CEO Matt Van Houten at his office in Colorado Springs

Yesterday, I sat down with USA Team Handball CEO, Matt Van Houten to discuss the agreement with Auburn University to start a National Team Residency Program.  We covered several topics, but mostly focused on the process related questions that I had posed in a previous posting.  Here’s a summary of what we discussed.

Board of Director involvement with the decision

The two Athletes Advisory Council Board Members, Tomuke Ebuwei and David Thompson have been engaged and are supportive of the decision to proceed with a residency program at Auburn.  The other two current Board Members, David Palmer and Tom Zelenovic, have been less engaged and he is uncertain as to where they might stand.  Van Houten also indicated that while he would prefer to have a fully constituted Board or Directors in place to review and approve the Residency Program agreement with Auburn that he had no plans to wait for this to happen.  As CEO he indicated that he will sign the agreement and made it clear that he is confident that this is the right decision for USA Team Handball.

Consideration of other potential candidates

When asked about whether any other universities or potential Olympic host cities had been contacted he indicated that none had and that there were no plans for an open solicitation to determine whether there might be other interested parties.  In short, it was his assessment that the Auburn deal was a good one and unlikely to be matched by another university.  He also indicated that while there were benefits to a potential arrangement with a USA candidate host city for the Olympics that this was still at least a year away and that he did not want to wait for this hypothetical possibility.

7 Year Commitment

Van Houten indicated that a 7 year commitment from both Auburn and USATH was necessary to give the Residency Programs a chance to flourish.  He noted that it was his assessment that qualifying for the 2016 Olympics would be challenging, but that the program would lay the groundwork for more realistic chances for 2020.  He also anticipates that the formal agreement will have “out clauses” for either side to withdraw from their commitment, but doing so would have penalties.

Documentation of Residency Program plans

In terms of documentation supporting the decision to proceed with a Residency Program he cited the High Performance Plan (HPP) which was developed last year although he is not certain as to whether it had been formally approved by the Board.  The HPP is not posted on the Federation website, but this is consistent with the practice followed by other National Governing Bodies such as USA Swimming, USA Volleyball, etc.  (Note:  I requested and have received a copy of the HPP.) In terms of documentation detailing specific requirements for a Residency Program he indicated that some top level internal documentation had been developed, but that there was no formal evaluation criteria that was used to grade a proposal from Auburn.  Instead the development of the Auburn Residency Program plan has been developed through bi-lateral communication between USATH and Auburn.

The High Performance Team and perceptions of bias

Van Houten indicated that the possibility of perceptions of bias exists, but noted that I am the only individual who has expressed any concern.  From his perspective he is certain that there is no actual bias that would cloud the judgment of the High Performance Team (High Performance Director, Dave Gascon, Technical Director, Mariusz Wartalowicz, Men’s coach, Javier Garcia Cuesta and Women’s Coach Christian Latulippe.  He further noted that the National Team coaches had been signed to 3 year contracts and would continue to be paid regardless of whether there was a Residency Program or not.  He also has full confidence in this team and does not see any need for additional involvement from the Board or others in the day to day development of the Residency Programs.

My overall impression

As you might expect, I strongly disagree with the decision to start a 7 year Residency Program without conducting a wider search and getting approval from the Board of Directors.  I also continue to be dissatisfied with the development of an HPP without review and comment from the committees that were stood up at the 2011 Strategic Planning Conference.  I appreciated, however, the opportunity to express my opinions candidly even if my arguments didn’t sway CEO Van Houten’s opinion.

USA Team Handball and Auburn University agree to a seven year National Team Residency Program. Did USA Team Handball have a structured and transparent process for reaching this decision?

Yesterday, USA Team Handball formally announced an agreement in principle between USA Team Handball and Auburn University to create a long-term residency program for both the Men’s and Women’s National Teams.  The posting trumpeted the genesis of how the deal came to fruition and how USA National Teams will improve and become formidable opponents in as little as 18 months.  I certainly don’t doubt that U.S. teams will soon show improvement.  Results have been pretty dismal lately and a structured training program can’t help but produce better results.  It’s debatable as to how long it will take till the U.S. can improve to the point that it can qualify for an Olympics or even a World Championship, but undoubtedly we’re going to get better.

Of course, there are other ways of improving national team performance even if they don’t offer a quick solution.  It’s no secret that I have been very skeptical as to the implementation of Residency Programs.  In a series of commentaries I identified some problems with the basic concept and questioned whether it was the right time to start such a program.  Setting aside skepticism in the last essay I highlighted how  USA Team Handball’s strategic planning had become flawed and made a plea to right the ship, by developing a true strategic plan for USA Team Handball with clearly articulated goals/objectives and input from the Board, Committees and the USA Team Handball community

From the looks of the recent Federation announcement that plea has fallen on deaf ears as it appears that the Federation has decided to move out and move quickly.  From the outside looking in, it appears that USA Team Handball has selected to cast its lot with Auburn without fully considering other options.  Moreover, it appears that there has been little Board involvement and that the team involved in this selection could be perceived as biased toward starting a program as soon as possible.  (Note, the emphasis on the word, perceived.)  Perhaps, however, I’m jumping the gun a bit.  Below are some questions that I’ve sent USA Team Handball CEO, Matt Van Houten.  I’ll post the answers when I get them.

