Smara, Morocco might eclipse Nuuk, Greenland as the most Interesting location the U.S. has ever played handball.
The USA Sr Women are currently playing in the Green March Handball Tournament in Smara, Morocco for the next few days. And, since the United State changed it’s postion in 2020, I’ll go ahead and refer to Smara as part of Morocco instead of as the UN designated “non-self-governing territory” of Western Sahara.
The far southern portion of Morocco (Western Sahara) has a complicated and unique history. It was sometimes referred to as Africa’s last colony and I first became more aware of this unique situation when somewhat bizarrely I worked with someone who had been assigned to the UN Peacekeeping mission there in the early 1990s. I’m not sure how things work now, but back in the day the Air Force Personnel Center would put out bulletins seeking volunteers for Temporary Duty and my colleague signed up to spend 180 days in Western Sahara. His job mostly involved patrolling the sand berm area in dune buggies. Essentially the UN force was a buffer in between the Moroccans and the Polisario which doesn’t want to be governed by Morocco.
It’s a complicated history with the region once being a colony of Spain and then claimed by Morocco and Mauritania. The Green March for which the tournament is named refers to Morocco’s initial occupation of Western Sahara in 1975. For many years, the U.S. did not recognize Western Sahara as part of Morocco, but then in 2020 at the end of the first Trump administration the U.S. recognized it as integral part of Morocco in exchange for Morocco normalizing relations with Israel. For other nations, it’s still a sore spot. Algeria refused to play in the 2022 African Championships because one of the host cities was in Southern Morocco/Western Sahara. Because of this boycott the African Handball Federation moved the tournament Egypt and then to Egypt again in 2024 as a punishment to Algeria.
This history is mainly what makes Smara an interesting place, but it’s also far off the beaten path. I could be wrong, but the US Handball Women are probably be the first U.S. team of any sport to play in the Western Sahara portion of Morocco. (It might not even have been allowed prior to 2020.) This region is sparsley populated, although growing, as Morocco has encouraged settlement of the area. Smara is a town of just 57,000 people and is only 8 miles from the Berm, a 1,700 mile sand and stone wall which is the unofficial demarcation line separating Morocco from the Polisario. The town was also the site of a major battle between Morocco and the Polisario in 1979. I think that for the most part both sides stay in their respective area so it’s not like it’s a battle zone, but it sure is in the boonies.
For sure, it’s not a tourist destination. I would guess for every 1,000 tourists visiting Morocco only 10 make it to the Western Sahara and then only 1 of those 10 travels to Smara. Definitely way off the beaten path and that’s why I’m thinking it’s now the most interesting place USA Team Handball has ever travelled to.
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 influencer 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 plucky 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…
For the most part, I’m satisfied with the process that was used to make these hires. I took serious issue with the poor timing that saw Edina Borsos abruptly fired and then replaced with Sarah Gascon via a convoluted process. A process that, in my opinion, cost the USA Women a wild card bid to participate in the upcoming 2025 World Championships. This time, as it should be, CEO Mike King took responsibility and fully “owns” both of these decisions. I’d also prefer to have simply kept Coach Robert Hedin in place to continue the run of success his Men’s team had, but we are where we are.
An Unneccessary Dig that’s also Lacking Context
But, while the process was better I’ve got some concern with the selections and I’m scratching my head once again. I’ll highlight this quote from CEO Mike King in the Women’s Coach announcement as I think it points to my first concern.
“With realism about what it will require to climb quickly out of a nearly six-year winless stretch—and the bar-dropping disservice to our athletes during that time—we have turned that page for good. By onboarding exceptional talent, we are taking seriously our collective charge: to prepare and position this program to compete at the highest level of international handball.”
I have multiple issues with the portion I’ve bold faced and italicized
1) Even if the statement “bar-dropping disservice to our athletes” were entirely true it’s not appropriate to take a jab at previous management. I guess President Trump has kind of made such tactics “cool” to some, though.
2) If you get your job through a very unorthodox sequence of events you also don’t get to create a narrative of look at the bad hand I’ve been dealt. Nope. The only justification for such unorthodox tactics is that things are so bad we’re going to fix things immediately. Instead such tactics caused more problems and disruption… an even bigger hole to crawl out of.
3) While the last 6 years (2019-2025) for our Women’s program were clearly the worst ever in terms of wins and losses I would assess that the previous 5 years (2013-2018) centered around a residency program at Auburn were the worst ever in terms of Return on Investment (ROI). And, disservice to athletes? Dozens of athletes made a leap of faith move to rural Alabama, and in return they weren’t compensated and even asked to pay for their own trips to represent their country. (123) Arguably, an even greater disservice. Athletes are still paying for their own trips, but they can live where they want to.
First a Disclaimer…
I’ll elaborate more on #3, but I guess I should do a bit of disclaimer. Every few months or so, someone new to the USA handball scene will do a deep dive on this website, talk to a few people and then with a bit of a puzzled reaction ask me, “Man… Why does everybody hate you?” My self-serving answer is that I tend to do a pretty good job of telling people what they need to hear, not what they want to hear and nothing more emphatically brings that point home than the 5 year Auburn experiment. I tried to stop it before it started and I was relentless in my criticism of it.
Why so? Because I saw multiple problems with a 1980s and 90s solution that just wouldn’t work in a radically changed handball world. Quietly, behind the scenes, emails and conversations expressing concern were dismissed and ignored. I was the asshole trying to stand in the way of progress. Even years later after virtually everything I warned about happened… I’m still defined as that asshole. I’ve always thought that maybe some day, someone in a position of authority would step back and say, “Why do we hate this guy again? He seems to know quite a bit…” But, alas, I’ve come to realize that’s never going to happen. Enough whining. If you want more, go here.
And, if you don’t want to read some things that you’re not going to like I suggest that you stop here and go scroll through some Everything is Awesome handball memes on Instagram.
War Eagle!.. Really?
USA Team Handball now has both a Men’s and Women’s Head Coach where a big portion of their handball resume is anchored by their 5 years in Auburn, Alabama. As, I earlier highlighted, I assess those 5 years as the worst ever in terms of ROI for USA Team Handball. And, if you’ve been around awhile and can remember a lot of things not going very well… that is really saying something. It was not just another failed effort… No. It was the very worst initiative we’ve ever had.
The evidence is overwhelming and I don’t think anything else that has been tried even comes close. A five year residency program, initially with 2 full time coaches (later reduced to just a men’s coach), but with results not much better than doing next to nothing. Neither the Men’s or Women’s team were able to secure a World Championship berth despite competing against peer nations with far less resources. And, in 2015 both the men’s and women’s team couldn’t even beat Canada and later Uruguay to qualify for the PANAM Games. A crushing defeat that suggested major changes… but instead the program just limped along for another 3 years before finally shutting down.
Why was such a program green lighted? Why did it hang around long after it’s due date had expired? Well programs have their own inertia and with the tight knit nature of our sport there were also friendships, even familial relationships at play. Such relationships are the heart and soul of our small community… but, they can and have been very detrimental when tough decisions should be made.
Why did the program fail so comprehensively? The short answer is dismal recruiting, due in part to the location of the program and it’s limited funding support. Neither the Men’s or Women’s program were able to successfully recruit higher level athletes. But, when you put something in place and hire coaches to run a program… well, they’re going to take what they can get. Residency programs for training elite athletes became residency programs for training best available athletes. A lot of time and energy was spent training athletes that were never going to get us to where we wanted to be.
My personal assessment: In 5 years time only 2 athletes (Jence Rhodes and Ty Reed) were identified that would have likely made an Olympic team in the 80s and 90s. And, both of those athletes were the offspring of USA Handball Olympians… most likely athletes that never would have showed up in Auburn without encouragement from their parents. There were some other athletes that would have been on the fringes of the national team. Hard workers, dedicated team players. I know exactly what such athletes look like… because I was once one of those athletes. A national team can maybe have a couple of John Ryan’s to round out the roster, but if your entire roster is composed of John Ryan’s?… You’re not going to ever get there.
So, what I’m saying here? Well, let’s first be clear on what I’m not saying:
If you were an athlete that was recruited to come on down to Auburn to chase an Olympic dream and found the program wasn’t quite you expected, but you worked hard and made great sacrifices you are not a failure. I have nothing but respect for you and your efforts.
If you were a coach trying to make things work as best you can. Organizing practices and trying to develop your players to be the best handball players they can be. Again, nothing but respect for your efforts as they relate to those clear cut coaching roles.
But, here is what I am saying:
If you were part of the planning, implementation and management of the Auburn Residency Program I’m highly critical of the role that you played. This doesn’t mean that you didn’t didn’t have good intentions and it certainly doesn’t mean you are a bad person. But, yeah, you were part of a big failure and there should be some accountability for that.
And… if you were a coach, but your role was expanded beyond the traditional coaching roles of conducting practices and making the decisions on the court in competitive matches. And, your role was expanded to more of a management role overseeing the program to include the recruiting of athletes… you were also very much part of a big failure and there should be some accountability for that.
So, from my perspective we’ve now hired a Men’s and Women’s Head Coach and Program Director with very strong ties to the biggest failure in the history of USA Team Handball. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that having Auburn on your resume should be the “kiss of death” but, as they say, “You’ve got some splaining to do…” Of course, that’s just my persective based on decades of observation… I’m not doing the hiring.
Someone with a shorter timeline might even possibly think that Auburn somehow represents the “good ol days.” Might even rationale that there is so much to learn from that experience. That we can take the good parts and lose the bad. There’s a kernel of truth to that. But, just a tiny kernel. There’s a reason why the assistant coaches of super bowl teams have multiple interviews for head coaching positions with other teams. And, there’s a reason why assistant coaches for 5-12 teams are scrambling to find any position, anywhere once their head coach is fired.
