Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:29 — 30.5MB)

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Here are some links and notes from what we discussed in the podcast:

• (Un)Informed Handball Hour interview with Swedish-American dual citizen Alfred Jonsson: Link (Starts around 23:40)
• Alfred Jonsson: Highlight Video Wikipedia (Swedish) Wikipedia (English)
• Alfie: Song Original Movie Remake
• EHF European League: Link
• Carolina YouTube page: Link (Note: If anyone has the video with the injury we discussed please DM either JD or John)
• The pros and cons of college clubs having 2 teams at college nationals
• The pros and cons of grouping all college teams (despite big gaps in quality) in one big competition
• This weekend’s Trailblazer Conference tournament: Link
• The pros and cons of the weekend tournament format
• The “pod” concept of 3-5 colleges in close proximity playing a double round robin over a season
• The factors to consider when assessing which colleges to assist in starting a handball program
• My Caitlin Clark – Ashley Joens tangent: Link
• Tom Brady: How good of a handball player would the American Football GOAT have been? Wikipedia

Watch on YouTube or listen/download the mp3 file at the top of the page

If you have any suggestions for future topics, a title for our podcast or have some intro music you would like us to consider please let us know on social media.

Don’t miss an episode:

• Subscribe on YouTube: Link (Earliest Availability)
• Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: Link
• Follow the Team Handball News podcast on Spotify: Link
• Or use this RSS Feed to sign up for the podcast in your favorite podcast aggregator: Link

And, be sure to check out the podcast archive with interviews and great handball discussion going all the way back to 2006: Link

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 39:03 — 29.4MB)

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On the podcast we discuss the following topics:

• USA National Team player Ian Hueter’s move to ASV Hamm-Westfalen next season: Link
  • Hueter Brother’s interview from 2021: Link
• USA GK Billy Kessler interview: Link (I don’t think he ever played in the HBL)
• A tangent on the HBL from my 1993 education:
  • “Coach, what’s the Bundesliga?” Link
  • Video of Finland’s Michael Kallman in action (watch a minute: You’ll see a 2 minute call followed by the exact same jump shot that caught me woefully unprepared): Link
• A couple of high level players, reportedly with USA citizenship
  • Alfred Jonsson: Wikipedia Recent 9 meter goal
  • Yoav Lumbroso: Wikipedia
• Video of NYC Handball’s Togba Aboubacar in action at the Samala Cup this past December: Link
• More discussion on U.S. competition structures
  • Upcoming Carolina Blue Cup: Instagram
  • Should handball in the USA have a shorter “season” similar to other U.S. sports? (instead of the long European season model that over time has gradually been adopted)
  • List of U.S. urban areas by population: Link (Very highly correlated with existing U.S. Handball clubs)
• Our new and likely recurring topic assessing how good athletes from other sports would be if they played handball. First up: Serbian and Denver Nuggets basketball player, Nikola Jokic
  • JD’s brief discussion with Barstool’s PFT commenter on Jokic: Link

Watch on YouTube or listen/download the mp3 file at the top of the page

If you have any suggestions for future topics, a title for our podcast or have some intro music you would like us to consider please let us know on social media.

Don’t miss an episode:

• Subscribe on YouTube: Link (Earliest Availability)
• Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: Link
• Follow the Team Handball News podcast on Spotify: Link
• Or use this RSS Feed to sign up for the podcast in your favorite podcast aggregator: Link

And, be sure to check out the podcast archive with interviews and great handball discussion going all the way back to 2006: Link

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:48 — 29.0MB)

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On this week’s episode we discuss what standards USA Team Handball athletes, administrators and board members are required or perhaps, should be obliged to follow. What’s appropriate in one’s private life and what’s appropriate in an official capacity? And, is it possible to entirely separate the two in a world where one’s thoughts and actions are amplified by social media? Here’s a rundown of the show and some links to the topics we discussed.

• Pittsburgh Steeler’s Head Coach, Mike Tomlin’s “The Standard is the Standard” philosophy: Link
• San Antonio Spurs Head Coach, Gregg Poppovich on standing during the national anthem: Link
• USA Team Handball’s Code of Conduct Policy: Link (Note: I think there was once a separate, more athlete specific code that had to be signed as part of team selection, but I could be wrong.)
• Towards the end we discuss a potpourri of topics to include:
  • Discussing handball outside our handball sphere and the “shade” often thrown our way
  • Relatives never really fully understanding what handball we play
  • My discussion with CalHeat’s Martin Bilello on youth handball challenges
  • The need to define objectives and establish metrics for handball initiatives… so one can then better assess what consitutes success or failure

Watch on YouTube or listen/download the mp3 file at the top of the page

If you have any suggestions for future topics, a title for our podcast or have some intro music you would like us to consider please let us know on social media.

