Category Archives: John Ryan Commentary

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Commentary: A Brazen Disregard for Transparency… or Information that Just Couldn’t be Shared?

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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
    • Somewhat bizarrely the only oblique reference has been a notice for an election for his replacement that ended up never taking place due to his reinstatement
  • 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 announcement of Mike King’s appointment to the CEO position until 24 October (almost 2 months after the 27 August meeting)
  • 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.

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Commentary: Independent Directors: Uninvested, “My Way or the Highway” Roadblocks… or Canaries in the Coal Mine?

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(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.

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More Handball Broadcasts on TV* is Still the Closest Thing to a Silver Bullet; It’s Time to Make Peacock America’s Home for Handball

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*TV and “streaming” are now pretty much the same thing. And, that reality could and should be a game changer for the development of handball in the U.S.

TV and Streaming: The Silver Bullet Game Changer

Long time readers to this website will know that I’ve long espoused the importance of getting more handball on TV in the U.S. Anecdotally, the number of people choosing to get involved with handball after seeing the sport on TV during the Olympics is off the charts. And, I’m pretty sure if an analytical study was ever conducted to quantify the impact of TV it would simply confirm all those anecdotes.

Nothing exposes more Americans to the sport. Nothing generates more interest nationwide. While short video clips on social play an ever increasing role in the zeitgist… those video clips are typically content pulled from TV/streaming broadcasts. Or, they are video clips that complement that TV/streaming broadcasts.

The Rugby 7s example

This isn’t just true for handball. Look at the U.S. Women’s Rugby 7s team where Olympic TV broadcasts and social media posts from one athlete, Ilona Maher, generated interest. They both fed off each other, and when a full length of the field try resulted in an upset win over New Zealand and a bronze medal it garnered unprecedented exposure culminating in a $4M donation to the team.

I’m not saying Handball will generate the same level of good fortune. But, good things will eventually happen when you put more handball in front of more eyeballs in the U.S. Our sport kicks ass. People see it… they like it. And, that leads to more players, fans and yes, eventually sponsors and donors.

Streaming: The Future has Finally Arrived… Maybe?

I’ve been such a big proponent of getting more handball on TV because I think regular broadcasts would be the inflection points of all inflection points. The point where every discussion about handball would begin with “After handball was regularly broadcast on TV….” And, when ESPN agree to broadcast the Handball World Championships in 2021 on its streaming service, ESPN+ I thought it would be that inflection point. But, that never materialized. In fact, the ESPN+ broadcasts barely moved the needle.

There were two main reasons for this. Streaming was making a lot of progress, but while it had become commonplace for TV shows and movies it still hadn’t “arrived” yet for sports. And, inexplicably, ESPN provided almost no promotion whatsoever for the sport. Seriously, it was as if they were trying to hide handball.

But, that was then. This is now. With Peacock averaging 4-6M viewers for any given minute, some are calling the 2024 Olympics, streaming’s Magnum Opus. In other words, the point in time where streaming was no longer the reluctant 2nd option for sports fans, but instead the go to 1st option. And, we’re not talking about niche loving handball fans, accustomed to streaming because it was their only option. We’re talking about the generalist sports fan, who more often than not was happy with tradtional TV view options.

Handball on TV (or Streaming): Still the Silver Bullet

I’ve been writing about the importance of Handball TV broadcasts for a long time. This commentary has a good summary and makes the argument that regular handball broadcasts are the closest thing we have to a silver bullet solution to all our problems. This is because our sport has “a lack of awareness” problem that hamstrings anything and everything we need to do. And, nothing. I REPEAT NOTHING addresses that problem more than getting Rodger and others hyped up on handball and screaming (IN ALL CAPs) for more.

NBC Peacock: The Future Home of Handball?

I’ve been following the different potential options for broadcasting handball for over a decade. And, while I was really strong advocate for getting handball on ESPN and played a behind the scenes role in it actually coming to fruition I now think it’s time to turn our eyes towards Peacock. Here’s why:

  • NBC Peacock is now a great streaming platform. What was once a somewhat clunky user interface is now simple to use. Every match in one place and easy to navigate and find.
  • NBC Peacock has been a great steward and promoter for handball at the 2024 Olympics. Handball is the only sport with no U.S. participation at the Olympics, but NBC hasn’t been keeping it a secret. Whether it’s Mike Tirico gushing about handball at the opening ceremonies, or Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson adopting the Egyptian National Team or the the Gold Zone hyping handball the affection and support are genuine.
  • NBC Peacock needs content to help minimize subscription churn. The Olympics have been a real boon to NBC Peacock. They currently have 33M subscribers, some portion of which just signed up for the Olympics. And, some portion of which will think about leaving after the Olympics are over. Do I really think that there are a lot of Americans out there who will only stay with Peacock if handball is added to the library. No, I don’t. But, you know what… I think there are some now who will be more inclined to stay if handball is one of several things they can watch on Peacock.
  • NBC Peacock provides a logical lead in to the 2028 Olympics. The U.S. will be participating in handball at the 2028 Olympics for the first time since 1996. And, both the U.S. Men and Women will get wild cards for the 2025 and 2027 World Championships. It makes a lot of sense for those four events to also be broadcast on Peacock. And, while we’re add it, how about the North American & Caribbean Championships and the 2027 PANAM Games?
  • NBC Peacock and a reality show. As highlighted previously the U.S. Women’s National Team has struggled for the past few years and has a very, very small talent pool. A reality show that chronicles efforts to identify, recruit and train the team as it prepares to take on the world would be compelling television. And, NBC Peacock, the TV Olympics home is a very, very logical place for such an effort.

Why it Could Actually Happen: It’s a Very Rare Win-Win-Win-Win-Win

Yes, if you’re counting that’s 5 wins. I think that’s about the right number. Here are the 5 entities that would win:

  • International Handball Federation (IHF): The IHF owns the rights for the World Championships and sold them to ESPN for a very discounted price (perhaps free?) for the past 3 years. As discussed, Peacock is better option now
  • European Handball Federation (EHF): The EHF hasn’t had either their Club Champions League or the European Championships on USA TV for several years. The Champions League has a fully produced, English language Match of the Week. Most of the European Championships also have fully produced matches ready to broadcast. All of this content is available on ehfTV, but it deserve promotion and a boader audience.
  • Handball Bundesliga (HBL): The best professional club league in the world, now has a fully produced, English language match ever week. These featured matches along with every other match are available via subscription, but the feature match deserves broader exposure.
  • NBC Peacock. As discussed, NBC Peacock could use more content. And, here’s some good news NBC… I think you could get the above handball content (IHF, EHF, HBL) at a very attractive price. Maybe even free if the Handball entities can be convinced that the accompanying reach and promotion will lead to U.S. market growth. All you have to do is show what NBC has done with the English Premier League (EPL) and that should get everyone’s attention.
  • USA Team Handball. As discussed, more Americans watching handball is a very good thing. Something that could turn a once every four years phenomenon to a continuous stream of discovery would be an epic game changer. And, Peacock would also be a great location for U.S. handball content like our collegiate championships and a reality show.

Will it Happen?

Will it happen, though? I’d like to think that something with so much upside and so little downside is a no brainer just waiting to happen. However, I’m just some guy with a website and a good idea. That said, the campaign starts now. We’ll see if the dream can indeed, become reality.

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Could I Become an Olympian on the USA Women’s National Handball Team?

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This commentary is regarding the U.S. Women’s National team. For information regarding newcomer prospects for the U.S. Men’s National Team (which are dramatically different) check out this commentary.

Olympic Dreams Fueled by Possibilities

I’m sure there are hundreds, if not thousands of athletes watching the Paris Olympics, seeing handball for the first time and thinking, “What an awesome game! I would be great at this sport. Where can I play?”