Also, of concern, CEO Mike King was one of the athletes convinced to move to Auburn. Are the tight bonds formed through that shared experience unduly influencing hiring decisions a few years later? And, we’re not just talking coach hiring decisions… but, the unorthodox “hiring” of the CEO in the first place. From someone who views the Auburn experiment as the greatest failure in the history of handball in this country… the Auburn takeover of USA Team Handball is mind boggling exasperating. Why, it’s almost as if it’s 2013 all over again. Strike up the band and War Eagle!
Expanded Responsibilities Beyond Just Coaching
And, so now we get to Issue # 2. You may not have not noticed, but somewhere between the job announcement/description being posted and the job hiring, USA Team Handball went from looking for coaches to hiring a Program Director and Head Coach for both the Men’s and Women’s programs. It may not be readily apparent to some, but adding Program Director to the job title is a significant expansion in terms of responsibility.
Back in 2013, I wrote an article discussing whether the U.S. needed full time coaches. Part of that analysis reviewed what other nations did and how the job of a U.S. coach might be somewhat different. I say might be now, because it all depends on what’s needed and desired in terms of the U.S. National Teams. For old timers and anyone who’s ever participated in a residency program it’s a full time job because the coaching is on a continuous basis, fairly similar to that of a full time club club coach. Not exactly the same as there was some unique player development work required for crossover athletes and then fewer matches were played, but it’s similar. More recently, the U.S. had part time coaches, Robert Hedin and Edina Borsos fulfilling a more European style part time role. And, then many of what might be considered “Program Director” functions were the responsibility of High Performance Manager, Krista Austin, until she departed in 2023 and then… maybe nobody was really doing that job?
We could debate how effective Krista Austin was at performing programmatic, big picture tasks, but there should be no debate that having no one really empowered to perform that role was very problematic. How big a problem it is can be masked if one already has the athletes needed to be competitive (i.e. the U.S. Men) and it can be painfully self evident if the team simply lacks the athletes needed and is woefully uncompetitive (i.e. the U.S. Women),
I’ll tackle the differing circumstances of the Men’s and Women’s programs in the next couple of commentaries. What I’ll tackle now is whether Head Coaches should even be dual hatted as Program Directors. My personal viewpoint is that in most cases dual hatting these roles is problematic for these reasons:
The skill set needed to be a good coach and the skill set needed to perform the management and planning of a program are significantly different. There is some overlap, but fundamentally coaching a singular team and managing a program are two different things. Some people can be very good at either role, but that’s the exception rather than the rule. And, we’re not talking about straightforward, well defined management functions… No, we’re talking about developing, implementing and directing a national team program that will work in the U.S. Something no one has ever really been successful at doing.
The timeline and horizon for coaches and program directors are different. Or, at least they should be. Any coach worth their salt is very focused on the here and now. How to win the next game or do better in the next tournament. A program director, however, has to think more long term. Inherently, this leads to conflict… or, it should lead to conflict if both the coach and director are doing their jobs properly. So, if someone is performing both roles inevitably they will have a conflict with themselves on some matter and will have to decide whether the coach or director role takes precedence. The closest analogy is the common practice of professional teams having a General Manager (GM) and Head Coach. The GM determines the roster and the head coach, coaches the roster he’s been given. They work together, but they stay in their lane and don’t do each other’s jobs. About the only time it worked in the NFL was with Bill Belichik… until it didn’t. And, then maybe having Tom Brady as QB was the only reason it ever worked.
For these reasons I would be very hesitant to dual hat these roles. Heck, I think it’s already causing problems in terms of what the priorities should be. Going further, I think it would have made more sense to hire a Program Director or a High Performance Manager first and then have that individual very involved in the coaching selection process.
Or, to put it another way: Don’t hire a program director/coach (basically a unicorn) to try and develop a program and coach a national team at the same time. Instead, hire a program director to develop a plan and then hire coaches that are well equipped to execute that plan.
In Part 2, I’ll take a closer look at the Women’s Program and the selection of Sarah Gascon as Program Director and Head Coach
Perhaps one of the most frustrating and comical experiences I have ever had is trying to explain how USA sporting structures work to anyone who wasn’t born and raised in the U.S. I have experienced this multiple times, spoken for hours and hours on this topic… and, time and time again, I have totally failed to educate people.
There are a number of reasons for this, but principally it’s because the U.S. system which closely integrates sports with schools and colleges is radically different from how the rest of the world organizes its sports. It’s not just a little different… it’s totally different. And, while many people grasp that there are differences, they don’t fully comprehend what those differences mean when it comes to developing sports like handball in the U.S. And, as people are want to do… they just plow ahead often trying to recreate what they are familiar with in the U.S. The thinking goes… “We’ll just tweak things a little bit to adjust how sports in the U.S. are a little bit different.”
Sorry, that approach hasn’t worked… and, it’s not going to work. It doesn’t mean the U.S. system for organizing sports is better. In fact, having lived in France for 5 years, I will say something you won’t hear an American say very often: I personally think the “Rest of World” sports model is superior to the American sports model. If I was supreme ruler of the United States I would decree that it be adopted immediately, lock, stock and barrel. Alas, I’m not the supreme ruler of the United States and that’s not going to happen. We’re mostly stuck with our system even if there are some cracks starting to appear in our collegiate model.
So, that means if you weren’t born and raised in the U.S. and want to grow a sport like handball in the U.S., it means you better get educated on how sports are organized in the U.S. And, conversely, if you were born and raised in the U.S. and are trying to figure out why expats think the way they do… well, it would be a good idea to better understand where they’re coming from.
I’m not going to try and explain everything here in this one post. But, what I will share is an excellent primer on how the U.S. and the “Rest of the World” organize their sports and the major economic consequences those difference have for athletes, clubs and fans.
Freakonomics Tackles Promotion/Relegation and other Topics
This education comes courtesy of the Freakonomics Podcast. In a two parter seriers, “The Merger you Never Knew you Wanted” they propose a merger of NCAA collegiate football and the NFL. This merger is not practical for a number of reasons, but the exercise of assessing how feasible it would be they really to a great job of breaking down just how the U.S. and “rest of world” sports models are different.
Part 1: The Merger you Never Knew you Wanted WebsiteYoutube
Part 2: Should Ohio State (and Michigan, and Clemson) Join the N.F.L.? WebsiteYouTube
Here are some of the ramifications of the different models that they address:
How ridiculously unfair to athletes the U.S. Collegiate model was and to a certain extent still is
How Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) might hurt non revenue NCAA sports
How promotion and relegation provides more meaning to competition across the board
How the U.S. closed system with a limited number of franchines for pro sports impacts the number of professional athletes in the U.S. and the salaries for those athletes
How the U.S. closed system for pro sports makes minor leagues irrelevant
Why top European clubs look on with envy at the U.S. model and would like to copy aspects of it.
(In my re-imagined “Chase your Dreams” project, Lewis Howes uses his platform to find new crossover women athletes and then chronicles their efforts to make the 2028 Olympic Team)
I’ve mostly been amused by this quixotic quest. Unrealistic, but mostly harmless and great publicity for our sport. I’m also pleased to see that his personal quest has now been expanded to include support to other athletes seeking to make the 28 Olympic Team.
An Unrealistic Quixotic Quest
So why do I assess this quest to be quixotic? Unrealistic with a very low likelihood of success?
First, let’s take a closer look at his athletic resume. A resume that is solid, but one that has been amplified considerably by very effective marketing. Lewis Howes is an NCAA Football record holder, was an NCAA All American in both football and track & field and played professional football. Those are all true statements, and I think some people immediately paint a picture of a D1 career at some prominent college followed by a promising NFL career cut short by injury. Not quite… Lewis Howes did play football in college, but he mostly played at the Division 3 level, the 4th and lowest level of college football. Athletes receive no scholarships and everyone plays simply for the love of the game. And, while he did play professionally after college it was with the Tennessee Valley Vipers of the AF2, which was actually a minor league under the now defunct Arena Football League.
While this context makes the resume less impressive it would also be very wrong to dismiss these achievements. In particular, it would seem that Howes was at least a D2 level athlete competing against D3 competition. In fact, one little noted aspect of his athletic resume was his 2001 Freshman season at D2 Southwest Minnesota St where he saw very limited playing time. I’m guessing he received a partial scholarship to attend college there and, for one reason or another, it didn’t work out. And, with the transfer rules at the time athletes either had to sit out a year or drop to a lower division which he did with a transfer to D3 Principia College in Ohio. His football record of 17 receptions for 418 yards in a game still stands and is a monster game at any level. Incidentally, this game wasn’t a blowout. In fact, his team lost 42-35. He played two years at Principia and then two years at Capital College, a more established and competitive D3 program. It’s hard to really know, but I suspect he was the type of player that in today’s simpler transfer framework could have received offers to transfer to a D2 or even a lower level D1 program. 418 receiving yards in a game?… There are coaches that would definitely take a look see at an athlete that did that.
And while Arena Football is a long, long way from the NFL, if you’ve ever attended a game in person you’ll quickly realize that it’s for real, competitive football. There were quite a few good college football players who didn’t make the NFL so it was still pretty tough to make an Arena Football roster. And, for a D3 athlete to make it against athletes from bigger schools is a significant achievement.
USA Team Handball: A Long History of Decent Athletes Giving Handball a Try
So, what I’m saying here? All, I’m saying is like many others before him, Lewis Howes is a decent American athlete who decided to give handball a try after running out of options in his primary sport. This reality has been true for EVERY SINGLE STATESIDE AMERICAN ATHLETE since the sport was introduced in this country. Yes, 100%… every athlete born and raised in the U.S. has only started to seriously play handball after their other sporting careers have played out. This happens at different points. Post college, post high school, heck, even in high school, now. But it’s what’s happened… EVERY SINGLE TIME.
