Category Archives: USATH News

post

AUDIO: U.S. Team Handball Foundation (USTHF): 28 years of supporting Team Handball in the U.S.

Posted on by

Handball at the 1984 Olympics: Still paying dividends 28 years later

At the USA Team Handball (USATH) Strategy Conference in April I took the opportunity to conduct a short interview with U.S. Team Handball Foundation (USTHF) President, Rick Hurst.  The interview (see below) provides some background on the USTHF and its role in supporting Team Handball in the United States.  The USTHF was established after the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and its mission is to encourage, improve and promote amateur team handball in the United States.  It is a separate organization from the USATH and its current Board Members are Rick Hurst (President), Rod Oshita (Vice-President), Tom Fitzgerald, Mark Noble and Kathy Dean.

For more information on how to send a donation or apply for a grant contact Rick Hurst at RHurst@nkhurst.com

 

post

Tough path to the semifinals for USA team in Men’s PanAmerican Championship

Posted on by

USA will play Argentina in the opening game on June 18


The draw for this PanAmerican event, which starts in Buenos Aires on June 18, was undertaken today. There are two groups with five teams each, and what matters is to grab at least the second spot in the group and qualify for the semi-finals, which then gives the chance for getting the third spot overall (behind Argentina and Brazil) which is needed to qualify for the 2013 World Championship.

It is widely assumed that, behind the overwhelming favorites Argentina and Brazil, Chile is the strongest team, as evidenced by a very respectable showing in the 2011 World Championship and in the recent Olympic qualifying. They have several players with high-level European club experience, notably the Feuchtmann brothers and especially the world-class pivot Oneto, who is playing for Barcelona. Uruguay, who was seeded at the same level as Chile, is clearly a more modest opponent. But the bad luck for the USA team is that they were indeed placed in the same group as Chile, so the path to the semi-finals will not be easy.

The draw: Group A: Argentina – Chile – Greenland – USA – Venezuela; Group B: Brazil – Uruguay – Dominican Republic – Mexico – Paraguay. A strong performance will enable the USA team to beat Greenland and Venezuela, but either one of these teams could just as well be a stumbling block. Nevertheless, the key will be the ability to surprise the Chilean team. And should the USA team succeed in that game, then the good news is that the opponent in a bronze medal game would probably be less formidable.

The schedule also may tend to favor the USA team. The very first game on June 18 is against Argentina. I do not want to be cynical, but it is probably just as well to get this game out of the way first, in part to use it as a preparation for the games that really have to be won. Following a rest day on the 19th, USA will play Greenland on the 20th and Venezuela on the 21st. Then comes the game against Chile on the 22nd. By that time, Chile will presumably already have lost against Argentina and will be resigned to facing Brazil in the semi-final. The semifinals are played on the 23rd and the medal games on the 24th.

It had been announced that Canada would take part, but there are rumors that a last-minute decision from their Olympic Committee to withhold funding spoiled those plans. This is why Paraguay suddenly entered the picture. There has speculation about the format for future PanAmerican Championships beyond this event. My sources indicate that the notion of playing Championships with 12 teams is just unrealistic, so future events will have 8 or 10 teams.

But instead of reintroducing the unpopular continent-wide qualifying event (‘Division 1’), it seems that the focus will instead be in establishing regional competition as a basis for the qualifying to the Elite level. For the U.S. teams, together with Canada and Greenland, this would inevitably involve some form of integration with at least the Caribbean nations and probably also the Central Americans.

Finally, efforts are being made to establish some form of web broadcasting, but the details are not known yet.

post

USA Team Handball selects Christian Latulippe as Men’s Head Coach for Pan American Championships

Posted on by

New USA Men's Coach: Christian Latullipe

USA Team Handball has posted the following update on their Facebook Page:

Staff Selection Committee Announces Choices

General Manager Dave Gascon today announced the long awaited selections of staff for the upcoming USATH Men’s National Team (MNT) as they will venture to Argentina for the Pan American Championships, which is also a qualifier for the 2013 World Championships in Spain.

