possibility to others. Heck, even Auburn only became a possibility as a result of unrelated phone call. And sometimes time is of the essence. A formal competition and a weighing of proposals takes time. Which leads to reason #2.

Reason #2) There’s no rush: While there were bold pronouncements that the Residency Programs would make the U.S. difficult to handle in as little as 18 months there’s little illusion that it’s a long shot prospect at best for the U.S. to qualify for Rio. Both CEO Van Houten (in my office visit) and Coach Garcia Cuesta (on the Argentine podcast) made that abundantly clear: The real and realistic focus is 2020. If 2016 was a realistic goal you could make a good case that a Residency Program was an immediate need. Heck, you could have made that case 2 years ago- Which is the point; it’s too late for Rio. And, if we’re talking about 2020, the difference between starting a full up program in the fall of 2013 or the fall of 2014 is pretty marginal. Yes, it would help some but not enough to warrant rushing forward. Why, it could even be argued that waiting to the fall of 2014 would give more time to fully define all aspects of the program and have it clicking on all cylinders on day 1.

Reason #3) Common Sense: The Federation By-Laws detail the roles and responsibilities of the Board or Directors and Section 6.2 E) identifies “review and approve significant corporate actions” as a specific responsibility of the Board. If signing on for a 7 year National Team Residency Program doesn’t fall under the definition of a significant corporate action then nothing does. Why even bother to have a Board of Directors?

Board of Directors Status

Which points to the problem that USA Team Handball doesn’t currently have a fully constituted Board of Directors. On January 1st of this year, the Board had only 5 members. With President Jeff Utz’s departure in April that further dropped to 4. The Board has not met in months and wouldn’t have a quorum even if it did meet. Yes, for all practical purposes there is no Board of Directors currently providing policy, guidance and strategic direction. Steps are being taken, however, to rectify this glaring problem. An election for 2 “General Membership” Board Directors will conclude on 6 September and a Nominating & Governance Committee is hopefully in the final stages of identifying 3 “Independent” Board Directors. Seemingly, a nine member accountable Board is just weeks away.

And at that time the Board should review plans for Residency Programs and provide guidance and strategic direction. Perhaps that would be approval of the Auburn Residency Program. Perhaps it would be a decision to slow down a bit and explore other Residency Program options. Maybe it could even be a decision to develop a Strategic Plan that identifies organization goals and objectives first, before jumping into solutions. Regardless, there’s no significant harm in waiting for a Board to make decisions that a Board should make.

AUDIO: Interview with USA Team Handball Board of Director Candidate, Craig Rot

Posted on August 20, 2013 by John Ryan

Board of Director Candidate Craig Rot with some players from a youth program he started in Minnesota

Craig Rot is one of three candidates (Jennie Choi and Atilla Agoston are the other two) currently vying for election to the two General Membership seats on the Board of Directors. Ballots must be sent in electronically by 6 September.

A short while ago I discussed why he wanted to be on the Board, what skills he would bring and some areas that he would like to emphasize if elected. Discussed topics include youth development, the planned residency program at Auburn and USA-Canada relations-. (Audio length: 31 minutes)

USATH Election Announcement: Link

Craig Rot’s Candidacy Letter: Link

Earlier interviews:

– Jennie Choi: Link
– Atilla Agoston: Link

Follow Team USA in France via player blogs

Posted on August 19, 2013 by John Ryan

USA Women’s Team sight seeing in Lyon

The USA Women’s team is training in France and playing friendly matches against French club teams. For a peek behind the scenes on their training regimen, match results, accommodations and cultural experiencea check out these player blogs:

Julia Taylor
– Blog: Link
– Twitter: Link

Ashley Van Ryn
– Blog: Link
– Twitter: Link

Team USA with win over French Club, Le Teil

Posted on August 18, 2013 by John Ryan

Elise Morrison, Ashley Van Ryn and Julia Taylor on defense

Team USA, garnered it’s first victory in France last night with a victory over the French club, Le Teil, 28-25. Previously, the club had suffered two lopsided defeats to coach Christian Latulippe’s former club team, Le Pouzin. Wednesday, Team USA takes on another club team, Livron.
More photos from Le Teil website: Link

USA Women lose in friendly to coach’s former French club team

Posted on August 17, 2013 by John Ryan

Action from last night’s match between USA and French club Le Pouzin

Team USA lost last night to French Club, Le Pouzin, 44-13. Le Pouzin is the club team that USA National Team coach Christian Latulippe coached last season. Before the match the team was received by the mayor at the Le Pouzin town hall. A story and photos from the reception are on the Le Pouzin club home page: Link

Team USA will take on the French Club team, Le Teil this evening and then has a few days off before facing Livron on Wednesday. Le Teil plays at the the N2 level (A level below Le Pouzin, which has been promoted to N1 this season) and Livron plays at the N3 level so better results are likely for Team USA in these upcoming matches. Next weekend Team USA is also scheduled to play in a preseason tourney hosted by Le Pouzin.