There is no shame in that and, as far as I’m concerned, the more the merrier. But, we want to get those ahtletes at age 22… not age 42. And, while Howes has played handball before for the U.S. National Team he did so during one of the weaker eras in our history. An era where there was no residency program and only limited utilization of our dual citizen athlete pool. The teams of that era were so weak… there was plenty of room for a good athlete like Howes with very limited handball experience to make a U.S. roster. I’m pretty sure that if Howes, in his 20s had participated in a residency program like the one I participated in the 1990s that he would have had a very good chance of making the 1996 Olympic team. He wouldn’t have been a “lock” to make it, but he would competed well for one of the coveted roster spots.
Making the 2028 Olympic Team?
I don’t know for sure, but I think Howes’ previous experience with the National team is clouding his perception of what he’s capable of achieving. He was one of the better athletes and overall the technical handball skills of those U.S. teams he played were fairly low. I suspect that he assessed (correctly, in my opinion) that if he truly focused on his development as a handball player in a quality training atmosphere that he would eventually be one of the best players, maybe even the best player on the team.
Alas, this is not a weaker era for the U.S. Men’s National Team and Lewis Howes is now 42 years old. Our current Men’s National Team would clobber the teams he played for by around 20 goals. In terms of raw athletic talent the athletes on the current roster are similar to the raw talent he had in his 20s. Maybe, his 20 something athletic prowess is slightly better in some areas, but, for sure, no one on the team would be totally outclassed athletically. In terms of technical handball skills… every single athlete on the team has him beat by a considerable margin. And, this goes pretty far down on the depth chart.
And, he’s 42 years old. I saw him play for the California Eagles at the NACHC Club Championships in Las Vegas this summer. He’s a decent 42 year old player, but nothing special. And, against quicker, younger, elite competition that knows how to play handball he’s going to struggle. Multiple times I saw him get beat 1v1. Side to side movement declines significantly as one ages… I know this from personal experience. There’s no shame in that… It happens to everyone.
A “Mostly” Harmlesss Quest, but…Some Cause for Concern
The commonly quoted axiom that almost always applies to handball in the U.S. is that “Any publicity is good publicity.” Whether it’s Jake Cutler or Pat McAffee talking nonsense about how their boys who’ve never played the sport can win an Olympic gold medal it gets people talking about the sport of handball and by default introducing the sport to more people in this country.
Howes’ positive messages regarding his love of handball are great and he’s gotten people, most of whom know next to nothing about the the sport to donate money. That’s awesome! Kind of amazing, when you think about it.
But, at the same time he has said a few things in interviews that I strongly disagree with and give me some concern. In this clip from his interview on “The Spin” he talks about how his leadership could help bring a team of stateside and overseas Americans together. Having observed the U.S. team and chatted with players and coaches for the past 6 years I would assess this as a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. Even more troubling were some comments he made on a podcast with NYC’s Bini Moustafa during the pandemic where he highlighted how he first made the U.S. National Team via his networking skills. Does he think he can do it again with a modified, but similar campaign? That USA Team Handball can be persuaded to leave one roster spot for an aging, but still decent athlete that can provide leadership, marketing and exposure for the sport.
I’d like to think that the current USA Team Handball Coaching/Management team would stand firmly in the way of such a possibility. That roster decisions will simply be a matter that will be decided by athlete merit, but with everything that has taken place in the past year… I’ve got my doubts.
Yes, I was shaking my head and sighing as I typed the last sentence. Let’s move on to some real positive aspects of this effort and a proposed reboot that could really make a difference.
Suppporting the Dreams of Other Athletes and a Suggested Pivot to Focus on Women’s Athlete Development
While folks might be skeptical of a 42 year old athlete chasing their dreams everyone should get behind an effort that seeks to do the same for other athletes. As oulined in the GoFundMe page the club’s mission is to “provide athletes of all ages—youth, juniors, men, and women—a place to learn, play, and improve their handball skills.” And, the money being raised will be use to provide facilities, coaching, equipment and travel. I’m not very excited about paying for athlete travel costs, but I’m certainly down with the aim to restore Los Angeles as a premier hub for handball excellence. The Olympics are coming to town in 3 years. It just makes sense and we should already be doing something like this.
And, I’ll tell you something… If Lewis Howes was Linda Howes, a 42 year old female athlete with a similar pedigree… I’d still be skeptical about her Chase Your Dreams project, but I wouldn’t write it off. The current talent level on the U.S. Women’s National Team is such that a great athlete, even at age 42, with proper training could very quickly find a roster spot.
But, LA THC and Lewis Howes don’t have to go after women in their 40s and 30s. They could scour the LA basin for top athletes in their early 20s. Howes could use his social media platforms (10M across IG, X and Facebook) to get the word out. And, the message, “of train to be an Handball Olympian with me in LA” would not be a car salesmanlike “what am I not being told here?” situation. No, it would be 100% legit. He could even shift his docuseries to focus on these new women athletes. From their first practice in LA, to their training in Europe, to their first national team appearance and on to the Olympic Games. Maybe even use his marketing acumen to turn a youtube show into a reality show on a major platform for a broader audience.
I don’t think LA has even fielded a Women’s team for several years, but with the right focus and resources, I think they could win a National Title as early as next spring. Heck, the core of the 2028 Olympic Team could eventually come from an LA based program. This may not be the personal dream Lewis Howes envisioned, but it’s still a rewarding one.
From personal experience, I saw my own Olympic dreams fall short, but I took some solace in being a part of another athlete’s (Dave DeGraaf, 96 Olympian) journey to reach their dreams. And, that was just a supporting role for one athlete. Lewis Howes is not going to be an Olympian, but he could be the catalyst directly responsible for fielding a large chunk of our Women’s Olympic Team… He really could and, if he did so, it would truly be “Greatness.”
“As many of you know, membership rates have changed over the years historically at $70, later reduced to $35. While that reduction helped lower barriers to participation, it is no longer sustainable. At $35, we do not cover even the essential costs associated with each member, including pro rata expenses for facility and accident insurance, SafeSport compliance, and administrative support.
After careful review, the Board has approved a new membership rate of $55, which better reflects the real costs of maintaining a safe, compliant, and effective environment for our athletes and programs, and does so without passing along costs of USATH’s broader operations & overhead to our members.
While this adjustment is within the Board’s authority and responsibility, it is important to note that it was informed by broader analysis of costs and operations, and made with my full recommendation as well. We understand there has been much discussion and concern in the community about this change.”
The missing context? Well, let’s break down the first two sentences of the letter
“As many of you know, membership rates have changed over the years“: As someone who has paid dues off and on since 1987 I can assure you that is very much a true statement. My recollection is that for many years it was gradual and almost always upward… $5 here, 10 there. The primary reason for the increases? Well, the economic term is inflation.
“historically at $70,”: Using the Internet Wayback machine I was able to track how dues have changed since 2012. Adult dues, have indeed been $70 since at least 2012, but there was 3 year period (2016-18) whereby clubs received a $15 rebate for each affiliated athlete, so, that sort of lowered dues to $55. With collegiate dues the picture is more convoluted as dues went from $35 to $50 (with a $10 rebate), then the rebate went away and then in 2021, the college rate went away entirely.
“later reduced to $35.”: The appropriate reaction here is… “Holy missing context, Batman! What on earth happened that caused USA Team Handball to suddenly decide that a dramatic 50% reduction in dues from $70 to $35 was warranted?
“While that reduction helped lower barriers to participation“: This next sentence implies this reduction was simply a strategy to increase participation. To entice people who weren’t playing handball because of the $70 yearly fee, but would play if the fee was just $35/year. And, arguably it also implies that this lowering of barriers actually led to significantly more participation. I’ll argue in greater detail below that both of these implications are wrong. Dues were not cut in half to lower barriers to participation and even if that was the intent… it didn’t result in significantly greater participation.
“it is no longer sustainable.“: Sustainable is defined as “able to continue over a period of time”: If one truly wants to set a dues price that is “sustainable” the logical course of action is to set a price that is above costs such that it can absorb price increases (principally due to inflation) for several years. One would have to see the financials, but I’m thinking that $35 was never realistically sustainable.
The Bad and Comical Optics: The Same Person is Responsible for the Largest Drop and Highest Increase in USA Team Handball Dues History:
So why did then USA Team Handball suddenly decide two years ago that a 50% cost reduction was the thing to do? Well, that would be entirely attributable to the short lived US Handball Union’s strategy in August 2023 to undercut USA Team Handball with a $35 membership fee. Handball athletes, like most people, are hesitant to change and uncertainty, but if you’re going to charge 50% less for something… that, just might be worth the risk. And, coupled with USA Team Handball’s painfully slow reaction (they matched the lower price in Nov 2023) to a new competitor it resulted in a disrupted season, with some competitions under the Union, some being run independently and just 2 events being sanctioned by USA Team Handball.
This portion of the “Sequence of Events” is discussed here. And, really if you haven’t watched the whole sequence and are looking for more context as to why we are in the state we are in now… you probably should find the time.
I guess one could view the Handball Union dues reduction strategy as simply a sound disruptive, business strategy. For sure, it wouldn’t be the first time a new business came online with a substantially lower price to siphon away customers from the legacy business. Competition is a good thing and helps keep prices low and service better.
The argument at the time was that USA Team Handball was not doing a very good job at organizing competition. In particular, many people were not pleased with the National Championships being held in Spokane two years in a row. And, that it was costing everyone way more than it should… hence the dramatically cheaper US Handball Union memberships dues price. I don’t think the Handball Union season (2023-24) was any better than the USA Team Handball season before it… but it sure was cheaper for the athletes. And, so was last season (2024-25).
And, now we get to the bad optics. Everyone is now being told that the two year experiment with $35 dues is suddenly no longer sustainable. And, the person (USA Team Handball, CEO Mike King) providing this new message of “no longer sustainable” is the very same person (US Handball Union, Exec Director Mike King) who convinced people two years ago to join the bargain, better and cheaper, only $35/year, US Handball Union. If you don’t understand how this is bad, even comical optics… I give up.