And, as America’s #1 handball fan, I can tell you that such revelations are music to my ears. There’s nothing I like better than new athletes and fans following in my footsteps. And, no doubt, some of those athletes are probably thinking even grander thoughts, “Hey, the U.S. didn’t even qualify. Hardly anybody probably plays it in the U.S. Maybe I could be an Olympian. How would I go about becoming an Olympic handball player?

For over 25 years the prospects for any American handball player to become an Olympian haven’t been very good. The U.S. last qualified for an Olympics in 1996 as the host nation. And, since then we’ve never really even come close to securing a berth in qualfication events. But, now with Los Angeles hosting the 2028 Olympics that’s about to change. As Charles Barkley would say, it’s Guaranteed that we’re fielding a team. Out there, many are probably thinking… Somebody’s got to make that team. Why not me?

Unique, Uncharted Circurmstances Means it’s Definitely Possible

First things first. Let me be clear. The following is my opinion and certainly not an official USA Team Handball position. That said, I’ve got a pretty good track record of assessing handball in this country. For what it’s worth, here’s my answer to your question…

Due to a very, very small talent pool consisting of around 150 athletes with modest athletic ability there’s a decent chance you could make the 2028 U.S. Olympic Women’s Handball Team. How good are you chances? That will depends on several variables to include how good of an athlete you are, how motivated you are and what, if anything, USA Team Handball eventually does to identify, recruit and train prospective national team athletes.

Let me explain further. When I say around “150 athletes” I am not referring to our national team talent pool. No… I’m talking about 150 female athletes with American citizenship currently playing handball at any level, anywhere in the world.

Our national team athletes for the past few years have mostly been comprised of of athletes trained at our last residency program at Auburn (which closed in 2018) and dual citizen athletes who compete in Europe. With the U.S. Men we’ve been blessed with a golden generation of talent that has essentially gifted us with the most competitive team we’ve had since the 1980s.

With the U.S. Women we have been less fortunate. While hard working and great representatives of our nation collectively the raw athletic talent is similar to what one might see on an NCAA Div 3 basketball team. Not surprisingly the results have been disappointing. We have not won a match since the 2019 PANAM Games. We’re 0-0-12 in official competition and those 12 losses are not to European sides, but to peer competition in our hemisphere. If our current team were to play the teams competing at the 2024 Olympics we would be 30+ goal underdogs in every match.

  • Demographics assessment from 2019 (It’s actually gotten worse)
    • Overall Women Demographics: Link
    • National Team Demographics: Link
  • And, an important side note: Our #1 GK, Sophie Fasold, is a clear exception. She plays in Germany’s top league and is, arguably, the best GK in U.S. history.

The Variables

So with that as context let’s take a look at some of the variables that will determine an athlete’s prospects for making the 2028 U.S. Women’s National Handball Team:

  • The raw talent of the athlete
  • The starting age of the athlete and amount of time the athlete has to train
  • The training environment the athlete will have
  • The commitment level of the athlete
  • The quality of the athletes also seeking to make the team

Here’s a closer look at each variable

The Raw Talent of the Athlete

With the current raw talent on the U.S. National Team roughly equivalent to an NCAA D3 basketball team an athlete that has played D1 or D2 sports in college should have an advantage against current players. This was even demonstrated at the 2023 North American & Caribbean Championships when a D2 basketball player, Katie Timmerman played significant minutes despite only a couple of training camps to learn the sport. Logically, in most cases a D1 athlete would even have better chances to make an impact.

I could also get into a lengthy discussion regarding the merits of different sports in terms of transitioning to handball. Athletes have come from many different sports, but the most common sport historically has been basketball. And, even athletes from other sports often have high school basketball in their resume.

The Starting Age of the Athlete and the Amount of Time that Athlete has to Train

Normally, I would argue that any athlete over 23 years of age is probably outside the desired range to start a training program. And, generally the younger the better. Given, however, the current cirumstances of a very small talent pool and a 4 year window, I could see a great athlete even in their 30s being a candidate. Obviously not ideal, but we’re talking a very unique situation.

The Training Environment the Athlete Would Have

For many years the U.S. had Residency Programs that were dedicated full time to developing new handball athletes. However, the U.S. hasn’t had a Residency Program since 2018 and as far as I know there are no plans to start one anytime soon.

This leaves a newcomer with very limited options. They could join a stateside club, but they typically just practice once a week and play in a few tournaments on the weekend. One could learn the basics and get their feet wet, but not much more. And, then they could also attend the periodic national team camps that are held. I’m sure any European reading this is just shaking their head in bewilderment, “Athletes who’ve never played before attending a National Team camp?.. That’s crazy.” But, that’s where we are currently at.

The other alternative would be to train with a handball club overseas, most likely in Europe. A handful of stateside based athletes have indeed done this. It’s not easy and it can be challenging to find a quality club with a good system willing to train a relative newcomer. But, again, given the state of the current program it would be your best option. Additionally, I suspect that a higher level athlete with potential would get some help from the national team staff in making such a move.

The Commitment Level of the Athlete

Having great raw talent is a significant advantage, but it’s not everything. An average athlete with modest talent, but knows how to play handball also has an advantage. Sometimes raw talent trumps handball skills, but often the reverse is true. With the necessary commitment to learn the sport, however, it’s only a matter of time before the contest changes from who knows how to play… to who’s the better athlete.

The huge unknown here, however, isn’t necessarily the “attitude” of the athlete. Commitment is a 2 way street. The athlete commits to work hard and get better. And, USA Team Handball commits to provide that athlete with the tools and opportunities to get better. Unfortunately, right now as an organization USA can’t provide athletes very much in return for their commitment. In fact, national team athletes are actually paying thousands of dollars out of their own pocket to represent their nation. And, not surprisingly… quite a few athletes don’t want to commit to that.

The Quality of the Athletes also Seeking to Make the Team

For the most part I’ve framed this discussion as what would it take for a decent athlete to develop into a handball player that given the current talent pool could make the U.S. National Team. That’s a fairly straightforward comparison.

But, what’s really hard to assess is the number and quality of new athletes that might take steps to earn a roster spot. Right now there’s not much in place to entice a relative newcomer to make such an effort. That translates to fewer athletes competing for slots and lower quality athletes making the team. If a more structured program is put in place more and better quality athletes will start showing up.

The Great Unknown: What Steps will USA Team Handball Take… and When Will they Take them

You might have noticed that one variable I listed was:

  • What, if anything, USA Team Handball eventually does to identify, recruit and train prospective national team athletes

Right now USA Team Handball’s recruitment is very limited. Emails are sent out to college coaches and open tryouts are held, but there’s really no training program in place. I have a hard time believing that won’t change at some point, but I don’t know what it will entail or when it will be implemented.

And, this results in the strange cirumstances that while I can say with a high degree of confidence that total newcomers to handball are likely to make our 2028 Olympic Team I don’t know exactly how they’re going to do it.

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Could I Become an Olympian on the USA Men’s National Handball Team?

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This commentary is regarding the U.S. Men’s National team. For information regarding newcomer prospects for the U.S. Women’s National Team (which are dramatically different) check out this commentary.

Olympic Dreams Fueled by Possibilities

I’m sure there are hundreds, if not thousands of athletes watching the Paris Olympics, seeing handball for the first time and thinking, “What an awesome game! I would be great at this sport. Where can I play?”

And, as America’s #1 handball fan, I can tell you that such revelations are music to my ears. There’s nothing I like better than new athletes and fans following in my footsteps. And, no doubt, some of those athletes are probably thinking even grander thoughts, “Hey, the U.S. didn’t even qualify. Hardly anybody probably plays it in the U.S. Maybe I could be an Olympian. How would I go about becoming an Olympic handball player?