AUDIO: Interview with USA Team Handball Board of Director Candidate, Atilla Agoston

Posted on August 16, 2013 by John Ryan

USA Team Handball Board of Directors Candidate, Atilla Agoston

Atilla Agoston is one of three candidates (Jennie Choi and Craig Rot are the other two) vying for election to the two General Membership seats on the Board of Directors. Ballots must be sent in by 6 September.

Earlier today, Atilla and I discussed why he wanted to be on the Board, what skills he would bring and some areas that he would like to emphasize if elected. We even discussed Beach handball a bit as it was one of the questions posed on the Team Handball News Facebook page. (Audio length: 28 minutes)

(Note: Jennie Choi’s interview is here and I’m still working on getting a hold of Craig Rot who is currently in Bosnia & Hercegovina)

USATH Election Announcement: Link

Atilla Agoston’s Candidacy Letter: Link

USA Women Training in France

Posted on August 15, 2013 by John Ryan

USA Women and Le Pouzin Club pose for a joint photo

A U.S. Women’s National Team is currently training in Dieulefit, a small town in the South of France. Previous discussions with CEO Matt Van Houten had indicated that participants are all paying for their own expenses and would be composed of National Team pool players based in Europe. The team played a friendly match against National Team coach, Christian Latulippe’s club, Le Pouzin, losing 34-14. The photos and an article on the Le Pouzin website show that a few U.S. based players also found their way to France and that veteran players Kathy Darling and Lisa Dunn will be playing for Le Pouzin this season.

Team USA is scheduled to play Le Pouzin again on Friday and then will play two lower division clubs on Saturday and Sunday.

Photos from the match vs Le Pouzin: Link

AUDIO: Interview with USA Team Handball Board of Director Candidate, Jennie Choi

Posted on August 14, 2013 by John Ryan

USA Team Handball Board of Directors Candidate, Jennie Choi

USA Team Handball is conducting an election to fill the two General Membership seats on the Board of Directors. There are three candidates (Attila Agoston, Jennie Choi and Craig Rot) for these two openings and ballots must be sent in by 6 September.

Last night, I interviewed Jennie Choi to find out why she wanted to be on the Board, what skills she would bring and some areas that she would like to emphasize if elected. For reference here’s her candidacy letter which was referred to several times in the interview: Link (Audio length: 33 minutes)

(Note: I plan to interview both Attila Agoston and Craig Rot in the next few days)

NBC promotes English soccer in a big way; When will Team Handball get the same treatment?

Posted on August 12, 2013 by John Ryan

American Football Coach Lasso has some trouble adapting to the English Premier League. Wonder how he’d do coaching the German Bundesliga. “Stop! That’s traveling; you only get two steps… Oh, you get 3 steps. This is better than the NBA.”

If you’re living in the U.S. you’ve probably seen the ubiquitous promotion by the NBC network for the English Premier League (EPL). The commercials featuring comedian Jason Sudeikis as American Football Coach Ted Lasso taking over Tottenham Hotspurs are hilarious. If you’ve just seen the short 30 second spot it’s worth checking out the long version: Link

While it may seem only natural to a European that the world’s most popular sport is readily available for television viewer consumption in the U.S. if you’ve lived here for a while you know just how far soccer has come in the U.S. 30 years ago there was virtually no soccer on TV. 21 years ago it was a big deal when a few World Cup matches were shown live on TV. Around 10 years ago specialty cable channels like the Fox Soccer Channel and Gol TV became available for the die-hard fan willing to pay a little extra. And now today we have a major over the air network (NBC) aggressively promoting the sport in an attempt to bring in new fans.

NBC paid $250 Million for the EPL rights for the next 3 years. That’s right an American network willing to pay very good money for a foreign professional club league with very few American players. This contract surprised a lot of industry observers and clearly signals that the sport has arrived in this country. Team Handball has made some inroads with beIN Sport’s broadcast of the EHF Champions League last season being a good sign hopefully of things to come. Perhaps it’s only a matter of time before we see Coach Lasso taking the reins at SG Flensburg.