“I am pleased to announce that our selection committee of Olympians Rod Oshita, Bob Djokovich, and Michael Lenard has selected Christian Latulippe as Head Coach, Michael Tilton as Assistant Coach, and Mariusz Wartalowicz as Team Leader for this event. I know the committee spent considerable time and effort evaluating all the candidates in order to provide us with the best possible selections. I am very impressed with the professional and thoughtful process with which they approached their responsibilities. USA Team Handball is grateful to them for their time and commitment to our Men’s National Team Program.”

The Pan Am Championships are scheduled for June 18-24, and although the timeline is not yet finalized, Gascon addressed the possible schedule. “Our tentative goal is to depart for Argentina June 10th and to try to get in a solid week of training before the tournament begins. The athlete selection process is being finalized and we hope to have a team selected around the 23rd of May.

We are hopeful that our newly appointed staff and the athletes will bond quickly and that the team will jell within the week. It will be quite intense,” said an optimistic Gascon. I expect our MNT Selection Committee will pick a great team to represent the United States for this important competition.”

Gascon has indicated he will ask for the assistance of 2011 Pan Am Games Head Coach Darrick Heath and Assistant Coach Wade Sutton, as well as former Pan Am Games MNT player Daniel Kimmich, to serve in some capacity on the selection committee. Latulippe, Tilton, and Wartalowicz will round out the panel.

This will be Latullipe’s second go round as a USA National Team Coach.  From 2004-2007, he was the coach of the USA Women’s Team and was instrumental in the setup and organization of the residency program in Cortland, NY.  In March of 2007, Latulippe, was abruptly replaced (fired, resigned, reassigned- take your pick) as coach shortly before key qualification matches for the 2007 PANAM Games.  Latullipe, a Quebecois Canadian, has been coaching club handball in France where he was recently the head coach of 2nd Division Women’s side, La Motte Servolex.   He also was the assistant coach for the Canadian Men at the 2011 PANAM Games.

The assistant coach, Mike Tilton, is the current West Point Men’s coach.

THN (13 Mar 2007): USA Women’s National Team Coach Resigns: https://teamhandballnews.com/2007/03/usa-women%E2%80%99s-national-team-coach-resigns/
THN (19 Mar 2007): USOC Statement on Latulippe Resignation: https://teamhandballnews.com/2007/03/usoc-statement-on-latulippe-resignation/
THN (22 Mar 2007): An Act of Desperation or Decisive Action?:  https://teamhandballnews.com/2007/03/an-act-of-desperation-or-decisive-action/
THN (18 Jun 2007):  USA Women:  What happened and what’s next?: https://teamhandballnews.com/2007/06/usa-women-what-happened-and-what%E2%80%99s-next/
Handzone (19 Feb 2012): La Motte-Servolex without Christian Latulippe: http://www.handzone.net/asp.net/main.news/news.aspx?id=56593
West Point Team Handball Website (Coaches): http://wpteamhandball.wetpaint.com/page/Coaches

post

AUDIO: Interview with USA Team Handball Board of Director’s Chairman, Jeff Utz

Posted on by

USA Team Handball's Board of Director's Chairman, Jeff Utz

This past Thursday and Friday, I attended a Strategic Planning Conference in Salt Lake City.  There were 23 attendees including Board Members, athletes, club leaders and representatives from the USOC.  Several issues regarding the future of USA Team Handball were discussed and 4 broad areas were selected for initial focus:

1) Financial Stability
2) “Pipeline” Athlete Development
3) Promotion and Marketing
4) Governance and Management Structure

Following the meeting on Friday, I sat down with Jeff Utz, USA Team Handball’s to discuss the conference, the future of USA Team Handball and his role as Chairman.   The Audio is about 24 minutes and can be downloaded below.

post

Handball Talk (Episode 6): Pan American Beach Handball Championships in Uruguay

Posted on by

USA's Diva Desai takes a shot against Uruguay

John Ryan talks with USA Team Handball General Manager, Dave Gascon, Women’s Coach, Dede Piankova and  USA players, Diva Desai and Erin Kizer from Montevideo, Uruguay, the site of the Pan American Beach Handball Championships.  Included is a discussion on why the USA decided to participate in this tournament, how the game differs from the court version and where Beach Team Handball might fit into the big picture as the USA seeks to further develop team handball in the USA.