For over 25 years the prospects for any American handball player to become an Olympian haven’t been very good. The U.S. last qualified for an Olympics in 1996 as the host nation. And, since then we’ve never really even come close to securing a berth in qualfication events. But, now with Los Angeles hosting the 2028 Olympics that’s about to change. As Charles Barkley would say, it’s Guaranteed that we’re fielding a team. Out there, many are probably thinking… Somebody’s got to make that team. Why not me?

The Wrong Question. Because… You’re not Going to Like my Answer

First things first. Let me be clear. The following is my opinion and certainly not an official USA Team Handball position. That said, I’ve got a pretty good track record of assessing handball in this country. For what it’s worth, here’s my very blunt answer to your question…

As a total newcomer to the sport I would assess your chances of making the 2028 U.S. Olympic Men’s Handball Team are somewhere between 0.0% and .1%. Not 1 percent… but .1%. As in 1 in a 1,000 chance and probably worse than that.

Let me explain further. There are multiple variables to consider and multiple unknowns, but the weight of them all combined leads to the very long odds involved.

The Variables

When one is assessing the prospects of an athlete to take on a totally new sport like handball here are the variables that need to be considered to assess the likelihood of national team success

  • The raw talent of the athlete
  • The starting age of the athlete and amount of time the athlete has to train
  • The training environment the athlete will have
  • The quality of the athletes also seeking to make the team
  • The commitment level of the athlete

Here’s a closer look at each variable

The Raw Talent of the Athlete

Is it possible to pass judgment on athletes I don’t know and have never seen? Answer: Yes and No. Certainly a talent combine whereby athletes would perform drills that could be measured would be very useful. And, basic scrimmaging even of brand new athletes will likely be a good guage of potential. But, sight unseen the vast sporting infrastructure of the U.S. has already likely binned off your raw talent level fairly accurately.

If you’re a pro athlete chances are you’re not contemplating a new handball career. The same is also true for most NCAA college athletes who are still in college. Mistakes, of course, are made. And, there are athletes who are average in one sport, but can excel in another sport like handball. But, those are the exceptions. Chances are… that you are a good athlete that can develop into a pretty good handball player. It’s less likely, that your a great athlete that can develop into a great player.

The Starting Age of the Athlete and the Amount of Time that Athlete has to Train

Well, this is fairly simple to contemplate. If one were to start their handball dream immediately they would have four years to go from zero to hero. Barring another pandemic induced delay that four years is set in stone. With the right training and competition environment great progress can be made in four years. A lot more than some Europeans might think. But, it’s still not very much time to work with.

In terms of the starting age of the athlete if the goal is to get as good as you can in a four year window I think anywhere from the age of 27 on down would be feasible. But, only if that four year goal is set. Obviously, younger ages would be desired because combined with a longer timeline it becomes more and more feasible to develop into a world class athlete.

The Training Environment the Athlete Would Have

For many years the U.S. had Residency Programs that were dedicated full time to developing new handball athletes. However, the U.S. hasn’t had a Residency Program since 2018 and as far as I know there are no plans to start one anytime soon. This means the only currently feasible training program would be to train with a handball club overseas, most likely in Europe.

A handful of stateside based athletes have indeed done this, but it’s not easy and it can be challenging to find a quality club with a good system willing to train a relative newcomer. There are some programs that can help faciliate such moves, but the athletes making the jump typically have been developed some stateside first. It would take a really special athlete for a newcomer to get such an opportunity.

The Quality of the Athletes also Seeking to Make the Team

This factor more than any other drives the percentage chance below 1%. The current Men’s talent pool, which consists mostly of dual citizens that grew up in Europe is the best that the U.S. has had in years. By U.S. standards it is a golden generation both in handball skills and raw athletic ability. Comparable to a low NCAA D1 or high D2 basketball team. And, for the most part, this team is fairly young. Four years out from the LA Olympics, we essentially already know around 95% of the athletes who will make up our roster. We may even soon add a former Swedish national team athlete playing in Denmark’s top league.

Two months ago we played a friendly vs France and lost 38-29. They are either the best or 2nd best team in the world. And, sure it was a friendly, but several players on that French side were fighting for Olympic Roster slots. Watch the highlights– We can ball.

I can not understate what crazy good fortune this is for our Men’s National Team. We’re not going to medal. We might not even win a match. But, this team will compete and will not embarrass. And, this team didn’t cost USA Team Handball a penny to develop.

We’re a big country with a sizable population and we could find better raw talent athletes, but not a whole lot better and those athletes would have a long way to go to get to a similar level. And, no matter what every single state side newcomer would be several years behind in terms of competition experience.

The Commitment Level of the Athlete

If one takes into account what I’ve listed above… it’s reasonable to be skeptical of any athlete that thinks they have the will to continuously strive to overcome all the obstacles.

The realities are stark. There’s really not enough time, there’s nothing in place to train you and you’ll need to beat out athletes with similar raw talent that have have been playing the sport for years. When someone becomes fully aware of all of these realities and that the dream is very likely out of reach. Well, the commitment level will logically nosedive precipitously.

The Right Question: How Can I Play Handball?

So, I don’t take glee in raining on your Olympic aspirations. In fact, it’s been a few years, but I had similar aspirations once. Such aspirations led me into the sport long ago. But, the times were different… For me they were actually reasonable aspirations. I had time. There was a training program. And, there wasn’t a crazy golden generation of dual citizens standing in the way.

Even given all that I was still asking the wrong question all those years ago. And, you are, too. This is true, even if you have time for a run at Brisbane 2032 and beyond.

The question you should be asking is simply how can I play this cool sport? How can I get better as a player? Play the game for fun and see where it takes you.

And, sure, if you improve as a player and it eventually makes sense, why not move to Europe and further develop your game if you can also smartly continue your education or career? Just don’t start out with the goal of being an Olympian. Let that come in due time. Kind of like you would with any other sport.

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Nikola Karabatic: The Handball Goat Retires (Part 3): Match ~#400: The Old Man and the D

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I continue my look back at Nikiola Karabatic’s career and try to illustrate why he’s one of the greatest, if not the greatest 2 way defender of all time. (Read Part 1 Part 2)

Why Handball Defense Gets No Respect

As a former defensive specialist perhaps nothing annoys me more about typical Handball GOAT debates than the often total lack of any discussion whatsoever regarding defensive capabilities.  It’s annoying, but understandable.  Understandable, because unless it’s a GK save you’ll rarely, if ever see any any defensive highlights. This is in sharp contrast to another indoor sport, basketball.  No finger wagging Mutombo blocks or career defining Lebron chase downs to win a title. 

No. A great defensive play in handball… often is a defensive foul that stops play and results in a 9 meter free throw or restart. Yawn…  Of course, if you know a little bit about the sport you know that a good yawner can be pretty important.  On a tactical level it stops play and requires the offense to start over.  Seemingly a no big deal, do over, but the offense is now that much closer to a passive play call and may well end up having to settle for a less than ideal shot. 

On a strategic level a good hard foul resulting in a restart plays an important role in the attrition nature of a pretty physical sport.  Athletes like to think that they just brush off such contact and move on to the next play… and they do, but sub-consciously it plays a role in subsequent attacks.  If an offensive player tries a tactic that the defense stops they will then try another tactic the next time.  And, that other tactic… well, it often tends to be a tactic that next time results in less contact.  Maybe, it’s just the smart move.  After all, avoiding contact when trying to throw a ball into a goal is generally a good thing.  But, maybe they just don’t want to get hit again.

That psychology plays a role especially in a 60 minute game.  And, if you are the focal point of the offense, make no mistake, you’ve got a bit of a target on your chest.  That contact adds up and takes a toll. It’s why you often see offensive stars subbing out on defense or playing the wing defender position.  It’s a chance to lick your wounds and rest up so you can be more ready for the next offensive attack.