FYI folks… it was never sustainable from day 1. But, it sure was effective in getting some folks to buy into a scheme a couple of years ago. And, to be clear, I don’t really hold anything against a rank and file athlete deciding whether he wants to pay $35 or $70 to play handball. That’s a no-brainer. But, the higher up the food chain you go… Yeah, there’s some blame there. And, if you were a USA Team Handball board member and not asking some financial related questions prior to the “merger” of the US Handball Union and USA Team Handball… Well, if one reviews the Board Meeting Notes from the summer of 2024… you’ll note that some board members were more curious than others and you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to guess how they voted in the infamous 3-2 vote that installed our current CEO.
The Already Committed do not Need Lower Barriers
Furthermore, the dues reduction did not result in a run on new memberships. Certainly, not for already committed handball playing athletes. No, all that did was put a little smile on the faces of a bunch of people who wouldn’t have thought twice about paying $70. Seriously, virtually every adult member who plays handball in the U.S. pays several hunded dollars a year to play handball. And, those travelling by plane 2-3 times a year are likely somewhere in the $1-2K range for their handball hobby. $35 is practically nothing in that context. Where it might possibly make sense is with new handball athletes, the bulk of whom are collegiate athletes.
At the end of the day… we are almost right back where we started from. Teams are still playing in the same weekend tournaments they were playing before the disruption. I actually like some of the recent reforms done for beach handball and NACHC Club Championship qualification… but, that could have been done without all the disruption.
Back to a College/Adult Price Split?
And, while dues are still less than what they were before ($55 instead of $70) don’t be surprised if this is just a temporary stop on the way to higher, more sustainable price. In fact, I would argue that USA Team Handball should actually go back to the $35/$70 split between the college and adult charge. Yes, I know that college students are adults, but having spent the last couple of weeks recruiting college students to try a new sport I would advocate charging them less… because they are more price conscious. So, I’m not sure whether the financials support it, but theoretically the money for an one rate ($55) vs two rates ($35-college and $70-adult) might not be too much different. Yes, let’s go back to 2015
Kudos to new Independent Board Member, Olga Chaikouskaya
Also worthy of mention: I suspect that the issue of bargain basement dues rate might never have even been addressed if not for new Board Member, Olga Chaikouskaya who also is on the audit committee. In the July 2 Board Meeting Minutes she brought the topic up.
I say this because the financial costs of a wide ranging operation like USA Team Handball don’t necessarily have to be fully alligned with revenue. Or, in other words the budget deficit associated with membership benefits could, and probably was being paid by revenues accrued elsewhere. Maybe our CEO was already aware of this disconnect and had brought it to the Audit Committee’s attention. Maybe…
Such pay Peter to pay Paul budgeting, if done to excess, can be problematic and such a maneuver by USA Rugby led to a lawsuit and played a role in that organization going bankrupt. Except in USA Rugby’s case it was the membership getting screwed over by the accounting switcheroo… not benefitting from it. Again, I’d have to see the financial data to make that assessment, but it’s good to know that at least one board member seems to already be asking the right questions.
Bad Optics. Does it even Matter anymore?
It’s all a bit bewildering to me. Whether it’s the yo-yo dues issue I’ve detailed here or the loss of Forum Club Handball (FCH) support to USA Player development or a lost World Championships Wild Card due to a convoluted hiring process for an interim Women’s coach or the best Men’s coach we’ve had in years departing on acrimonious terms or a Men’s coaching hiring with quid pro quo optics so bad it leads to a former European Handball Federation (EHF) President resigning from the IHF USA New Market Project it seemingly doesn’t matter… at least to some people anyway. Bewildering, but begrudgingly, though I have to admire the salesmanship. Folks that were up in arms over the previous CEO’s “incompetence” seemingly can look the other way at all the bad news that’s come afterwards as if it’s all no big deal. And, that’s not even factoring in what was essentially a lost season (23-24) where rival organizations led to very little being accomplished in what should have been a lot of promotion tied to the 2024 Paris Olympics. Yes, it was all totally worth it… <sigh>
It even sort of reminds me a bit of Donald Trump’s claim that he could shoot someone on New York’s 5th Avenue and not lose his voters. I’m not a fan of our current President, but I’ve got to respect his ability to continuously sell his presidency to his unwavering base of support. And, yes I’m not a fan of our current CEO, but one has to respect the salesmanship. People that really should know better are apparently happy with everything that has taken place. That, my friends, is some uber salesmanship.
I just wish those skills were also bringing in more significant sponsorship. And, honestly, I’m pretty surprised it hasn’t yet. After all, if you can sell some folks who really care about handball that everything is A-OK, then selling our great sport to companies that want to be part of the LA 2028 Olympics should be a walk in the park.
In 2018, the IHF Council awarded the USA Men and Women wild card spots for 2025 and 2027 World Championships. This award was made to help the USA teams prepare for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. The award, however, was not 100% guaranteed and included a vague caveat “provided that the USA National Teams have reached a certain performance level” that could be invoked to pull back the award. The first warning that this caveat would be used came on 27 March 2025 when an IHF annoucement awarding a wild card for China quietly omitted any mention of a wild card for the U.S. and was later confirmed on 12 May 2025 when the IHF awarded Croatia the 2nd available wild card for the 2025 World Championships.
While the U.S. Women’s National Team performance has been pretty low for several years it’s my opinion that the IHF decision to not award a wild card to the U.S. was ultimately triggered by a very questionable process to fire and hire a new Women’s Head Coach quickly before the North American & Caribbean Handball Confederation (NACHC) Champions this past April. This podcast (the 1st of 2 parts) breaks down how the hiring process unfolded and what I find questionable.
Here are some links to what was discussed:
Strategic Planning History
May 2013: Federation Planning: Right Idea, Flawed Execution: Time to Right the Ship: Link
August 2018: USA Team Handball Unveils it’s Strategic Plan: That a Really Good Step towards Bigger and Better Developments Link
October 2022: Strategic Planning Presentation to USA Team Handball Board of Directors: Link
17 February 2025: USA Team Handball announcement seeking Sr and Jr Women’s Head Coach: Link
17 February 2025: Coach Selection Process Procedures: Link
(Iowa. A place to grow up… absolutely; A place to visit… not so much)
Handball Coming to Iowa?
When I first heard that USA Team Handball was headed to Bettendorf, Iowa for its annual National Championships I burst out laughing. I spent the first 18 years of my life living on a farm in Iowa and while it was a great place to grow up, it’s nearly last on my list of places to visit, because there’s virtually no reason to ever visit Iowa unless you have family there. Don’t believe me? Check out this list of places to vist; it even includes my hometown, Brooklyn #7. Your closest option to Bettendorf will be the World’s Largest Truckstop #21)
It’s also generally not one of the easier places to get to. There are worse places, but I suspect there will be quite a few handball people flying to Chicago and then driving 2+ hours to get to Bettendorf.
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of the catcalls and complaints that would have materialized if former CEO Martin Branick was still in charge and had announced that handball was coming to Iowa. Holy crap! There would have been a revolt and calls for his removal. You thought Spokane was bad…
Well, anyway, just something for everyone to contemplate while waiting in line for your rental car, driving the 2+ hours to Iowa, paying your tolls and staring out at the endless corn and soybean fields. Yes, plenty of time to contemplate life, how our handball world has improved and whether all the disruption of the past year has been worth it.
How Should we Decide the Location for our Handball National Championships?
But setting aside the merits of Spokane or Bettendorf the larger question is whether it even matters very much where we hold our National Championships. I think the answer to that question depends on what we or USA Team Handball is trying to accomplish with the National Championshps. Here are some goals/objectives I’ve heard postulated:
Provide particiants the best possible on court experience: Generally everyone likes to play their matches on a good full sized court. Good lighting, actual stands for viewing, working scoreboards, courts in one location are some of the features desired. Teraflex floors are a nice addition too.
Ease of travel for as many participants as possible: It’s impossible to make everyone happy, but typically having the national championships within easy driving distance to several clubs and next to a major airline hub makes travel easier
Minimize costs for participants: This is closely related to ease of travel, but not always. Sometimes having the championships at a location with cheap food/lodging can offset travel inconvenience. In particular, I think the cheapest nationals I ever attended was in 1988 in Marquette, Michigan. Very inconvenient to get to, but free room and board at Northern Michigan University which at the time was trying to broaden its training center bonafides.
Minimize costs for USA Team Handball: Renting a facility can be expensive, but this can sometimes be offset by deals to guarantee visitors. The downside is the deals tend to be in less desired locations.
Introduce handball to a new city/region: While generally not the highest priority bringing a championship to a new locale can spur development. The 2010 National Championships in Las Vegas were a major factor in getting a new club started there.
A “reward” for development efforts in a city/region: Again, this can be an add-on goal, but national championships in Minneapolis (2012) and Detroit (2020) (cancelled by COVID) are examples of this and can be a good opportunity to showcase the sport
Introduce the broader handball community to a new handball residency program location or hub of focused activity: In 1992 and 1993 the National Championshps were held in Philadelpia as kind of a warm up to the short lived residency program there. Several championships were also held in Atlanta in the 1990s as it became a major hub of handball eforts in conjunction with the 1996 Olympics. Originally there was talk of the 2025 National Championships being played in Charlote at the U.S. Performance Center which would be right out of the Philly playbook of the 90s.
Cost Trade Offs and Who Ends up Paying
One doesn’t have to think too long or hard to realize that some of these goals can be met at the same time. And, that some are in direct conflict with each other. In particular, there will almost always be a direct conflict with minimizing costs and providing the best possible experience. i.e., good experiences tend to cost more money. Not always the case, but generally the case.