The women play their final game on Sunday at 1645, US East Coast Time: http://www.handballtv.blogspot.com/

Highlights of the women’s game against Uruguay are also available on the Day 1 video starting around the 17:00 minute mark.

 

post

VIDEO: Pan American Beach Handball Tournament to be webstreamed live

Posted on by

The venue for the Pan American Beach Handball Championships in Montevideo, Uruguay

 

The Pan American Beach Handball tournament starts tomorrow, 1 March, in Montevideo, Uruguay.  5 men’s teams and 5 women’s teams are participating.

The event will be live webstreamed at this site: http://www.handballtv.blogspot.com/

The USA women will be participating and this is their schedule for their round robin matches

Thursday, 1 March
USA vs Uruguay, 8:45 PM (Local), 5:45 PM (U.S. East Coast)

Friday, 2 March
USA vs Paraguay, 10:00 AM (Local), 7:00 AM (U.S. East Coast)
USA vs Argentina, 6:15 PM (Local), 3:15 PM (U.S. East Coast)

Saturday, 3 March
USA vs Brazil, 6:15 PM (Local), 3:15 PM (U.S. East Coast)

Complete Schedule: http://www.panamhandball.org/index.php?option=com_joomleague&func=showPlayground&p=35&pgid=16

 

post

Macedonia’s greatest fan is an American diplomat!

Posted on by

Macedonian star player Kiril Lazarov visits with Ambassador Reeker in Skopje

Not many persons have heard of Philip T. Reeker in connection with handball – except in FYRO Macedonia, where he is an idol of the handball federation and the national team. The reason: he served as the U.S. Ambassador in Skopje during the period 2008-11, where he became substantially involved with the handball activities. So for fanatic Macedonians it was not a surprise when he showed up in Nis, dressed in the Macedonian team shirt and eagerly cheering on his favorites.

Philip Reeker is currently the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, with responsibility for the Balkan region. As he noted in an interview, therefore it should not be regarded as a diplomatic ‘faux pas’, when he was observed supporting the red and yellow team, for instance in their crucial battle against the Czech Republic. It now remains to be seen if he can finagle his schedule in such a way that he can move on the Belgrade and follow the main round games as well…

But the question obviously arises: how did he get so familiar with handball? As he notes, he is frustrated that the sport is so insignificant here at home in the U.S., so this is certainly not where he picked it up. The explanation is that he got hooked on handball during an earlier tour as the Deputy Chief of Mission in Budapest. As we all know, Hungary has really strong handball traditions and activities. Perhaps, just perhaps, there is also some good influence from his wife; he is married to Solveig Johnson Reeker from Minnesota and, as the name suggests, unmistakably of Swedish or Norwegian descent.

As it seems Ambassador Reeker is currently Washington-based, could one hope that he would be prepared to get involved in helping promote handball also in his home country? Perhaps it would be a good idea for the USATH to try to establish contact with him. I doubt that he could convince Secretary Clinton to siphon off some budget money for a project to strengthen the standing of the USA handball teams in the world, but would it not be nice if he and his wife could fit in an appearance as guests at the U.S. National Championships in Minneapolis this spring!? And in that case there is little doubt as to which one of our traditional clubs he would be supporting: the D.C Diplomats, of course…

EHF Video: Interview with American ambassador and handball fan Philip T Reeker:   http://www.youtube.com/ehfeuro#p/u/18/y4aavnZyuEM

EHF Video: Macedonia fan support: http://www.youtube.com/ehfeuro#p/u/59/3-Xhzb28hxE

 

 

post

USA Team Handball’s Esch – Pastorino era comes to a quiet end

Posted on by

Dieter Esch and Steve Pastorino have resigned from their positions with USA Team Handball

In the past couple of weeks both the USA Team Handball Chairman of the Board of Directors (Dieter Esch) and General Manager (Steve Pastorino) have submitted their resignations.  Jeff Utz, will reportedly take Esch’s Board role, while Dave Gascon has taken Pastorino’s GM position on an interim basis.  It was a quiet, unceremonious departure for two key players who led the federation from its rebirth in 2008.  Here’s a brief look back at those 3 years and what may have led to their departure.