But, not the Handball GOAT, Nikola Karabatic. No, he has either played as a middle defender (often referred to as a “3” defender), and more often lately as a “2” defender in between the 3 and the “1” or wing defender.  No subbing out or hiding out on the wing. No, he’s typically been making stops and looking for contact.  In fact, I wonder what would have ever happened if one of his coaches suggested that he should play wing defender. Not that any coach would be so foolish as to put one of his best defenders there.

Match ~#400: 2020 Olympics Final, France 25, Denmark 23: Karabatic Slows Down the Young Gun and Stops him in Crunch Time

To take a closer look at Karabatic’s defense, I’ll use what I estimate is about the 400th match that I saw him play. The gold medal final between France and Denmark in August 2021 at the COVID delayed 2020 Olympics.

The 2020-21 season was a challenging one for Karabatic as he tore an ACL in October of 2020. ACLs aren’t as devastating as they used to be, but they are still a major injury. And, at age 37 one might think that even one of the greatest players of all time might not recover in time to make another Olympics… But, Karabatic was back on the court in May after seven months of rehab. And, recovered enough to make the Olympic Team. Check out this video which is queued up to the injury and subsequent rehab.

EHF Handball Legends Video

So more than a few people felt that Karabatic, coming off an injury and in the twilight of his career was making the French Olympic team as sort of a lifetime achievement award. But, while Tokyo Olympics Karabatic was certainly not Peak Karabatic he still found ways to contribute, particularly on the defensive end in a gold medal showdown vs Denmark.

As has often been the case for the past several years, Denmark and France finished on top in their respective groups and then marched through the knockout phase to meet in the final. The only thing somewhat different, was the continued emergence of Denmark’s, Mattias Gidsel, who at just 23 years old was starting to change the game with his slashing, 1v1 breakthrough first offensive focus.

Matched up against him much of the game was Karabatic. I recently rewatched the match and it was a real battle between the Old Man and the Kid. And, while this is a commentary on the GOAT’s defensive prowess, Gidsel more than held his own, scoring 6 goals, the most goals from the field and only trailing Mikkel Hansen who scored 9, but with some of those being penalties.

That said, here’s a sequence that resulted in one of those “yawner” 9 meter restarts that Karabatic has been a part of God knows how many times.

Anyone who’s watch Gidsel play the last three years knows that more often than not this sequence ends in a goal, sometimes with the defense hardly touching him. Plays like this don’t show up in the stat sheet, but plays like that make a difference and is an example of the defense France played collectively that day when they held the high powered Danish offense to just 23 goals.

Here’s the video of that sequence queued up:

Karabatic vs Gidsel (First Half)

And, in the crunch time of all crunch times: 15 seconds left in the Gold Meda Olympic Final they were matched up against each other for one final time.

And, here’s the video of that final 15 seconds queued up:

Last 20 seconds of 2020 Olympics Gold Medal Final

A yawner of a turnover and I’m not even sure exactly what happened. But, the stage for that turnover was setup by the previous 59 minutes of play. And, on that day during crunch time the end result went the GOAT’s way. Did we think that it would somehow end differently?

Too much love for the Handball GOAT? Perhaps, but I’m next going to provide a little balance. Yes, I’ll address a match I’ve never seen and most of the Handball World pretends was never played: 12 May 2012, Cesson-Rennes – Montpellier.

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Nikola Karabatic: The Handball Goat Retires (Part 2): Match ~#200: Peak Karabatic Makes all the Players around him Better… A Lot Better

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(Karabatic and Narcisse*, Jordan and Pippen, Ruth and Gehrig. *I could probably have used a picture with Jerome Fernandez and some other players)

I continue my look back at Nikiola Karabatic’s career and try to answer the age old GOAT question: Does the GOAT owe his greatness to his sidekicks? Or does the GOAT make the sidekicks look better? The ~200th match I saw him play provides some clues. (Read Part 1)

The GOAT Sidekick Debate

Whenever GOAT debates come up in the world of sports one of the big questions that has to be asked is whether the “would be GOAT” is only the GOAT because of the athletes playing alongside him.  As in Jordan had Pippen and Ruth had Gehrig.  Generally no one is arguing that that the #2 was on the same level, but folks will argue that without that #2 taking some of the load, the GOAT would have been less “great.” 

Some ornery folks will even make the case that the great player was just pretty good thanks to that #2 carrying the weight.  That aspect of GOAT debates creates a more complicated argument especially when a player is often surrounded by many great players.  And, with Karabatic playing for a top national team like France and some of the premier clubs like Kiel, Barca and Paris St-Germain that was particularly the case.

Karabatic played alongside some pretty good backcourts and two, Daniel Narcisse and Jerome Fernandez, come to mind. Narcisse is the 5th all time leading scorer for France and had one of the best (if not the best) 9-10 meter jump shots of all time. Fernandez is France’s all time leading scorer and is arguably the best right handed, right back of all time. (fyi: Karabatic is the 2nd all time scorer for France) Having those guys on either side to pass to is a pretty good deal… and, conversely, having Nikola Karabatic drawing a lot of attention probably makes your shooting easier, too.

The 2008 – 2011 Four Tourney Sweep

It’s too simple to say that Fernandez/Narcisse made Karabatic great…or that Karabatic made Fernandez/Narcisse. But, make no mistake those 3 great players along with Omeyer in goal and Dinart, the GOAT defender made France really tough to beat. And, those players were all part of a very dominant French side for many years.

The peak of France’s domination was arguably their sweep of four straight major international tournaments from 2008-2011 when the 2008 Olympic Games, 2009 World Championship, 2010 European Championships and the 2011 World Championships. And, I think the last of those four championships provides a pretty good answer for how this sidekick debate should be answered.

Match ~#200: 2011 World Championship Final, France 37, Denmark 35: Peak Karabatic

For those that weren’t following the sport 13 years ago, France was starting to become the team everyone else was getting real tired of losing to. And, even though they had won 3 major tournaments in a row they seemed a little vulnerable heading into 2011 World Championships. Daniel Narcisse was injured and out for the tournament, Fernandez was starting to slow down a little and France would need to rely more on backcourt players like William Accambray and Xavier Barachet. Not bad players by any stretch, but clearly a rung or two… or maybe three below Narcisse and a younger Fernandez in his prime.

But, if Nikola Karabatic is orchestrating the attack would it matter? And, I should mention here that Karabatic’s move from big shooter left back to center back was at the time a bit unorthodox as generally teams kept their big right handed scorer in the left back position. But, Karabatic’s game had evolved to the point that he could play both center and left back interchangeably. He was a center back that could both pass and score.

It turns out that it didn’t matter. I didn’t find a lot of footage from the tournament, but I did find some highlights from the Final vs Denmark which France won 37-35 in Extra Time. In the highlights you’ll see some goals from Xavier Barachet and maybe you’re like me, kind of wondering whatever happened to him. Barachet and Accambray were at the time the younger backcourts that were presumably the future.

But, as it turns out what we were really seeing was peak Barrachet and peak Accambray. Solid players, but limited players… that were playing next to the 26 year old GOAT… who was playing at his peak. At least if one looks at the arc of their careers this would seem to be accurate. Both players would move to the fringes of the French National team eventually seeing less playing time and then no longer being called up. Hard to say entirely as Barrachet also had some injuries which one could argue also contributed to his decline.

All, I know is that my recollection is that Karabatic’s performance was masterful as he had 51 goals in the tournament to go along with 34 assists. 10 of those goals coming in the gold medal final. He carried and willed that team to a title. And, yes, I remember wondering out loud… If he can make Xavier Barrachet and William Accambray look that good… could I even have looked like a halfway competent backcourt next to him? Most definitely not, but the fact that I could even contemplate such a question says quite a bit about what Peak Karabatic was like.

(Nikola Karabatic celebrates a 2012 Olympics title with William Accambray, Xavier Bararchet and Didier Dinart)
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Is it “Still the Battle for L.A.” if only Four Athletes Live anywhere near Los Angeles?