Probably the biggest trade off relates to whatever deal USA Team Handball ends up making with a host city. I haven’t seen the numbers, but one can surely guess that less desirable locations charge less money and/or offer incentives. Most notably, the two year deal former CEO Ryan Johnson surely cut with Spokane was likely a good one and for a cash strapped NGB it looks better on the bottom line. But, then everyone had to travel to Spokane and that adds up. One would have to have greater insight to all the numbers, but I suspect that the cost savings was essentially paid by greater member travel costs.
Bettendorf by the Numbers
Here’s a rough assessment of how Bettendorf fits with the goals identified
Quality Venue. Sight unseen, the TBK Bank Sports Complex looks like a fine venue. One of the interesting developments of the past 10 years or so has been the addition of facilities like this all over the country.
Ease of Travel. Bettendorf is harder to get to, but not impossible. I was even surprised to see that there’s a direct flight option out of Denver. Others will like find it cheaper to fly to Chicago and drive. A few clubs that normally have to fly like Minnesota, Chicago, and Milwauke can even drive to Bettendorf
Minimize participant costs. Bettendorf is likely pretty reasonable in terms of lodging. As discussed flight and drive will add up for some folks
Minimize USA Team Handball cost. As discussed I suspect the Quad Cities cut a decent deal and with more and more facilities like the TBK Bank Sports Complex being built there’s more competition.
Introduce handball to a new region. See below
A reward for development efforts. See below
Introduce the handball community to a new handball hub. See below
The 50 year Iowa Handball Cicada
As far as I know my home state has been pretty much devoid of handball. In fact, the only handball played there that I know of was a U.S. Women’s National Team tryout held at Iowa State University in the 1970s. And, now in 2025 handball has returned like a 50 year periodical cicada. While it would be nice if a 3 day tournament ignited a new handball passion in the Quad Cities, I’ve been around long enough to know that is very unlikely. There might be a local TV news report and a few random passers-by at the TBK Bank facility, but that’s about it.
As most U.S. clubs are currently reliant on expats, the Quad Cities (population, 385K) is simply too small to realisitically support a handball club. And, the same is true for any city in Iowa. The largest metro area ( Des Moines, pop ~750K) is still too small. I also don’t think Iowa attracts very many immigrants from handball loving countries. Of course, a club not reliant on expats could conceivably get started from scratch, but that would be extremeley challenging. Realistically, the only two possiblities would be starting club teams at the two largest universities, Iowa and Iowa State, but as they are a bit geographically separated from other clubs that would also be challenging.
So… in all likelihood a little handball cicada swarm will hit Bettendorf for 3 days only to return x number of years later… hopefully, shorter than 50 years.
A Missing, Aspirational Goal?
One possible goal that might seem strange in its omittance would be to create the best possible fan experience. After all, it is a National Championship. Shouldn’t we be more concerned with putting on an entertaining show? Of course, that would assume there are actually any fans beyond the participants. Even friends and family members are typically lacking at a U.S. Handball National Championship.
Here are some reasons as to why fans are lacking:
Not a priority: Conducting a National Championships is a major operation with multiple moving parts. The focus is the participants and making sure the tournament runs smoothly
The Format (Too Many Teams): Our National Championships is an all comers event for anyone who wants to come. There are some good teams playing at a decent level, but there are also development teams and weekend warriors reliving their glory days. Everyone that wants to play handball should have the opportunity to do so, but maybe a National Championship should just be for the top teams.
The Format (Too Many Games in Too Little Time): Playing 5 matches over 3 days? Pro handball players in top physical condition complain loudly about playing 2 matches in 2 back to back days. All too often the Sunday championship matches feature two tired teams playing out a battle of attrition. It’s typically not good handball.
While it would be nice to solve this problem by just making the fan experience a priority and changing the format to a Final Four or some other fan friendly format, doing so won’t neccessarily solve this problem. Or, since we’re in Iowa, let’s quote Field of Dreams: “If you build it… They will come.”
And, here’s James Earl Jones end of movie monologue telling Kevin Costner that “People will come”
Sorry, that only works in the movies. It’s not so easy to artificially create demand. I’m not saying we shouldn’t put more priority on packaging our National Championships. Just saying that we should have tempered expectations.
That said.. if you’re intrested and have a little free time you could go and visit the actual Field of Dreams and one of Iowa’s biggest tourist sites. Just an hour and half drive from Bettendorf
(The analog scoreboard on Court 3 at College Nationals: Not electronic and missing some numbers)
As Usual: Spirited Competition
This past weekend, as I usually do, I attended the Collegiate Handball National Championships. The competition was spirited and didn’t disappoint. From my perspective here are a few notable highlights:
My alma mater, Air Force, defeated West Point in pool play for the first time in several years only to see West Point re-assert themselves in the knockout stages for yet another title. (17 in a row, now)
Meanwhile in women’s play, North Carolina knocked off West Point in the Gold Medal match to end the West Point women’s streak at 4 titles
In Men’s Division 2 play, a new side, Kentucky, ran through the tournament undefeated to take the title over Case-Western. It’s nice to see a new program do so well. And, a shout out to Josh Palmer of Colorado State who did a solid job as a newcomer GK playing for Case-Western. Maybe we’ll see the CSU Rams there next year.
Beyond the play on the court, though, there were some organizational challenges. Here’s a list of what I observed:
Court 3, which was only used on Friday night, didn’t have an electronic scoreboard so the match time was kept by phone and the score had to be kept with the rotating strips. (see photo)
Adding insult to injury the analog score strips were missing a one and a zero… hence the post-it note.
Referees weren’t always on time for match start… but, they were always found without too much delay
Volunteers for scorekeeping weren’t always available… hence my stepping in to the void on Friday night
The cameras for video streaming weren’t always set up for operation
And, when the cameras were set up, they weren’t always manned… hence my stepping in on several occasions
And, the matches were streamed online at some non-traditional website locations, but the price (free) was right
I saw a set of handball goals fall apart on a couple of occasions. Nothing major and nothing a wrench couldn’t fix
Same as it ever was
It’s been quite a few years since I organized a handball tournament, but I still remember what it’s like. And, if you’ve ever organized or even just attended a few handball tournaments, none of what I described should surprise you. Those sorts of things happen. Sometimes the event goes off without a hitch, but usually there are a few hiccups. And, then on occasion (like this past weekend) things add up and it can make the event look at times like a bit of a train wreck. However, in almost 40 years of observing handball tournaments, our handball community pretty much always finds a way to cross the finish line. There’s always complaining, but folks generally step in to help and right the ship. This has been true whether it was a tournament under the old US Team Handball Federation, USA Team Handball, the short lived US Handball Union or at independent events sanctioned by no one.
I’ll now take my 40 year timeline and zoom in on the last 3 seasons. The 2022-23 season organized under USA Team Handball CEO, Martin Branick, the 2023-24 season organized by US Handball Union Director, Michael King and the 2024-25 season organized by USA Team Handball CEO Michael King.
During those 3 seasons I attended a SoCal Beach Handball Championships, 3 Samala Cups in Colorado and 3 Collegiate National Handball Championships. And, I also watched quite a few matches online over the past 3 years. I don’t want to pretend like I was some IG inspector walking around with a clipboard meticulously grading organizational performance using carefully established criteria, but in my opinion there’s not a whole lot to separate the organizational standards of the past 3 years. If anything, last weekend’s college nationals puts this season below the other two seasons, but the sample size is still pretty small, and, as I highlighted previously sometimes things happen.
In very simple terms: Nothing has really changed and I don’t think there was much of a problem in the first place. Collectively, we know how to run a U.S. style weekend tournament. (Maybe, we should rethink whether we should be conducting so many weekend tournaments… but, that’s a commentary for another day.)
Was it all worth it?
So, if I’m a bit generous, and assess that nothing has changed organizationally, the rhetorical question is “Was it all worth it?” And, by “it” I’m referring to the whole crazy sequence of events from the creation of the US Handball Union to the unorthodox firing of Martin Branick and his immediate replacement with Michael King. And, of course, all the Board resignations and reputational damage that USA Team Handball garnered in the process. Well, the answer is so obvious it doesn’t even really need to be answered. I mean we’re talking some serious rationalization here, if you’re firmly in the “Yes, it absolutely was worth it” camp. Because 7 months into the new era… there’s not a whole lot to show for.
And, if you’re in the “Yes, eventually it will all make sense, but it will take some time” camp that blames the current situation on the challenges that were inherited let me clear up something for you. It’s true that any newcomer inherits the problems (and successes) of his predecessor. And, under normal hiring circumstances it’s reasonable to have to some sort of grace period before progress is expected. But, when one comes into a role under very abnormal circumstances… There really shouldn’t be any grace period. This is because the justification for blowing everything up is that things have gone totally to hell in a handbasket… and the newcomer is clearly going to be so much better that we can’t wait or be bothered with a normal hiring process. That any additional, self inflicted new challenges caused by the disruption will be small potatoes in the big scheme of things. Otherwise, you just wouldn’t risk taking such action. It just couldn’t possibly be worth it.
And, while we’re just talking about tournament organization here, if one believes the Board of Director Meeting Minutes from last year the whole US Handball Union situation was the catalyst that eventually led to 3.5 board members deciding to blow everything up. Or… maybe it was just ostensibly the reason given so that other changes could be made? Regardless… it all just has me shaking my head.
A Dismal (but not Surprising) Record; Does that Alone Justify Firing?
In terms of wins and losses the firing is certainly justifiable. In major competitions the U.S. Women compiled an 0-0-8 record. Yes, the Borsos era ended with the U.S. Women failing to win a single match in major competitions. I also don’t think a single match was won in friendly international matches, but perhaps there’s a win out there against some lower level club team. (Results of friendly matches were often never reported… a whole other issue I won’t delve into here.)