Initial Promise and Optimism

Nearly 3 and a half years ago I first had the opportunity to meet Dieter and Steve at the USA Team Handball Summit in St Louis.  This summit was essentially a kick off meeting for the new federation and a chance for a few long time followers of the sport to share thoughts and ideas with the newcomers who were looking to move the organization forward.  Looking back on my notes I’m struck by the mixture of skepticism and optimism from that meeting.  I had my doubts, but based on decades of mediocrity (at best) and failure, it was clear in my mind that a fresh look from new players just might have a chance at taking the sport to another level in this country.

The Great Recession and Grand Plans go Awry

About 3 months after the summit, however, the collapse of Lehmann Brothers and the U.S. Financial Markets signaled that the boom was over and that the USA was in the midst of an economic downturn it hadn’t seen since the 1930’s.  This Great Recession can’t be blamed for all of USA Team Handball’s problems, but it was a huge contributing factor.  Certainly the grand scheme for Board Members to use their contacts and powers of persuasion to get individuals and businesses to donate and become sponsors went out the window overnight. In hindsight it’s fairly clear that the new federation was slow to realize that plans for increased revenue weren’t going to materialize.  A large staff with regional directors was gradually let go and funding for development efforts were scaled back.

USOC Support Doesn’t Meet Expectations

In the interim period between the decertification of the old federation and the establishment of a new federation, the USOC managed Team Handball.  Not desiring to actually run an Olympic sport, the USOC wanted out and sought the establishment of a new federation.  Seemingly out of nowhere, Dieter Esch came into the picture with promises to finance the establishment of the new federation.  This was not an inexpensive endeavor and reportedly it was mostly paid for with his personal funds to the tune of around $750K.  Rightly or wrongly, I’m guessing that Mr. Esch had expectations that his own personal commitment and the federation’s efforts to develop the sport would be recognized by the USOC and that USA Team Handball would receive grant funding similar to other Olympic sports.  Reportedly there are other factors that led to his decision to step down, but I suspect that the lack of USOC support is a pretty significant one.

As the GM, Pastorino had become increasingly vocal in regards to the lack of USOC support.  Most notably in a press conference prior to the PANAM Games he called out the USOC for not giving more credit and support to sports that are building a long term development program.  And not too long after the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph (the hometown paper of the USOC) posted an article highlighting those comments, USA Team Handball posted an announcement indicating that they were accepting new applicants for the GM and Technical Director post.  With the timing of that announcement along with the GM position being advertised as an unpaid volunteer, Pastorino’s resignation can hardly be seen as a surprise.

A Note of Thanks

I’m planning a follow up post that will be a more thorough post-mortem on the past three years.  For now, though, I’d like to say thanks and at the same time address some peanut gallery comments that I have received/heard over the past 3 years regarding Steve and Dieter.

Some folks have at times questioned Steve Pastorino’s motives and commitment to the sport.  To them, he was the outsider with no clue about handball only interested in collecting his six figure salary.  While I sometimes disagreed with the decisions the federation has made in the past 3 years, at no time whatsoever did I have any inclination that Steve wasn’t committed to moving the sport forward in this country.  In all my dealings with Steve he was the consummate professional, always willing to listening to critiques and new ideas to further develop the sport.