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This isn’t the first time I’ve pointed out some “problems” with our U.S. club rosters. (See Link Link) Honestly it’s getting a little old googling and checking social media sites, but today’s battle between two “Southern California” club teams at the North American & Caribbean Club Championships got me wondering… Just how many athletes on these two teams actually live in the Los Angeles area?

Well, subject to my standard disclaimer (social media websites and LinkedIn profiles aren’t always accurate), that answer is four athletes. As in 4 out of 31 athletes.

There are multiple issues with these rosters that we should be concerned with. I’ll go through some of them again:

  • Nationality: The fact that they are just eight Americans playing on these American club teams is problematic. I, for one, would like to see more Americans playing. I like to think that just about anyone would like to see that. In particular, younger American athletes who can really benefit from particpating is a competition like this. And, it’s nice to see a few that even fit that demographic. But, I understand why it’s the exception. Teams want to win and right now better non-American athletes are available and allowed to play with no restriction for U.S. club teams.
  • Residency: The fact that there are only four athletes on these two teams that live anywhere near where these team say they are located is… crazy, ludicrous and silly. Let me repeat… it is crazy, ludicrous and silly. We are not talking about a couple or a few athletes to round out the roster… Not even just saying it’s around half the team. No. We are talking about the overwhelming majority of the athletes. 27 out of 31. These athletes don’t practice together. Some probably just met each other. 14 out of 31 don’t even live in the United States! Again… This is crazy, ludicrous and silly.
  • Competitive Fairness. The addition of this many athletes to rosters defeats the spirit of competition. I guess every club is free to recruit players to improve their chances. But, it kind of goes against the concept of a club championship. Instead it’s become more of an all star team recruitment competition.

Who’s to Blame?

Well, here’s my assessment:

  • The athletes? No, absolutely not. As, I’ve stated before… Offer me the chance to compete in a nice little tournament with the winning team getting a free trip to Cairo to play the best teams in the world. My response is, “Where do I sign?” Or, as I think is probably the case in most instances… “Sure, I’ll pay my way to New Jersey for this opportunity.”
  • The Clubs? Maybe, a little bit. Nobody is forcing them to create all star rosters. Nobody is forcing them to tell their locally based athletes… “Sorry, we’re going with player X instead of you. Maybe next time.” It’s something these clubs want to do. Maybe a club should internally decide like San Francisco CalHeat did that this isn’t really how they want to go about things. Maybe… But, if you aren’t breaking any rules and the rules are such that you can drive a freight train through them. Then why not? Blow the whistle and go. Full steam ahead.
  • The NACHC? Yes, there’s some blame here. It’s a NACHC competition, so the NACHC is responsible for whatever rules and regulations are in place. That said, they are a newish, all volunteer organization with a lot of challenges. Roster regulations probably aren’t high on their list of things to get done. But, hopefully as they get grounded as an organization they will take a closer look at this competition and assess whether it’s currently stuctured to meet organiational goals.
  • The IHF? Yes, and I would argue that they are the most responsible. As I wrote in this commentary about the 2023 CalHeat Super Globe roster the IHF’s good intentions to support club development around the world has had major unintended consequences. Unless they step in with more restrictions on club rosters I suspect recruitment might just get even crazier. Who knows, maybe next time it will make more sense to just play the NACHC club championship in Europe. It would save on air fare and the jerseys could just be shipped to whereever it’s being held.

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Nikola Karabatic: The Handball Goat Retires (Part 1): Intro and Match #1: OMG, He’s only 18 Years Old!

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(An 18 year old Nikola Karabatic with Montpellier head coach, Patrice Canayer, back in 2003)

Later this August, probably after the Gold Medal match at the 2024 Olympics, Nikola Karabatic will hang up his shoes and retire from handball. It’s been a long journey for him… and a long journey for me and the rest of the handball world. Like most careers one fillled with ups and down, but way more ups than most. I’m going to take a long look at those ups… but, I’ll also touch upon some of the down moments. In doing so I hope to capture his legacy and give the GOAT a proper sendoff.

Handball’s Greatest of all Time (GOAT): Don’t Even Try to Argue for anyone Else. Just Don’t…

When a professional career spans over two decades of excellence it can be a bit hard to wrap ones arms around its entire arc. Memories fade some as the great player becomes only really good and then just good with periodic reminders of that all time greatness. Younger fans of the sport who have never even seen Karabatic play when he was at his peak are may even be a little puzzled when he’s referred to as the GOAT.

Understandable… but, they need to be educated. For sure, the numbers are just ridiculous. No one has won more titles as a national team athlete or a club athlete. Just take a look at these major international tournament stats from his Wikipedia page.

I had to shrink the page several times just to get a screenshot and its pretty clear there are a lot more highs and lows. And, yes handball is a team sport and France has had a lot of good players over the years. But, make no mistake: He’s been the key cog in the French machine for the past 2 decades. 2 decades… 25 major tournaments with 11 Gold and France made the semifinals in all but 6 of them. He’s going to be a 6 time Olympian. Take a look at this list of most Olympic appearances in all sports. A lot of equestrians and shooters… He’s doing it in a rough and tumble, professonal team sport. It’s truly remarkable.

On a club level he won the national league title for the club he was playing for (in France, Germany and Spain) every year except the 2012-13 season. I guess just 3 Champions League titles is a bit of a disappointment, but it’s still pretty good. And, it’s certainly true that he’s almost always played for a really good club, but it’s not a coincidence that he has usually been the centerpiece of those really good teams.

Nobody has numbers like this. I guess Mikkel Hansen is sort of in the ballpark, but Hansen never played defense anywhere near the level of Karabatic has. And, if there are any Croats lurking that want to argue about Ivano Balic. Please… Just don’t…

Seriously, I think the only thing Balic did better than Karabatic was the “flashy” pass. And, mind you Balic wasn’t a better overall passer. No. He was just a better flashy passer. The kind of passes that make for great highlights. Whereas Karabatic generally just made effective passes that got the job done.

And, really that pretty much defines Karabatic’s entire game. Effective… doing what’s needed to get the job done… over and over and over. One could even call him the “quiet” GOAT. Quiet in that a video of career highlights the highlights aren’t that remarkable. If you know handball you certainly can appreciate them, but they aren’t the jaw dropping “spectacular move” of a Michael Jordan. Just mind numbing excellence year after year after year.

My Parallel Journey

This series is mostly about the GOAT, but it’s also about me and really any other fans out there. For me personally, Karabatic’s career parallels my journey from a casual handball fan to an uber handball fan. And, over the past 22 years I’ll estimate that I’ve seen him play around 10-30 matches/season which I’ll round off to about 450 matches in total. That’s a pretty good sample size for anyone. For an American? That’s a crazy number. I was there when he burst on the scene and I’m still here two decades later as he hangs up his shoes.

So herewith is my look back at his legacy by my estimated chronological viewing match #.

Match #1 (9 March, 2003, Montpellier, 34 vs Zagreb, 25 EHF Champions League QF): OMG, He’s Only 18

(Context: My daughter in front of the TV back in Paris and at her recent college graduation. Karabatic has been playing at a really high level for a really long time.)

It’s important to set the scene for the 1st time I remember ever seeing Nikola Karabatic play. I had been living in France for about 6 months, but I hadn’t quite figured out French television or club handball competitions for that matter. Many of the matches were on a different tier of cable service which I hadn’t paid for initially and I didn’t really understand the concept of the Champions League and that I could watch such matches.

But, I eventually figured it out and I’ll never forget sitting down on the couch to watch handball that fateful day a little over 21 years ago. 21 years… In my mind’s eye I can see my not quite 1 year old daughter crawling around as I watch. The same daughter who just recently graduated from College.