– Previous discussion (23:30 in the podcast) and email traffic with you indicated that you would involve the BoD with a strategic decision like establishing a Residency Program.  How has each of the 4 current board members been involved with the decision to engage Auburn?

– Was there any though to delaying the start of a search process until a fully constituted 9 member Board of Directors was is place?

– The announcement indicates that there has been an “agreement in principle” with a formal agreement soon to be completed.  When do you anticipate the agreement going final?

– Will the formal agreement be made only after a fully constituted board is in place?

– Are you concerned that you may be putting the Board in the position of immediately approving a fait accompli?  In other words, shouldn’t the new members who will be responsible for this decision have played a greater role in its conception?

– Where is the Board decision to immediately pursue a Residency Program documented?

– What requirements were identified for the Residency Program?

– What evaluation criteria were identified for the Residency Program?

– There doesn’t appear to have been any public announcement soliciting or requesting input from potential candidates.  Why wasn’t this done?

– Were any other colleges or universities contacted regarding the establishment of a Residency Program?

– The USOC is in the process of selecting a USA candidate host city for the 2024 Olympic Games with that city being selected next year.  Has there been any discussion with candidate cities regarding the establishment of a Residency Program?

– Establishing a Residency Program in the U.S. city that is selected could have significant benefits.  Was there any consideration to delaying a Residency Program search to fully engage the U.S. city that is selected?

– The Director of the High Performance, Dave Gascon, has a daughter who is a veteran member of the U.S. Women’s National Team.  Are you concerned that some could perceive him as somewhat biased in favor of quickly establishing a Residency Program?

– The Men’s and Women’s coaches obviously are very interested in establishing a Residency Program to improve near term National Team performance.  Are you concerned that they may also be perceived as biased towards quickly establishing a Residency Program?

– Was there any thought to establishing an independent committee consisting of Board Members and other select individuals to oversee engagement with Auburn to remove any perceptions of bias?

– Have there been any other individuals evaluating the Auburn proposal and advising the High Performance Team?  If so, has there been any thought to publicly identifying and formalizing their role in the process.

– The announcement indicates a 7 year commitment to Auburn.  How was it determined that a 7 year commitment was in the best interest of USATH?

– Establishing a Residency Program will consume significant manpower and resources.  Are you concerned that other USATH efforts such as grass roots programs will be significantly impacted?

My daughters discussing Team Handball with the Scorpions at the Las Vegas YMCA Youth Day. Are they now future Colorado Dynamo stars?

All my bags are packed; I’m ready to go…. Rocky Mountain High, Colorado….  I guess I’ve got old John Denver songs on the brain and for good reason, as the Ryan Family is all packed up and ready for our move to Colorado.  Six years ago when we left Paris for Las Vegas, I reflected on what a tremendous opportunity I had had to live in a foreign country, to play handball and learn more about the sport.  I also waxed a bit about my pending move to a handball desert where to the best of my knowledge the sport had never even been played.  With a bit of pride I can claim some credit for changing that and helping to start a new club, the Las Vegas Scorpions.  As I head out of town I’m reflecting a bit on club development in the U.S.  Why, it’s so important and why it’s so challenging.

Why club programs are so important to developing the sport

I’m guessing some people are reading the above heading and are thinking, “Seriously, do you really have to explain that?”  And, I’m also guessing that a good portion of those people are European expats who grew up with a vibrant and well established club system.  The clubs are the backbone for sports in their native countries and they’re often puzzled when they come to this country.  The club structure in Europe does a lot of things for sport development and from a National Team perspective they are the feeder system.  Thousands of players are introduced to the sport a young age, they are trained in the finer points of the game and they compete against other clubs.  Out of those thousands of players, hundreds show promise and a handful develop into world class national team players.

In the U.S. the same numbers game applies, but historically for most sports it’s been through school based teams.  And, if the schools didn’t play a particular sport?  Well, that sport was essentially out of luck.  To an increasing degree some cracks have started to appear in this school based model as sports like soccer have developed club based competitions which are more European like.  These developments means that it’s becoming increasingly realistic to envision a more vibrant club structure in the U.S. for Team Handball.  A structure with enough clubs with good training programs and good opportunities for competition that it becomes the primary feeder system for U.S. National Teams.  And setting aside the National Teams, a structure which develops and helps grow a larger fan base in this country.

A vibrant club structure is not the only way to find players and the U.S. has used other methods.   Top notch athletes who’ve never played the sport have been taught how to be good handball players with intensive training programs.  We’ve also scoured Europe for dual citizens, who’ve taken advantage of the club system there.  But, these methods are at best stop gap measures.  They may be the best answer in the short term, but they can’t change the overall status quo.  In order to do that more clubs are needed, pure and simple.