If one Googles Dieter Esch a whole host of negative information will show up concerning past business dealings.  Accordingly, some have intimated that it’s only a matter of time before he takes our sport for a ride.  Well, I can’t speak to pre Handball dealings, but I will speak to the past 3 years.  At no time have I seen any credible shred of evidence regarding nefarious financial plundering of the Federation.  To the contrary, it’s quite clear that Mr. Esch has personally donated a substantial amount of money with no plausible path to personal financial gain.  Sure, we could argue that those funds could have been spent differently, but no one has ever donated more money to the sport in this country.  No one even comes close.  Additionally, you can throw out the he’s just a millionaire argument as I would speculate that there are also very people who have contributed a comparable percentage of their net worth to the sport.  On top of the funding and maybe of more importance are the numerous doors in Europe he has opened for future opportunities in the U.S.  It remains to be seen if the new Federation can follow through, but thanks to his efforts there’s now a fighting chance.

So, both Steve and Dieter are moving on and I wish both of them well.  Thanks for re-establishing the federation and starting the USA on a path towards greater development and National Team success.  Hopefully, you will both be able to look back one day with pride that you played an important role in starting something special.

THN (19 Jun 2008): USA Team Handball Summit (My Personal Notes): https://teamhandballnews.com/2008/06/usa-team-handball-summit-my-personal-notes/

THN (4 Sep 2011): Gazette Telegraph reports on USA Team Handball financial struggles: https://teamhandballnews.com/2011/09/gazette-telegraph-reports-on-usa-team-handball-financial-struggles/

USATH (11 Nov 2011): Esch resigns as USA Team Handball Chairman: http://usateamhandball.org/news/2011/11/11/esch-resigns-as-usa-team-handball-chairman/45425?ngb_id=42

USATH (8 Nov 2011): Steve Pastorino Blog: Hasta luego…: http://usateamhandball.org/blogs/steve-pastorino-on-handball/posts/3352-hasta-luego

post

Army takes Team Handball’s Commander in Chief Trophy

Posted on by

Air Force on attack against Army

Army easily defeated Air Force  this past Friday 45-30 cadet gym at the Air Force Academy to secure Team Handball’s version of the Commander and Chiefs trophy.  Army’s second team also won a match against Air Force 34-27.  In the football match the next day Air Force beat Army 24-14.  For the past 20 years or so Air Force Football has dominated Army Football by roughly the same measure Army Team Handball has dominated Air Force  Team Handball.

Photos from matches: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150345010461759.343605.326245611758&type=1

post

PANAM Games: USA vs. Canada: LIVE AUDIO COMMENTARY

Posted on by

Gary Hines and Team USA will take on Canada in Guadalajara

 

I will provide a live audio commentary of Saturday’s match between the USA and Canada.  This consolation semifinal is scheduled for 1:30 PM (U.S. East Coast Time).  Last December the two teams split a two game series with each side losing by identical 25-21 scores on the road.  Canada won a ten minute overtime, but that was played in Montreal, so this neutral ground showdown will serve as the unofficial rubber match between the two rivals.

The audio and video links are below:

Audio: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/team-handball

Video: http://deportesus.terra.com/rumbo-a-2012/guadalajara-2011/en-vivo/

USA Federation Live Chat page: http://usateamhandball.org/

Undoubtedly, time delays will make traditional commentary unpractical, so I will try to focus on the overall situation.  If you’ve got comments/questions post them on the ustream chat or Federation chat pages and I’ll try to respond.

post

PANAM Games: USA teams look for redemption in consolation brackets; PATHF considers cancellation of Men’s Div I tournament

Posted on by

Mexico on the fastbreak

 

Commentary: The USA Men lost narrowly last night to Mexico, 33-32 to finish 0-0-3 in Group play.  It’s hard to sugar coat this disappointing loss as the USA was sloppy on offense and often uninspired on defense allowing many goals far too easily.  Fully assessing teams via an online video is somewhat difficult, but from the looks of things it appears that the USA was more experienced and physically gifted than the Mexican side.  In short, I would argue that the USA had a better individual player at every position, but somehow managed to lose.  The bright spot is that the American men have a clear shot at redemption with a chance to settle scores with Canada on Saturday morning in a consolation bracket semifinal.  The Canadian Men have also had a disappointing tournament, but were able to get a win against Venezuela yesterday, 28-25.  Depending on my schedule I will try and do a live audiocast commentary of the match via USTREAM.TV on Saturday.  Game time is 12:30 PM (US Central Time)