And, I can remember watching the match on a non HD set and seeing this guy named Nikola Karabatic playing and clearly being the best athlete on the court. And, I remember asking myself, “Who is this guy with the Yugoslavian name and why have I never heard of him before? I distinctly remember grabbing my laptop and googling his name, pulling up his French Wikipedia article, cutting and pasting it into some translation website and reading the entry…

And, saying to myself:

“Oh My God, He’s only 18 years old! Is that really true? Is somebody messing with Wikipedia. Is the translation not working?”

My Greatest Sports Prediction

We always remember the predictions we got right… and forget the ones we got wrong. I’ve hit a few home runs in my day. In 1988, while he was still a cadet I predicted that Troy Calhoun would some day be the Air Force Academy Head Football Coach… He’s now in his 17th season in that position. In 2013, I correctly predicted the four handball clubs that would make the 2014 Champions League Final Four and that Flensburg would win it. This preseason prediction is even documented on video.

And, on that day back in 2003, I said to myself that someone that crazy good at age 18 could very well become the greatest handball player of all time. It’s a shame I’ve got no video evidence. Just my self serving recolllection, but it’s true.

And, it would be fun to go back and watch the match again to see what exactly impressed me so much. I suspect it was a combination of his outside jumpshot and 1v1 skills. A combination that made him so very hard to guard. Don’t come out on him aggressively enough… and he’ll shoot over you into the top corner of the net. Come out on him…and he’s going to go by you for a breakthrough shot. Standard stuff, of course, he just did it really well then and eventually better than anyone else who’s ever played the game.

That 2003 Champions League season was epic as the kid led Montpellier to their first ever title. There’s a lot to be said for the Final Four in Cologne, but the two game aggregate playoff final between Montpellier and Pamplona (Portland San Antonio) was a real gem with Montpellier losing the first match in Spain by 8 only to turn the tables with a 12 goal win in the return leg.

Here’s a video highight and a post regarding that epic playoff: Link

(Karabatic with a breakthrough left handed goal vs Pamplona)

That run through the Champions League was my (and the world’s) introduction to Karabatic. But, there was more to come… a lot more.

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Commentary: Three U.S. Championships… but, only One of them is Truly “National”

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(Klaebu IL and the Norseman pose together after their “national” championship match)

Norway’s Domination of American Club Handball Continues

This past weekend in what may be the most eclectic USA Handball “National” Championship ever staged two Norwegian teams (Klaebu IL and the Norseman) faced off against each other for the elite title at the U.S. Handball Union National Championships. And, to think that I complained recently about two Norwegian professionals helping the California Eagles take the USA Team Handball National Championships title. This is taking the Norwegian connection to new heights.

A Nice Tournament

Setting aside that somewhat bizarre final, it looks like the tournament held last weekend was a success. I wasn’t there, but based on social media posts and the YouTube broadcasts it looks like people were having fun and enjoed the competition. Here are some links regarding the tournament:

The TV feature provided a little nostaglia for me as it referenced the Las Vegas Scorpions club team I helped start prior to the 2010 National Championships that were also in Las Vegas. Here’s an article on the 2010 Tournament and some promotion we did during the 2012 Olympics. Currently, the team is inactive, but maybe they’ll get going again if the tournament returns to Vegas next year.

US Handball Union and USA Team Handball “National” Championships: A Comparison

In the space of a month the U.S. held two separate national championships. USA Team Handball held a National Championship in Spokane, Washington from 3-5 May and the upstart US Handball Union held their tournament in Vegas from 6-9 June. I didn’t attend either event, but based on the match video from the Vegas tournament and the logical conclusion that USA Team Handball hasn’t changed what it’s been doing for years… they appear to have been very similar. Here’s a comparison:

  • Size: Union: 17 teams; USATH: 20 teams (Both had 2 men’s divisions and 1 women’s division
  • Foreign Teams: Union: 4 teams; USATH: 6 teams
  • Demographics (American/Expat): Most of the U.S. clubs participating in both tournaments had quite a few expats. Perhaps there were a few more Americans percentage wise at the Union tournament, but I can’t fully assess
  • Demographics (playing for a club where you live): And, both tournaments featured clubs with quite a few athletes that lived nowhere near the city identified with the club
  • Level of play: I suspect that the California Eagles and NYC would have been able to beat the Norwegian teams that won the Union Championship. I also think NYC and Quebec were better than the women’s teams. I didn’t see as many of the D2 matches, but I think the Miami Storms team could have won the USATH D2 title. But, overall, if one were to look at all the the teams… probably pretty similar.
  • Video Coverage: I didn’t pay the $5 fee for the USATH tournament, so the free Union tourney was clearly better from my perspective. They also had some dedicated people working it. That said, the camera angles were too low and there were frequent streaming glitches.
  • Location: I didn’t attend either event, but Las Vegas vs Spokane for the 2nd year in a row? That’s a no brainer in my opinion. Even if June is pretty hot in Vegas. It’s a wonder any club that wasn’t looking to qualify for the Super Globe even went to Spokane.

Pointless Duplication?

In the cult classic movie, Highlander the famous quote is: There can be only one. Apparently, that only applies to immortals. Not sports organizations. Most comically, boxing has 5 (count em, 5) organizations that honor boxers with the moniker “World Champion.” And, much like boxing, there is nothing to prevent any U.S. handball organization from running a tournament and calling it their national championship. Heck, they could even call it a world championship like some of our American pro leagues like to.

Duplicate championships, however, from a big picture perspective are problematic. One of the reasons boxing is taken less seriously and has loss ground on the world stage are the competing organizations fighting for attention. Imagine if there were 5 FIFAs running soccer and staging dueling championships. Or, if one nation with very limited resources was staging two handball championships. Wait… that’s what we have.

I won’t go into all of the politics surrounding our current situation. But, make no mistake it’s mostly about politics. We don’t need two national championships. Heck, we don’t even really have enough bandwidth to do one national championship properly. But, logically, if you were to combine the manpower and resources used to conduct two separate events you would have more bandwidth to stage a better event. At least one would hope so.

The problem with that, however, is the politics and who gets to do it. Because if you are going to combine resources ultimately there can be only one entity in charge. Somebody loses out.

Not Really “National” Championships

But, setting aside the politics, there’s a larger issue that should be addressed. And, that’s the reality that neither championship was very “national.” It’s semantical, but it still matters. When you have athletes, whether it be pros living in another nation or an entire team from another nation… does it make sense to call them national champions for the nation where they don’t even live?

Champions of “a Tournament.” Sure, that makes sense. I’m down with that. Just don’t call them National Champs. Semantically, what we actually have been staging are “Open” Championships. Much like the French Open or the U.S. Open these tournament are open to all comers from anywhere in the world.

From a team concept the most comparable competition I can think of is “The Basketball Tournament (TBT)” which is staged in the summer and features teams with rosters that are put together to play in just that one tournment. And, as anyone who’s been around handball in the U.S. for awhile knows this is exactly what often happens as athletes and teams boths search for each other in the weeks prior to tournaments.

From the standpoint of giving athletes the opportunity to compete and have fun there is nothing wrong with having an annual 1 off tournament that does this. But, when you combine such a tournament with the concept of determining a “national champion”… well, that’s where the disconnect is. Because you can’t do both at the same time.

A Possible Solution

And, maybe recognizing this disconnect is the path to resolution. I think we need to start thinking about having two tournaments.

One tournament would be a smaller National Championship that is focused on determining a National Champion. Only open to U.S. clubs that meet stricter residency and qualification requirements with tighter roster contols. Maybe even requirements to sponsor a youth program and practice 20 times/year. We could even talk about a citizenship % requirement. One that might require only 25% U.S. citizenship initially, and is adjusted annually. Yes… these requirements would result in weaker teams for Super Globe qualification, but it could pave the way for the kind of growth I think we want. Perhaps this tournament could even be a final four with proper staging and promotion.