Why it’s so challenging to develop club programs

While the U.S. sporting landscape isn’t always conducive to supporting clubs, there are still thousands and thousands of clubs in the U.S. for just about every sport imaginable.  For Team handball, however, depending on how you want to define a club there are probably only around 15-30 clubs in the entire country.  And for the 27 years or so I’ve been involved with the sport it’s pretty much ebbed and flowed right around that 20 club mark.  There are a number of reasons why there are so few clubs, but I’ll focus on some top level ones.

1) Establishing, organizing and sustaining a club is time consuming, often frustrating, unglamorous and hard work.

Anybody who’s been involved in starting a new club knows all too well what I’m talking about.  Countless pitches to prospective athletes; phone calls and email for practices/tournaments; passing out the hat for money and often reaching into your own pocket to pay for equipment, gym and tournament fees.  Sure, there are rewarding moments:  The first time your club takes the floor; the first time your club wins a match; the first time a bunch of folks who didn’t know each other a month earlier start to bond as a team.  But, there are also moments that inevitably bring you down:  The scheduled practice where hardly anyone shows up; the tournaments where you can’t quite field a team and you have to borrow players from the other club; the departure of a key player/organizer that can’t be immediately replaced.

2) Not enough people are stepping forward to volunteer for this frustrating, unglamorous hard work

OK, time to step on the soap box for a bit:  Have you ever mentally listed out the number of former U.S. National Team players who have disappeared from the sport?  Or have you watched veteran players stay slightly engaged, perhaps showing up at the National Championships to play with some old buddies and relive their glory days?  Have you then mentally calculated just how many clubs the U.S. might have today if more of those players chose to give back to the sport that has done so much for them by starting a new club?  I know have.  Why, I can’t even beat my chest and proudly state my credentials for starting not just 1, but 2 clubs in this country.

OK, time to step down:  Sure, I can pat myself on the back, but I had help along the way.  I might have been instrumental in getting the Scorpions started, but Bernhard Schneider has done the bulk of the heavy lifting.  As far as DC goes, I’m pretty much a forgotten footnote who maybe just deserves a smidgen of credit for coming up with the Diplomats nickname.  Additionally, as work and family commitments shrank my discretionary time, I’ve become more sympathetic to the reality that many former National Team players surely have the same time crunch issues.  Finally, there are other ways to give back like officiating and serving on committees.

Back on the soap box:  Sorry, former National Team players; I’m not letting you off the hook that easy.  This country really needs more clubs; Arguably, more so than anything else.  If at all possible try to find the time to do some grunt work out in the grass root trenches.  It is time consuming, but it is also very rewarding and you, by virtue of your training and experience are equipped to lead such an endeavor.

3) Not enough is being done by USA Team Handball to expand the number of clubs in the U.S.

This is not to say nothing is being done.  In particular, a big thanks to USA Team Handball for bringing the National Championships to Vegas and also for the balls and a set of competition goals.  Having started two clubs I can unequivocally state that if you are proactive and engage the federation, you will get some help.  That being said, clearly more could be done.  Not all clubs have super dedicated organizers who will take Herculean steps to overcome every obstacle.  They might just be dedicated and willing to overcome some obstacles.  A little more care and feeding at the critical incubation stage might result in more clubs surviving and growing.  Strategic promotion is also warranted in some cities and definitely some colleges.  For instance, it was great that a recent tryout at Auburn attracted 29 participants, but it only made me wonder why there isn’t already a club there and not just at Auburn, but at colleges throughout the nation.  And don’t even get me started about the Naval Academy.

4) More needs to be done to encourage the development of youth clubs

More clubs of all kinds are needed, but as my colleague Christer pointed out the U.S. club scene has really been taken over by Expats and aging veterans.  There’s nothing wrong with having those teams around.  As a younger player I can’t begin to tell you how much I learned from those amazing out of shape Euros (smoking outside at halftime, no less) who schooled me on the finer points of the game.  What’s wrong is not having very many teams with more home grown players.  And if we’re talking about National Team development, home grown players closer to age 20 than age 30.  One pleasant surprise from my trip to the Club championships were the Colorado Dynamo and Ocean, NJ clubs.  No kidding youth teams with many players in their teens.  As far as I know the Ocean, NJ team was fully composed of high schoolers while the Dynamo team was supplement with some talented expats in their 20s.  The Dynamo club took that combination all the way to the final, losing a close game to finish in 2nd place.

Closing thoughts

As I’m headed toward my old stomping grounds in Colorado Springs, I’m fortunately moving to a locale with two existing teams, my alma mater, Air Force and the Colorado Dynamo.  That didn’t factor into the decision to move there, but it’s certainly a nice ancillary benefit.  Subject to those work/family commitments I intend to get involved with both programs.  And, if I can convince my daughters to pick up the sport, here’s hoping that for once family and handball commitments will become one and the same.