How can one possibly argue against sacking a coach with such a dismal record? Well, here goes: The USA women haven’t played a single match in the past four years where they were the better team on paper. In most cases they didn’t even have a decent chance for an upset. If you know anything about the sport of handball it’s very self-evident: The talent to effectively compete has simply not been available. It’s not even worthy of debate.
Go ahead, put Thorir Hergeirsson in charge of the U.S. Women if you want. Maybe he could have X’d and O’d a victory over Canada or Mexico at some point in the last four years, but I doubt it. Given the talent available the results are not surprising. And, unless there are some new dual citizen upgrades to the U.S. roster I suspect that we will very likely continue our losing streak in April.
If one defines “coaching” as taking the athletes you have available, forming them into a team and getting said team to perform to the best of its capabilities… then, in my opinion, Coach Borsos actually did a pretty decent job.
If, however, one expands the coaching role to include efforts to identify, evaluate, recruit and develop talent… then one might argue that it is indeed time for a coaching change.
Identifying, Evaluating, Recruiting and Developing Handball Athletes: How the U.S. is Different
Before I address the question as to how coaching applies to identifying, evaluating, recruiting and developing handball athletes it’s important to highlight how what might apply for a typical handball nation doesn’t quite fit for the U.S. and vice versa.
For a nation where handball is popular, the job in this regard, for the national team staff is much simpler. For the most part they don’t have to identify or find talent. That talent is readily available and their job is primarily one of evaluation or figuring out who has national team potential. Recruiting is also very limited. Occasionally, there may be some athlete who doesn’t want to play for the national team or perhaps some foreign national that needs to be persuaded to play for his adopted country, but it’s not commonplace. And, with a strong club system in place individual skill development is less neccessary so development focuses more on teaching athletes how to progress in a national team environment.
For a nation like the U.S. where handball is virtually unknown, however, recruiting is a more intensive effort. Primarily, this is because there are no real pipelines in place. And, because of this the U.S. has to identify, evaluate, recruit and develop athletes for alternative sources. For the U.S. the three primary cohorts are:
Dual Citizens: This cohort consists of American citizens that have lived most of their lives in nations where handball is popular. These athletes have to be found and then persuaded to play for the U.S. After they’ve been found and committed to play for the U.S., the U.S. then evaluates and develops these athletes much the way a European nation would.
Americans already playing handball in the U.S.: There aren’t a lot of Americans playing handball in the U.S., but there are some. These athletes can be evaluated much the way a European nation does, except that the talent pool is so small, it’s actually possible to evaluate every single handball athlete. Additionally, as the handball development is typically rudimentary it’s important to assess potential talent and to take into account that the age/skill level could be dramatically different from what one would expect in a handball nation.
Americans who have never played handball: This is perhaps the strangest cohort to someone from a handball nation. Needless to say… they are not doing this in Denmark and Germany. But, for many years this was the primary source for American handball athletes. And, to state the obvious… identifying, recruiting, evaluating and developing athletes like this requires a unique skillset. One that a typical handball coach, may or may not have.
Who’s in Charge of Finding and Developing Talent? And, do we have the Resources to Make it Happen?
So, I’ll now go back to my earlier statement: “If, however, one expands the coaching role to include efforts to identify, evaluate, recruit and develop talent… then one might argue that it is indeed time for a coaching change.” And, I’ll try to answer that statement as best as I can. And, it truly is, “best as I can” because I don’t think it’s ever been clearly defined who’s in charge of what. Or, as I wrote back in Oct, 2023, I think the lack of new talent is more of a “management” issue than it is a “coaching” issue.
Going back to the ancient history of when I played for the national team in the 1990s U.S. National Team coaches, especially the European ones, played little to no role in the finding and recruitment of athletes. They conducted tryouts and evaluated athletes for further development, but other members of the USA Team Handball staff did the legwork to bring those athletes in. Over time, particularly as resources dwindled, coaches became more engaged in recruiting efforts. They pretty much had to because if they didn’t do the recruiting they might not even have any athletes to coach.
More recently, USA Team Handball actually had a High Performance Manager, Krista Austin, on staff from 2021-23. Logically, recruiting was part of her job jar, but it’s not entirely clear what expectations were and how recruiting responsibilities were split with the coaching staff. And, when funding diminished in 2023 she left the organization and was never replaced.
Back to the Question at Hand: Does the Firing Make Sense?
I digress, so back to the question at hand. Assuming that coaching wasn’t the primary issue and that Coach Borsos is essentially being fired for failing to successfully identify, recruit, evaluate and develop new talent… One could make a very solid case that she has clearly failed in these areas. USA rosters have included teenagers that weren’t quite ready and aging veterans that should have been pushed out by new talents several years ago. Instead there have been very few new talents. And, none of them have been head turning, gifted athletes. With that lack of success, both in terms of results and recruitment, why not give someone else a try?
Well, here are a few reasons why one might say the firing wasn’t justified on recruiting grounds:
Did her job description clearly articulate recruiting responsibilities?
Is there some sort of documentation with recruiting performance expectations?
Was she given the resources to be a successful recruiter?
I don’t know for a fact… but, I’m guessing the answer to each of those questions is “no.” Perhaps during her tenure under three different CEOs there were some discussions pertaining to identifying, recruiting, evaluating and developing new talent. I sure hope there was. It seems there might have been.
Fledging efforts to expand the talent pool were conducted. U.S. based training camps were conducted. We even had a D2 basketball player with very little handball training play significant minutes at a NORCA Championship. But, this sort of thing was surely pretty new to Coach Borsos and being based in Europe made those sort of efforts challenging.
Ideally, discussions related to talent pool expansion should have taken place prior to hiring. And, requirements related to this skill set should have been articulated in the job announcement. Looking back, I suspect that those in charge observed the success Coach Hedin was having with the U.S. Men and decided it could be replicated… without understanding that the U.S. Women were not gifted the same dual citizen talent pool. And, that the ability to recruit new athletes might be the most important skill required for a U.S. Women’s Nationa Team coach.
Sometimes a Change is Needed
So to review:
Coach Borsos didn’t win a single match in major competitions… but, the U.S. was clearly the weaker team in every single match they played.
Coach Borsos had very little success in terms of recruiting new athletes… but, it’s unlikely she was hired to perform that challenging job and wasn’t given much in terms of resources to be a successful recruiter.
Or, to put in other terms:
Coach Borsos was very unsuccessful… but, it was mostly due to circumstances beyond her control.
In many ways it’s not really fair and not her fault. In my opinion, she was simply hired for a coaching situation that did not match her skillset. This was true the day she was hired and it’s still true four years later.
And, what is that coaching situation? Well, as I’ve alluded to, it’s the stark reality that our current talent pool of national team athletes is very thin and not very talented. If we want to field a competitive team at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles new talents are needed. The current talent pool will not get us there.
It’s still very unclear how the U.S. will tackle this challenge, but it will likely require some significant changes in how we manage and coach our U.S. Women’s National Team. And, if that’s the case we should indeed look to hire a coach to match that new coaching situtation.
But… do we know what that coaching situation will be? Do we have a plan for our Women’s National Team? Assuming the answers to those questions are “no” shouldn’t the U.S. first figure out what we want to do/can do?… And, then hire a coach to meet that need? I sure think so and will argue that case in a follow on commentary
The USA Men participated in their second straight World Championships this past January and finished in 26th place with 3 wins and 4 losses. At first glance this doesn’t look like a great tournament result. After all, at the 2023 World Championships the U.S. made the main round and finished in 20th place. But, while the end result was a lower overall ranking, the body of work this time was, in my opinion, clearly better. Here’s a look at how the U.S. did in all 7 matches.
Match by Match Review
Preliminary Round
Portugal – USA 30-21 (15-10): The outcome of this match was never in doubt, but the U.S. made the eventual 4th place Portuguese work the whole way.
Norway – USA 33-17 (13-7): This was clearly the worst U.S. performance of the tournament… But, after Norway lost their first match vs Brazil, was there any doubt that the hosts would do everyting in their power to right the ship and take out their frustration?
Brazil – USA 31-24 (10-12): The U.S. led at the half and the match was tied at 18-18 with twenty minutes left. A remarkable performance against a Brazil side that edged out both Norway and Sweden for a QF slot. While Brazil dominated the final twenty minutes playing a world top 8 team to a standstill for forty minutes was a great confidence booster. One that hopefully serves as a stepping stone to an eventual 60 minute result against a top side.
President’s Cup
USA – Japan 27-25 (15-13): While Japan was missing some key players many players on their roster had just played in the Olympics this past summer and had been part of Japan’s successful Asian qualification. Not a top European side, but an experienced side that had played some big matches. The U.S. trailed early, but came back and led most of the way. Most importantly, they took control of the match in crunch time.
USA – Cuba 27-26 (14-15): Against their continental rivals the U.S. played a subpar match and even fell behind 4 goals (15-19 early in the 2nd half. But, the U.S. didn’t panic and eventually took a 24-23 lead with 9 minutes. Again… the U.S. was the better team in crunch time. Poised, they found a way to win when they weren’t having their best day. And, that’s what confident sides do.
USA – Bahrain 30-28 (15-14): At the 2023 World Championships Bahrain defeated the U.S 32-27. The match was not a blowout, but Bahrain was clearly the better side. This time around the U.S. was the better team and (we have a theme here) the better team in crunch time.
25th Place (President’s Cup Title Match)
Poland – USA 24-22 (11-13) (10-8) (3-1) : Heading into this match the U.S. was a 7.5 goal underdog and the odds of an outright victory were 13-1 against. Poland is no longer a top European side, but their handball history is decidedly superior to the U.S. But, none of that mattered and the U.S. held a lead in the 54th minute only to see the match end in a regular time draw (21-21). The U.S. then came up short in the penalty shootout. Sure, I would have preferred a title, but all things considered, that’s a solid performance.