The other tournament would be what we’re already doing. An all comers open tournament. A celebration of handball in the the U.S. where the intent is some good competition, having fun and meeting old friends.

Our Already Existing National Championship

As I alluded to with the title of this commentary, we already have an existing national championship… And, that would be our Collegiate National Championships. And, you know what this championship has already. Teams mostly composed of Americans, all living in the same city and practicing regularly.

No one’s even going to begin to argue that the West Point men and women’s team aren’t the National Collegiate Champions. It wouldn’t even cross anyone’s mind.

And, we should be striving for a structure where the same could be said about our adult clubs. Where no one even doubts the validity of our club national champion.

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Deja Vu, All Over Again: Norway, Portugal, Brazil and USA to Replay the 2023 Gjensidige Cup

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The USA Men found out who and where they will play their group play matches at the 2025 Handball World Championships and due to a strange twist of fate it will be deja vu, all over again. This is because they will play Norway, Portugal and Brazil in Norway… just like they did in a warmup tourney prior to the 2023 Handball World Championships. This time, however, the matches will be played in Baerum (a suburb of Oslo), instead of Trondheim and these matches will count.

What are the chances of that? Well, it would be 1 out of 6 (Austria and Croatia (Pot 2) were already assigned to Porec and Zagreb) x (1 out of 8) x (1 out of 8) or 1 out of 384 or a 0.26% chance of occuring.

Tough Draw for the U.S.

As one of the lower ranked teams at the World Championships just about any draw is a tough draw. Realistically, beating any of the teams from pot 1 or pot 2 was always going to be a longshot, but there were some teams in pot 3 that the U.S. would match up well with.

Unfortunately, I don’t think Brazil is one of those teams and since they have good familiarity with the U.S. program they aren’t a team we can sneak up on. At the 2023 PANAM Games we lost to Brazil 40-27 (23-13) in the semifinals and at the 2023 Gjensidige Cup we lost 27-22 (12-10). A closer match, but also a friendly.

Further, having played both Norway and Portugal also at the 2023 Gjensidige cup we won’t be sneaking up on them either. Both of those sides won’t be surprised to find out that the U.S. actually has some guys that can play. They already know that and will even have some head to head match video to review as a reminder.

2023 Gjensidige Cup Final Standings

2023 Gjensidige Cup: Wikipedia (includes all results and links to match reports)

Beyond Group Play

Should the U.S. pull off an upset in Preliminary Group play they will stay in Oslo where their likely Main Round opponents from Group F would be Sweden, Spain and the winner of the Japan-Chile match.

If they finish 4th in Group E, however, they will head to Porec, Croatia for the President’s Cup play where they will play the 4th place finishers from Groups F, G and H. These opponents, barring a rash of upsets will likely be the losers of these preliminary round matchups

  • Japan vs Chile
  • Cuba vs Cape Verde
  • Argentina vs Bahrain

The potential for a mini Pan American group (USA, Chile, Cuba, Argentina) exists, but that remains to be seen. No team wants to go to the President’s Cup, but on the upside it could give the U.S. another crack at Chile, who they narrowly lost to in the bronze medal match at the PANAM Games and an opportunity to play NACHC rivals Cuba.

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2025 Men’s World Championships Draw: Best and Worst Cases for the U.S.; Plus a Little What if?

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The draw for the 2025 Men’s World Championships will take place tomorrow, 29 May at 1:30 PM (US ET) / 7:30 PM (CET). It will probably be streamed live and I will place the link here when it’s available.

The USA Men are in pot 4 and here’s some best and worst case analysis for who might be drawn into their group

  • Pot 1: It doesn’t matter for pot 1. The USA will be a huge underdog no matter which of these 8 teams they end up playing in Group Play.
  • Pot 2: The best outcome here would clearly be Italy. The Italians won their qualification play-off match vs Montenegro in convincing fashion, but it’s still their first WC in 18 years. The U.S. would be underdogs against Italy, but an upset victory would certainly be possible. The Czech Republic is probably the next weakest side, but a victory over them or any of the other teams in pot 2 is still unlikely.
  • Pot 3: This will be the key draw for the U.S. as the group match vs this opponent will likely determine who moves on to the main round and who goes to the President’s Cup. Here’s my take (in order) as to who the U.S. preferred options are
    • Cuba: The best option is clearly Cuba. The U.S. Men lost to Cuba at the 2024 NORCA Championships, but that was mostly a B side. The U.S. Men’s top side has beaten Cuba the last two times they played each other (2023 PANAM Games and and 2022 NORCA).
    • Algeria: Algeria were the runners-up in African qualification, but usually they are the 3rd or 4th best team from Africa and are similar in quality to the Moroccan side the U.S. beat 28-27 at the 2023 WC
    • Japan: Japan had built up a pretty solid team for the 2020 Olympics, but they’ve slipped a bit since then.
    • Qatar: Qatar still has some naturalized citizens playing for them, but they aren’t as strong as they used to be
    • North Macedonia: North Macedonia or Italy are arguably the weakest European teams at this World Championship.
    • Poland: On paper Poland should be a better team, but results wise they have been a disappointment recently. If there ever was a European team that could slip up and lose against a team like the USA, its this Poland team.
    • Argentina: The U.S. led most of the 1st half vs Argentina last year at the PANAM Games only to end up losing 28-14. While it’s possible the U.S. could put two good halves together it would be tough to come out on top. Further, the Argentinians know what the U.S. is capable of, so a surprise victory is not possible.
    • Brazil: The U.S. has played Brazil close at times, but hasn’t come close to a win. And, again, just like Argentina, the U.S. can’t sneak up on Brazil.

Best and Worst Possible Draws

Here’s my take on the best and worse possible draws for the U.S.

  • Best Possible: Slovenia, Italy, Cuba
  • Worst Possible: France, Croatia, Brazil

What If… the USA had won the 2024 NORCA and had Potential Opponents from Pot 4?

The U.S. chose to send essentially a B side to the North American & Caribbean Championship while an A side played Norway and France in two friendly matches. The U.S. could afford to do this as they had already been awarded a wild card for the World Championships. This resulted in Cuba (the NORCA Champions) being placed in Pot 3 and the U.S. being placed in Pot 4 as a wild card. If, the U.S. had sent their A team to NORCA and had won the Championship the U.S. would have been placed in Pot 3 and the Pot 4 wild card would have likely been assigned to a European side like Serbia.

Here’s some top level “What if?” analysis of who the USA would have potentially played under that scenario. The USA would have been big underdogs to Switzerland and Serbia, moderate underdogs to Bahrain and Tunisia, close to a pick em vs Chile and Cape Verde, and probably favorites over Kuwait and Guinea.

So overall, there would have been better opportunities to get to the Main Round from Pot 3 than Pot 4. Not guaranteed, of course. The U.S. could still draw Cuba or Algeria from Pot 3 and if they hadn’t gone the Wild Card route they could have ended up playing Switzerland or Serbia.

From a big picture viewpoint, however, I think the U.S. still made the right call to send a B team to the NORCA Championships. The experience gained playing France and Norway was worth more than having better odds to reach the Main Round. And, at the same time the U.S. was able to evaluate several athletes on the B team and assess their potential for future competitions.

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U.S. Women’s National Team: What’s Next (Part 3): An Out of the Box Solution to Broaden a Very Thin Talent Pool

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This is part of a series of commentaries that address the future of handball in the U.S. In Part 1, I summarized the U.S. Women’s National Team poor results of the past 4 years. In Part 2, I addressed the need for USA Team Handball leadership to consider proactive steps to broaden the talent pool. This commentary highlights an Out of the Box possibility that just might work.

Introduction: Where’s the Funding Going to Come from?