Don’t miss an episode:

• Subscribe on YouTube: Link (Earliest Availability)
• Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: Link
• Follow the Team Handball News podcast on Spotify: Link
• Or use this RSS Feed to sign up for the podcast in your favorite podcast aggregator: Link

And, be sure to check out the podcast archive with interviews and great handball discussion going all the way back to 2006: Link

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:46 — 29.3MB)

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On this week’s episode we discuss handball tryouts and the complications that result from two very different cohorts: Stateside and and Overseas athletes. The catalyst for the discussion was this USA Team Handball Tweet and the reply it elicited from former USA Jr National Team athlete, Aaron Hamm:

Here’s a summary of the topics we discussed:

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for handball. For what it’s worth my most recent Google search has the USA Team Handball website ranking 3rd for “team handball and 12th for “handball”
• Here’s a 3 part series that John wrote in 2019 on handball dual citizens:
  • Part 1:  What is a handball American Expat and Philosophically, What is an American?:  Link
  • Part 2:  Understanding this 51st state and its handball demographics: Link
  • Part 3: Can a small, but determined handball nation be competitive against larger nations? Can they win a title?: Link (Note: this commentary contains some discussion on the Faroe Islands)
• USA Team Handball Facebook post on the recently conducted tryout in Los Angeles: Link
• The MLB “all comers” tryout scene from the movie, The Rookie: LInk
• JD’s Jr National Team tryout and John’s Olympic Festival tryout in 1987
• The lack of an intermediate stepping stone between clubs and the national team and how the good deals from the IHF might unintentionally be hindering such a development
• How the U.S. handball development “pyramid” is actually a “tower”

And, here’s a couple of bonus commentaries on youth development

• A commentary on the Tower/Pyramid: Link
• Analysis of 2017 Youth and Jr teams (you’ll see some familiar names and some names that have moved on…): Link

Watch or listen/download the mp3 file at the top of the page

If you have any suggestions for future topics, a title for our podcast or have some intro music you would like us to consider please let us know on social media.

Don’t miss an episode:

• Subscribe on YouTube: Link (Earliest Availability)
• Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: Link
• Follow the Team Handball News podcast on Spotify: Link
• Or use this RSS Feed to sign up for the podcast in your favorite podcast aggregator: Link

And, be sure to check out the podcast archive with interviews and great handball discussion going all the way back to 2006: Link

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 37:41 — 28.9MB)

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It’s a New Year and the more things change… the more they stay the same. Here’s a rundown of the topics discussed:

• The upcoming Men’s European Championships and the record setting crowd planned for the opening matches in Düsseldorf. It was Andy Schmid who was not a fan of handball in football stadiums: Link
• How Ohio State’s starting QB’s transferring to Syracuse might correlate contextually to the U.S. Women’s national team (News article on the topic: Link)
• The USA Team Handball Board Meeting Minutes drop: Link
  • The minutes from September reference a dialogue with the Handball Development Center in Dallas: “Mr. Branick had started to establish a dialogue with the Texas project leadership to determine how a partnership may evolve and impact the efforts to develop the women’s National team.
• Why handball promotion is important and the USA Team Handball Working Group that will address ways to better promote Handball during the 2024 Olympics
• The podcast with Joey Williams of Detroit where we discussed handball promotion: Link
• The possibility of a handball demonstration in conjunction with the NBA All Star Game in Indianapolis
• The EHF promotion process and the video that was shared in real time:

• The Samala Cup played this past December and John’s view that it’s high time to rethink the concept of the “weekend tournament.” (Tentatively, the topic for our next podcast)

Watch or listen/download the mp3 file at the top of the page

If you have any suggestions for future topics, a title for our podcast or have some intro music you would like us to consider please let us know on social media.

Don’t miss an episode:

• Subscribe on YouTube: Link (Earliest Availability)
• Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: Link
• Follow the Team Handball News podcast on Spotify: Link
• Or use this RSS Feed to sign up for the podcast in your favorite podcast aggregator: Link

And, be sure to check out the podcast archive with interviews and great handball discussion going all the way back to 2006: Link

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:25 — 30.2MB)

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It’s a Boxing Day edition of USA Handball Talk and we take a deeper dive into the challenges the U.S. Women’s program faces. Discussion points include:

• Why it will be tough for the U.S. Women to duplicate the success of the current U.S. Men’s team
• Why there isn’t time now for a grass roots solution
• Three different paths forward for the U.S. Women
• The need for USA Team Handball to make a decision on the path forward
• Why a decision to focus on transfer talent athletes will require a lot of planning
• Why a transfer talent focus will need credibility and quality to successfully recruit athletes
• Could a reality show documentary simultaneously fund a talent transfer program and provide great promotion?

We didn’t solve anything, but there was lots of great discussion and we addressed a lot of issues. Let us know if we missed any key issues that you would like to see us address.

Watch or listen/download the mp3 file at the top of the page

If you have any suggestions for future topics, a title for our podcast or have some intro music you would like us to consider please let us know on social media.

Don’t miss an episode:

• Subscribe on YouTube: Link (Earliest Availability)
• Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: Link
• Follow the Team Handball News podcast on Spotify: Link
• Or use this RSS Feed to sign up for the podcast in your favorite podcast aggregator: Link

And, be sure to check out the podcast archive with interviews and great handball discussion going all the way back to 2006: Link