Overall Team Assessment
Over the course of two weeks the USA Men played 7 teams of varied experience and talent levels. We didn’t know it going into the tournament, but based on the final rankings of the teams participating, Group E (Portugal (4th), Brazil (7th), Norway (10th) and the USA (26th)) was the strongest Preliminary Group in the Tournament. And, then against peer nations in the President’s Cup, the U.S. won all three of their 3 group play matches and played to a draw in the President’s Cup final, only to lose on penalties.
Betting lines are by no means official, but it’s telling that the U.S. covered the goal handicap spread in 5 of their 7 matches, only failing to cover versus Norway and Cuba. And, in two cases, against Japan and Bahrain they won matches relatively comfortably agains teams they were expected to lose to by 3 or 4 goals. By these numbers, there is no debate… The U.S. repeatedly exceed expectations.
How did the U.S. do it? Well, here are some of the reasons that I think are behind the team’s success.
Solid defense: The U.S. gave up an average of 27.7 goals/match. The IHF doesn’t provide a handy ranking for this metric, but a quick review of match scores for the teams the U.S. played shows that the U.S. held their opponents to fewer goals than their average. While some of this might be attributable to the somewhat methodical U.S. offense, keep in mind that same offense also had it’s fair share of turnovers. In fact, if one takes out the resultant fast break goals, the U.S. set defense (dare, I say it?) approaches the defense played by some of the top teams. It approaches… it’s not quite there yet. But, if one is trying to understand how the U.S. was tied with Brazil with 20 minutes left… it’s good defense combined with fewer turnovers on offense.
And, the defense starts with a center block of Domagoj Srsen and Patrick Hueter with Drew Donlin and Paul Skorupa filling in with no real drop in performance. Yes, 4 big, physical guys that are largely interchangeable and familiar with each other’s play. Throw in Ian Hueter and Abou Fofana playing pretty good “2” defense as well and it’s very capable defense
Reliable wing scoring: I’ll be doing a more indepth position by position review, but right wing, Sean Corning and left wing, Sam Hoddersen provided consistent scoring both on the wing and fast breaks
Crunch time leadership: Center back 1a, Ian Hueter and center back 1b, Alex Chan kept the team poised in crunch time. Games the U.S. might have lost in the past due to mistakes, are now games we are winning.
A core group with several years of shared experiences: Back in 2018 at a PANAM Games qualifier, I saw a backcourt of Abou Fofana, Ian Hueter and Gary Hines make short work of a Canadian side that had beaten the U.S. a few months earlier. More players have been added and roles have changed, but a talented core group has now been together for several years… and, it shows. We aren’t the team that has to figure out how to play and work together a week before the tournament. We are the the team that already knows what to do.
When determining an overall grade for this U.S. team I guess one could simply say 26th out of 32 teams and think C-, at best. And, for sure, I would love for the U.S. to be a side that makes the Main Round, the Quarterfinals and play for medals. But, I think it’s more appropriate to take the talent level of the team into account and match it to expectations.
Overall, this is a team with some talented athletes. Competitive, pretty good athletes, but no individual athletes with the talent that makes them can’t miss, top club professionals. However, when you combine these individuals into a team, the sum is greater than the individual parts. And, it is why their performance repeatedly exceeded expectations and is a performance that I think deserves an A+ grade overall.
Coming up: I’ll provide a more indepth position by position review and I’ll also start looking ahead towards 2028.
Has the lack of information provided regarding a wild sequence of events been a brazen disregard of transparency or has it simply been the justifiable limits of information sharing?
The 85-10-5 Rule of Thumb
When you write about handball in the United States for nearly 20 years you learn a few things about where the sport is situated relative to all the other sports in this country. In terms of pecking order, team handball is very near the very bottom. Aside from our quadrennial increase in awareness due to the Olympics very few Americans care or even give a second thought about handball.
And, then, even within our very small community of handball devotees, the people who really care about the governance and handball politics of our sport is an even smaller number of people. Based on experience/observation, I would assess that of the 1,000 or so people who care about handball in this country around 85% could care less about who’s running the sport. They just want to play, coach, ref or watch. Their only question is typically, “Just tell me where to send my money.” Another 10%, if pushed, will engage some. Typically, this is a coach or team leader, that recognizes that the top level organization of the sport impacts what they are doing. They don’t like getting involved, but they understand that somebody on their team has to, to some extent. Essentially, they dip a toe in the water and then get out of that water as quickly as they can.
And, then there is the 5% that genuinely care about the politics and governance of the sport. They care about who is in charge of what and they care about what is planned in terms of grass roots development, national team performance, marketing efforts and other organizational matters. As to why they care, that answer varies. Sometimes it’s simply personal… they want to be in charge of something. Sometimes it’s out of frustration… they don’t like how things have been done and want to see changes. And, almost always… it’s because they are truly very passionate about the sport of handball.
So the 85-10-5 Rule of Thumb is:
85% don’t care about governance and politics at all and are very unlikely to to get involved.
10% care somewhat about governance and politics and they will get involved if they need to,
5% genuinely care about governance and politics and they get involved as much as they can.
So we could quibble about the percentages. Maybe it’s 80-10-10 or 90-8-2 or some other variation, but if you’ve been around awhile… you’re probably thinking that it’s a pretty accurate binning of our small community.
Can the 5% be Ignored?
If there are around 1,000 people who care about handball in the U.S. this means that only around 50 people are fully engaged in political/governance matters. Or to put it another way only around 50 people would really be interested in finding out more about something like the “sequence of events” sooner and in greater detail. Heck, I’ve even been told before that this number is even smaller and that I (John Ryan) am literally the only person that cares. I don’t think that’s quite true, but the number is small enough that a brazen total disregard for basic transparency has at times been a very effective strategy for USA Team Handball. Yes, if USA Team Handball wants to do something shady/unorthodox/questionable and not tell anyone about it… there’s a solid chance that no one will be the wiser. But… just because that’s an effective strategy… doesn’t make it right!
Outside Entities: Also Left in the Dark?
Beyond the small USA Handball Community there are also other players that probably have been left in the dark. The USOPC has been informed via grievances, but one wonders if the IHF and USA Team Handball’s largest sponsor, Verizon would also liked to have been fully informed as to what had been taking place. Certainly, one can speculate as to whether any lower level concern that those entities might have had regarding disputes between the Handball Union and USA Team Handball would have been easily trumped by higher concerns regarding an unorthodox “sequence of events” that was unfolding.
The Lack of Transparency
Here’s a chronicling… of some significant events that either have never been mentioned or were reported only long after they happened as a news items on the USA Team Handball website:
No mention whatsover regarding the multiple actions related to Board Member, Ebiye Udo-Udoma
His removal by the Athlete’s Advisory Council (AAC) and, in turn, his removal from the Board of Directors
The determination by the Judicial Committee that his removal was improper and his reinstatement to the Board
The determination by the Judicial Committe that decisions made in his absence were still valid
No mention whatsoever regarding the “sort of” merger between USA Team Handball and the US Handball Union? Or dissolution of the Union? (I’m still not sure what that was all about)
No mention whatsoever of Martin Branick’s removal from the CEO position and subsequent departure from the organization.
No mention whatsoever of Camille Nichol’s and Lawrence Taylor’s resignations from the Board of Directors
No mention whatsover of David Buckman’s resignation from the chair of the Nominating & Governance Committee
A Personal Breaking Point
As a pseudo-journalist and the de facto, unofficial lead for the “5 Percent” I’ll have to admit to some complacency in regards to all this. I had heard some rumors and had been told that it was a little messy, but I was somewhat resigned to the Board’s decisions.
And, then someone sent me Camille Nichol’s and David Buckman’s resignation letters. I don’t know either very well, but we’re all retired military and service academy graduates. Do not try and tell me that a retired 2 Star General and Colonel don’t know how to play in the sand box. That’s just silly and isn’t going to fly with me.
So, I reluctantly put on my investigative journalist hat and the more I found out, the more I was troubled by all that had happened and pretty upset with the secretive nature of it’s implementation.
Board Meeting Minutes (A Window of Transparency)
Board Meeting Minutes are often frustrating in that they usually tell only part of the story, but nevertheless they are typically the only source of official information as to what is taking place in terms of USA Team Handball matters. They’ve always been tucked away in a corner on the website and are typically quietly posted with no mention on the website or social media. Because of this I’ve gotten in the habit of periodically checking the USA website to see if any new minutes have been posted.
You might be “shocked” to learn that after former Board President Michael Wall’s resignation that Board Minutes were not posted for several months. And, that the availaiblity of video for the open portion of board meetings also quietly disappeared. As rumors that things were starting to get a “little messy” began popping up, I started to check the USA website more regularly and on 23 October I discovered that some Board Meeting Minutes had finally been posted. And, when they were later taken down I decided that it was time for a little sunshine so I posted them on the Team Handball News website. This then resulted in a request from the new CEO, Michael King to take some of them down due to their publishing via illegal behavior.
The Missing Minutes (What Changed?)
Here’s a table summarizing the Meeting Minutes in question:
There was no issue with 4 of the meeting minutes and these were left up on the Team Handball News website and posted on the USA Team Handball website (I’m not sure of the date, but I think it was in early November).
The minutes from the 10 July 2024 meeting have not been posted again by USA Team Handball. The stated purpose of the meeting was to afford US Handball Union leadership an opportunity to present its current situation and vision to members of the USATH board. They look like Meeting Minutes, but include this disclaimer on the bottom of each page: “Meeting minutes taken for the purpose of follow-up conversation – not intended for publication” I’m not sure why this is the case, but here’s one little interesting tidbit. The new, recently appointed USA Team Handball Independent Director, Andre Carter is listed in these minutes as part of the US Handball Union Leadership. That would seem to really stretch the definition of “independent” but, at this point why would anyone be surprised anymore.
The remaining 3 Meeting Minutes were eventually posted on the USA Team Handball website on 15 November, but not after undergoing some editing. This is concerning as it relates to the 8 August meeting minutes since they were formally approved by a Board motion at the 27 August meeting.