When I talk to handball old timers (around my age and even older) perhaps the biggest disconnect they have with their experience and the struggles we have today is the lack of funding for our national teams. These old timers travelled the world and made a lot of sacrifices, but they never spent a dime on travel or training. In fact, they often received room, board and a small stipend. Contrast that to today’s environment with teams and athletes using gofundme pages to help defray some of their costs. (This commentary highlights USA Team Handball funding since 1993)

These costs not only impacts these athletes, but it also impacts the size and quality of our talent pool. If athletes have to pay to play… there are going to be fewer athletes to select from. And, without a structured training program for stateside crossover athletes this means relying for the most part on dual citizens and athletes moving to Europe to improve their game.

Given current budget limitations, it would seemingly be impossible to fund a credible training program to broaden the talent pool with crossover athletes. Seemingly, that is. Because I think the stars have aligned for an out of the box solution that could pay for itself.

Alignment 1: Women’s Sports are “Having a Moment”

As a native Iowan I’ve been following the Caitlin Clark phenomenon with a mixture of bemusement, incredulosity and annoyance. The latter is due to being a lifelong Iowa State University fan. Growing up I had two favorite teams: Iowa State and whoever the University of Iowa was playing against. Setting aside fierce in-state rivalries, though, I can’t deny the transformation that has taken place in regards to the newfound interest it has brought to women’s basketball.

This was perhaps most ably demonstrated to me when handball commentator, Chris O’Reilly contacted me to find out if I knew of any way that he could get access to CBS and ESPN to watch the NCAA Basketball Tournament. My response included this point. “ESPN is just for the women’s tournament… OMG, has Caitlin Clark mania reached Europe now?” Indeed, Chris informed me that it had and that she was all over his social media channels. When an Irish handball commentator living in Sweden is taking extra effort to figure out he can watch USA Women’s college basketball… that is the very definition of “Having a Moment.”

More than a Moment?

There’s been a lot of speculation as to whether this is, indeed, but a moment. Simply the impact of one transformational athlete injecting a bit more interest for a short period of time before things go back to normal. The jury is still out on that, but I think it’s definitely more than a moment and it’s more than just women’s basketball.

In particular, women’s professional soccer has been showing real signs of life with the valuation of team franchises seeing exponential growth in terms of valuation. Nebraska women’s volleyball played a match in their football stadium with a world record 92,000 fans. There’s even a pro volleyball league now that judging by this match replay gets decent crowds. Women’s collegiate softball also is drawing more fans.

Now, I don’t think we’re going to ever hit parity with men’s sports in terms of overall interest. But, I do think we’re starting to see real interest that means something. And, this is a sharp contrast to the next to nothing interest women’s sports have received in the past. From my own personal anecdotal experience I’ve certainly even watching women’s sports more even if it is to watch Caitlan Clark get technical fouls for the struggling Indiana Fever. Welcome to the pros, rook!

Alignment 2: The Rise of the Sports Documentary/Reality Show

Sport’s reality shows are also having a moment. Fostered in part by the COVID pandemic, shows like Netflix’s Drive to Survive are finding new fans. Even getting some Americans to actually care about Formula 1. This documentary format has also been adopted for golf (Full Swing) and tennis (Match Point). ESPN even got into the act with a new show callled “Tryouts” on ESPN+. Two episodes even feature the lesser known sports of Ultimate and Curling.

The Handball Reality Show: Retooled for a U.S. Women’s National Team

So, why not team handball? The concept of a handball reality show has been around in different forms for over 20 years. I first saw it proposed in an online forum not long after the NFL reality show, Hard Knocks debuted. Essentially, the basic concept is to follow the ups and downs of the U.S. National Team as it trains to take on the world.

In 2017 there was a serious proposal that was pitched to NBC. The proposed show’s producer even attended the 2017 Men’s World Championship as a guest of the IHF. This proposal would have seen former pros from American football, basketball and other sports learn the game and even travel to Europe for competion. Alas, the show was not selected for production, but the fact that it got that far suggests that the concept has real potential.

Generally left unsaid is that these proposals have been exclusively focused on the men’s team and conceptualized how famous male athletes would excel at handball if given the chance. This is not too surprising. After all, until very recently way more attention across the board has gone to men’s sports. Why would it have been any different for reality sports TV shows?

And, while I could argue there might well be still greater interest in a show focused on finding great athletes for our Men’s National Team it would be a fool’s errand. That’s because we already have a pretty good team. Athletes who already know how to play the game and who are also fairly high up in there terms of raw athletic ability. As we discussed on the USA Handball Talk podcast the current Men’s National Team has athletes one would find on a low NCAA D1 or high D2 Basketball team. We could find better athletes… but, not a whole lot better and it would take them at least two years (if not more) of regular handball training to realistically compete for positions on the national team.

Whereas with our Women’s National Team the raw talent is more similar to an NCAA D3 basketball team The evidence to support this includes an 0-0-12 record since the 2019 PANAM Games and the novelty of a D2 NCAA hoopster (Katie Timmerman) with very little handball experience playing significant minutes at the 2023 North American & Caribbean Championships. Her success suggests that even better athletes would fare well with an organized training program. (Side note: Current #1 GK Sophie Fasold is D1 quality and might well be the best GK in USA history)

Documentary/Reality Show Framework

So what would this would be TV show look like? For discussion purposes, here’s a possible framework for Season 1:

  • Athlete identification and recruitment: Introductory episodes could cover what types of athletes they are looking for and how they are recruited
  • Athlete tryouts: Structured tryouts would be held and athletes would be evaluated and then selected for further training
  • Initial training: Athletes would be taught the basics of handball in a structured setting over several weeks
  • Initial competition matches: The athletes could play a match vs current national team athletes and/or European clubs

Follow on seasons would continue to follow the athletes as they integrate with the national team and continue training, potentially in Europe

Multiple Variables to Consider

How the show would actually look would also depend on several variables to include:

  • Funding Level: It goes without saying the more funding this would be show has… the more that can be done across the board to pay for facilities, coaching, athlete expenses, travel, etc. In fact, from a selfish handball standpoint that’s the appeal of this concept. This show would pay for a real training program that USA Team Handball can’t afford right now, even at an austere level.
  • TV Partner Role: Would the TV partner be content to just document what happens or would they want to control the narrative as much as possible? In standard reality fare, drama is what draws interest and this could be a major distraction. Roles for everyone involved in the effort would need to be defined. And, if we’re really thinking out of the box… there is nothing that would prohibit no partnership whatsoever. Yes, some entity could seek to manufacture a team and develop athletes with no connection to USA Team Handball at all.
  • Timing: The Olympics are just four years away. On the one hand, it would seem that we’re already behind the curve in terms of the time it will take great athletes to learn handball. But, on the other hand, great athletes might be reluctant to commit to four years of training. Commitment concerns, however, could be assuaged with a salary and other opportunities.

Two “Moments” and a Big Opportunity

So we essentially have a alignment of two moments and a big opportunity

  • People genuinely care more about women’s sports now
  • Sports docudramas have garnered unprecedented interest
  • The U.S. Women’s national team is currently low performing, but will play in the Olympics just four years from now.

So some smart entity could jump on both the women’s sports bandwagon and the sports documentary bandwagon to help a down trodden team that hasn’t won a game in over four years acheive greatness at the 2028 Olympics. It also doesn’t hurt that we’re talking about a pretty cool, ridiculously under exposed sport…

Yes, the stars have aligned to make this pipe dream, out of the box solution seem more than plausible. Honestly, if a reality show almost made it in 2017, it seems that one one focused on the U.S. Women in 2024 is a no brainer. Just a pitch that has to be made to the right people.

And, there are several candidates for just such a pitch. Entities that have even expressed love for handball before. I may not ever get in an elevator with these different entities to make that pitch, but I’ll be making my case nonetheless in the coming weeks.