The USA Women have also struggled, and finished their group as well with a 0-0-3 record.  Their redemption opportunity will be today against Puerto Rico at 10:00 AM local (US Central time)

In other news Mundo Handball is reporting that the Pan American Team Handball Federation (PATHF) is considering the possibility of cancelling the Men’s Division I Championship currently scheduled for next month in the Dominican Republic.  Instead, 12 teams would be invited to the Elite Championship which would be played next summer with the host nation opportunity being awarded to the PANAM Games Gold Medal winner.  This proposed change in format raises a lot of questions and we’ll address those in a follow up story.

Mundo Handball:  Mario Moccia Interview: http://www.mundohandball.com/Continentes/Panamerica/2011/Moccia-handballde1.html

USATH:  USA Men’s comeback falls just short against Mexico: http://usateamhandball.org/news/2011/10/20/usa-men-s-comeback-falls-just-short-against-mexico/45121?ngb_id=42

VIDEO: USA – Mexico Highlight: http://deportesus.terra.com/rumbo-a-2012/videos/0,,340860.html

 

post

PANAM Games: USA and Canadian Men lose again: Both relegated to 5th-8th place

Posted on by

USA defender, Domagoj Srsen, jumps high to block an Argentine jump shot

Both the USA and Canadian Men lost their second matches in Group play yesterday.  As expected the USA lost to Group favorite Argentina, 36-19.  Some solace, however, can be taken from a strong first half performance that saw the USA down only 12-9 at the break.  The Canadian Men got roughed up a bit more than I would expect by Chile, losing 42-25.  Based on results so far Chile may even give Brazil a run for the money in a Group A showdown on Thursday.

Men’s Competition Scenarios

Most of the suspense has been taken out of the Men’s Pool as the semifinal participants are now set.  In Group A, Brazil and Chile will advance, while Argentina and the Dominican Republic will advance out of Group B.  Those teams will play each other Thursday to determine who will get the higher seed.  Accordingly, the lower 4 teams are also set.  Canada and Venezuela from Group A and Mexico and the USA from Group B.  Again those teams will be seeded based on their head to head matches on Thursday.

Women’s Competition Scenarios

In Group A, Argentina and Mexico have secured spots in the semifinals.  Those two teams will battle on Wednesday to see who avoids Brazil in the Semifinals.  For the Mexican Women, this is surely a major Handball milestone.  In Group B, there is some suspense for the second spot due to the earlier Dominican Republic – Uruguay draw.  Currently, the Dominican Republic has a 35 goal differential lead over Uruguay, but that will be narrowed when the Dominicans take on Brazil in the first match of the day.  The USA will then have the opportunity to play the role of spoiler when they face Uruguay later in the evening.  Uruguay will know exactly how many goals they need to beat the USA by to advance and the USA should have the incentive to keep that number down or better, simply beat the Uruguayans.

post

PANAM Games: USA Women fall to Dominican Republic

Posted on by

The Dominican Republic stages a big second half comeback for a 33-26 victory over the USA

Commentary:  I did not have the opportunity to see any of this afternoon match, but the key numbers are simple:

Halftime Score:  USA 16, Dominican Republic 11
Final Score: USA 26, Dominican Republic 33

Based on what I saw in the first USA match Saturday against Brazil, I can only surmise that a lack of conditioning and depth played a major role in the final outcome of this match.

The loss eliminates the USA from the semifinals.  They will have one more shot at main round redemption on Wednesday when they take on Uruguay.  A victory over Uruguay will place them 3rd in the group and will give them an easier cross-over match in the consolation bracket.

USA Federation Summary: http://usateamhandball.org/news/2011/10/17/borg-s-10-not-enough-as-usa-women-defeated-by-the-dominican-republic/45035

Video Highlights: http://deportesus.terra.com/road-to-2012/videos/0,,339473.html