The nature of the changes fit broadly in to two categories:
Contractual dispute: Both the old and the new minutes discuss an ongoing contractual dispute. The old minutes mention the name of the company and provide more details. The new minutes omit the name of the company and are less specific in nature.
Naming of Board Members: The old minutes often used the first names of board members and indicated how board members voted on certain motions. The new minutes use last names and the record of how each board member voted has been replaced with a simple tally of the vote result.
In general, I’m fine with the changes that were made. In regards to the contractual dispute, the old minutes provided more detail than was necessary. Meeting minutes should also refer to people by their last names. For key votes of consequence it would certainly be preferable to know how Board Members voted, but I guess if there are privacy requirements that need to be followed it should be anonymous. I’m not sure what the requirments are exactly, but maybe a change to the bylaws is warranted to consider the possibility of making key votes public. I could be wrong, but it wouldn’t surprise me if most Board Members are totally comfortable with that. Finally, it goes without saying… don’t formally approve minutes and then change your mind. It’s bad form even if the reasons for changing said minutes are valid.
Red Herrings to Keep Info on the Down Low
I think most people are familiar with the concept of red herrings, which are intended to distract from what’s actually relevant. Contractual disputes and how people vote are of some interest, but they are pale in comparison to the wild “sequence of events” that had been taking place. A sequence of events that in it’s entirety could at best be described as unorthodox. And, at it’s worst described as Mickey Mouse dysfunctionality.
Maybe it’s possible to rationalize this “means” as absolutely necessary to getting to the desired “ends.” It seems like a real stretch, though, and it’s certainly a tough proposition to sell. So, if one can hide behind red herrings to keep the real story on the down low… well, that is very, very convenient. And, of course, that’s just for the Meeting Minutes. There was nothing preventing USA Team Handball from reporting more (actually anything) as to what had been going on. To deal with the uncomfortable explaining that comes with transparency.
But, doing so could very well have resulted in an early crash out of the sequence of events. Certainly, it would have made things very uncomfortable. Yes, for all intents and purposes secrecy seems to have become the chosen course of action. Because if all you care about is the end state, here’s the standard Machiavellian playbook to follow:
Keep all the bad information secret as long as possible. The fewer people that find out anything the better… because those people start asking questions and taking action
Minimize the amount of bad information that seeps out. If you can’t keep everything secret dribs and drabs of information are better than a total release. (Such a strategy didn’t work for Nixon, but it can work if the 80-15-5 rule applies.) If some people just know some of the story the notion of things being just a “little messy” is still sellable
Delay information release as long as possible. The more time that passes the better. This is especially true if everything can be normalized as quickly as possibly. Ideally it becomes a fait acompli where people might say, “WTF! That was really crazy, but everything seems OK now. I guess there’s no sense in rocking the boat.”
Is this what happened? Is what is still happening? Well, outward signs in terms of how information was mostly not shared the past few months mimics this playbook very closely. And, as the old saying goes if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck… It’s probably a duck.
(The USA Team Handball By-Laws introductory paragraph on Independent Directors and the four Independent Directors that resigned from the Board)
A Little History Lesson
When I wrapped up the “Sequence of Events Video” I remarked how for oldtimers the current situation might feel a lot like the events of 2005-2006 that led to the U.S. Olympic Committee’s decision to decertify the U.S. Team Handball Federation (USTHF). So, I decided to do a little review of what happened way back when by digging into the Team Handball News archives. In doing so I re-remembered that the very first post on this website on January 2, 2006 and many of the posts in that timeframe covered the Board of Director divisions, the USOC investigation and ultimate decertification.
First of all, can I just highlight that that was almost 19 years ago. 19 years! There have been over 2,300 posts on this website since then. I’ve been writing and commenting about handball in this country a long time. And, it’s funny, but while some of the names have changed or moved on we’re still talking about many of the same issues and challenges. As, I said to Bjoern Brembs as we discussed the decertification in a very early podcast, “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.” And, again, that was 19 years ago…
However, there are a few things that have indeed changed for the better and one of those changes was an Olympic Committee requirement for National Governing Bodies (NGB) to have “Independent Directors” on their Boards of Directors. Because back in 2006 there was no such requirement. In fact, everyone on our Board was a handball person duly elected by the membership. Not just two members like today’s 9 member board… but all 24 members. (And, of course, that total number of board members was also silly and cumbersome, even if there also was a smaller Executive Committee that functioned more like the Board does today.)
As part of that first ever post I also had the two very first handball podcasts as I had interviewed representatives of the two board factions, Board President Mike Hurdle and Athlete’s Advisory Council Representative, Matt Van Houten. In both of the interviews the topic of independent directors was brought up, but we mostly focused on how these new independent directors would help in the all important (and still important) topic of fundraising.
But, another important role of these independent directors as the name, of course, implies is simply their independence. In theory, they can participate in board matters without the bias that comes simply from having been directly involved with the often fractured politics that is handball in the U.S.
Looking back at the situation in the 2005-2006 I’m pretty sure that if the Board had been composed of 44% Independent Directors (44% is 4/9 of our current board structure) that things would have not turned out the way they did with eventual decertification. That an impasse would have been resolved. I’m not sure exactly how it would have played out, but it would have been different.
Independent Directors (Sometimes in Name Only)
With the selection of the Dieter Esch group to become the new NGB for handball in 2008 the U.S. a new board structure with nine board members was adopted. From my notes at the 2008 summit there were to be nine board members with seven board members with business backgrounds contributing $50,000 each. Thanks, surely in part to the Great Recession, I don’t think this ever materialized and eventually the board structure adopted our current stucture with just four independent members.
I’d like to say that over time the Independent Directors have raised tons of money, but this clearly hasn’t been the case. Additionally, in some cases our Independent Directors weren’t very independent. They might have fit the definition outlined in Section 6.6 (B) of our By-Laws, but in practice some Independent Directors were actually very partisan in their views. In the 2018-19 timeframe board infighting eventually led to some direct engagement from the USOPC with the end result being the hiring of CEO Barry Siff and the selection of a new, very clearly Independent Director, Michael Wall to become the Board President.
2019 – 2024 The Most Independent Board Ever?
Arguably, the Michael Wall era Board of Directors may well have been the most independent Board USA Team Handball has ever seen. Independent in that “handball people,” for better or worse faded largely into the background. The Board had some handball people, but was signficantly less partisan than it had been. By and large it seems that decisions were being made with less bias from deeply held handball convictions. Notably, the Board also hired two CEOs (Barry Siff and Ryan Johnson) with no handball background whatsoever to make the day to day decisions.
From my persepective (and many others) this composition of Board and Administrative staff had some pros and cons. On the one hand it was a pleasant change from the historically, fractious nature of board politics. We were actually functioning like a normal organization! I realize that’s a ridiculously low bar… but historically it’s one that we’ve often struggled to clear.
But, on to other hand, I think there was a lack of direction and a tendency to avoid major decisions. For organizations with abundant resources and a clear mission it’s possible to float along comfortably at a slow pace. For organizations with very limited resources and many challenges/choices to make floating along can be very frustrating to the people that really care and are heavily invested in the sport. And, eventually it becomes more than a source of frustration as problems mount and opportunities are lost.
The Revenge of the Handball People (Actually Just Some of the Handball People)
I think the concept of Independent Directors was envisioned, in part, for those Independent Directors to serve as arbitrators between competing factions. To provide a big picture, good governance perspective on a topic rather than a partisan, passionately held viewpoint. When a board has two opinions being hotly debated by the handball people the independent members can help steer the discussion towards conclusion with their independence and often their experience with other boards of directors being taken into consideration.
But, what happens if there aren’t competing handball factions on a Board of Directors? Either because, all the handball people are in agreement… or one faction has a new, temporary majority? (i.e., A 4-3 majority due to a vacant independent board seat and the temporary removal (improperly as it turns out) of one pesky board member.)
Well… you have what just unfolded the past few months with USA Team Handball. Yes, a small group decided to seize the moment and take action with a very unorthodox sequence of events. To essentially tell the Independent Directors, we know best and we don’t really have to listen to you anymore. Or, to put it in a more positive light. It was time to quit just being frustrated and to take action to remove the uninvested roadblocks standing in the way of progress.
If you are part of this handball faction you probably see this whole sequence as a little messy, but something that just had to be done. Regrettable, but justifiable.
Or… Canaries in the Coal Mine?
However, if you are not part of this handball faction, you likely have a different perspective. And, for sure, if you not a part of any handball faction. If you are “independent” with no handball bias, you will undoubtedly see this whole sequence as very dysfunctional. Or as one Olympic Movement person said recently, “Handball just doing what they always do.”
The four Independent Directors who have resigned all saw this sequence of events as very messy and dysfunctional. Something that most definitely didn’t have to be done… but something that a small group wanted to be done. Their resignation letters all address the lack of process and poor governance.
I guess it’s possible that over time these uninvested, non-handball people gradually turned into highly invested partisan roadblocks. But, it seems rather unlikely that 4 independent directors would consciously form a new faction focused on getting their way for their new handball passion. Indeed, when push came to shove they all effectively said we just don’t want to be a party to this anymore. In that vein, the Independent Directors are canaries in the coal mine warning us that there are major problems with this current Board.
Which is it?
Well, to some extent, I’m still formulating my opinion. Gathering information, which continues to seep out. I’m actually to a certain extent sympathetic to both viewpoints. I follow handball pretty closely in this country and I’ve been been frustrated with the lack of action and leadership. That said, I’m also very much a process oriented person. That boards should strive for compromise and and consensus. Even if it takes longer and is frustrating.
It’s the age old question, “Does the end, justify the means?” I’ll have more to say on this later, but right now the more I’ve learned about the means… the more inclined I’m to say: No, not in this case.
