The USA Team Handball Board of Directors (BOD) met yesterday in Salt Lake City. The meeting was its first as the fully sanctioned National Governing Body recognized by the United States Olympic Committee. On Monday, the USOC Board had removed the “probationary” status granted in April 2008. The move cements USA Team Handball’s status as the recognized Federation for Team Handball in the U.S. and is a significant milestone for the new Federation.

The Board of Director’s meeting covered a number of topics including USA Team Handball’s By-laws and budget. Although not explicitly stated it can also be implied that the Chairman and General Manager’s reports included some discussion in regards to the near term and long term plans for National Team competition and player/grass roots development. Team Handball News has put in a request for budgetary and planning information and will post that information when it becomes available.

USA Team Handball: Board of Directors to meet (15 Dec 09): http://usateamhandball.org/news/2009/12/15/board-of-directors-to-meet/29918
USA Team Handball: USOC formally certifies USA Team Handball (16 Dec 09): http://usateamhandball.org/news/2009/12/16/usoc-formally-certifies-usa-team-handball/29952?ngb_id=42
THN Commentary: USA Team Handball (Year 1 Report Card) (14 Oct 09): https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?extend.847

The defending U.S. National Club champions, New York City Team Handball will take on a Bundesliga All Star team featuring Stefan Lovgren, Ljubomir Vranjes, Peter Gentzel, Henning Fritz and others. The match will take place on 3 January, 2010 as part of the first ever Big Apple Handball Tournament. This match will be a one off event separate from the tournament itself which will take place from 2-3 January. Participating in the actual tournament will be NY City and 5 teams from Germany. The 6 teams will be divided into two pools of 3 teams. Round robin games will be played on the 2nd and semifinal/placement games, as well as the all star game, will be played on the 3rd.

As to why this New York City tournament will, with the exception of the host, essentially be a transplanted German event, Shkumbin Mustafa, President of New York City THC, indicated that the German travel company, TR Travel, was the principal sponsor of the event while NYCTH was responsible for organizing the tournament. Due to time constraints and the space limitations of the gym facility two additional German teams even had to be turned away. Mustafa also emphasized that the New York City THC focus for this event will be to expose Handball to their developing youth programs. He also noted that they have tentative plans to host a tournament for American and Canadian clubs later this year.

NYC Team Handball Big Apple: http://www.newyorkcityteamhandball.com/bigapple.php

USA National Team player, Gary Hines, is featured in a four minute profile on German television station TVtouring. The feature includes interviews with Gary, his coach and footage of recent matches. Hines is the top player for his club, DJK Waldbüttelbrunn, and has been frequently scoring in the double digits this season. His club is currently 2-4 and in 13th place in the 4th division Bayernliga. In the interview, Gary indicates that his dream is to play in the Bundesliga and judging by the athleticism in some of the highlights it shouldn’t be long before he moves on to one of the higher divisions in Germany.

Gary Hines Profile (video): http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=199840224253
DJK Waldbüttelbrunn website: http://www.djk-waldbuettelbrunn.de/index.cfm
Bayern Liga Standings: http://www.bliga.info/bl2_spiel/tabelle.php
THN (27 Nov 2008): Gary Hines Signs Contract with German Club: https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.641
Wikispace translation of video: http://teamhandball.wikispaces.com/Gary+Hines+Interview
(Note: German speakers, we need your help. If you have time to translate even a small portion of the interview please do so at this wikispace site. Anyone can edit this wiki. Just click on “edit this page” and start typing.)

Partial Translation (Thanks for those who've helped)

Announcer: In German we say high, higher, highest. Well, in Waldbüttelbrunn it's in english and slightly different. High, higher, Hines. Waldbüttelbrunn' crowd favorite Gary Hynes is the "jumping wonder" of the Bayernliga and he wants to reach higher levels. Therefore, we've met with him at altitudes he can't reach with his jumping abiliites. At Würzburg Climbing hall we did an interview at 20 feet above the ground.

Announcer: Does it feel for you here like doing a jump shot?

Hines: If I look down it is quite similar. If I jump I am used to looking down at the other players.

Announcer: Since november 2008, Hynes wears the jersey of DJK. He is not only convincing by his jumping ability, but also by a lot of goals. 18 in a single match is his personal best, regularly he scores more than ten times a match. Of course such a player has high ambitions.

Hines: I know that I am one of the top players of the US. Here, I have to prove my skills because nobody knows me. And if I can improve myself than I think that I will be seen as a very good player. My dream is to play in the Bundesliga and I hope to reach this soon.

Announcer: It is quite possible that he can reach this aim because he learns quickly and can quickly adopt different circumstances, as we can see during the climbing. Within a short time he is at 14 meter altitude. But, before the 25 year old player will move on in the "world of handball" he wants to reach high aims with his current club.

Hines: We want to avoid relegation and win next saturday. When I came here last year I didn't know what they call a "derby" here, but I know that we call it a "match between rivals". I'm looking forward to it and I know that we have to win and therefore we'll get out and win.

Announcer: The player from Georgia is feeling very well in Waldbüttelbrunn.

Hines: I didn't know what I should expect when I came here. When I first entered the hall I saw a banner with "heartly welcome, Gary and we wish you much success" and since then everything is great. I love to play at home, because our fan support is fantastic. Then it's fun to play.

Announcer: And therefore there will be some more matches of the player with the high jumpping skills at his "chosen hometown" of Waldbüttelbrunn.

——————————————————————————–

Interviewer: What role does Gary Hines play for your team?

Bernd Becker (DJK Waldbuttelbrunn Trainer): He is an exceptional player with a good feeling with the ball and a good feeling for game situations. He is a player who, through his spectacular goals, motivates the whole team and the fans. Therefore, he is indispensable for our team.

Interviewer: How dificult is it to keep Gary Hines in Waldbüttelbrunn?

Becker: At the moment Gary Hines is here. As long he is still here, we do not know if he has the possibility to play the higher category, he use it he wants it we hope that he stays long in Waldbüttelbrunn because it just makes fun with him. DJK is very satisfied with Gary and we hope he is too with DJK. I think he feels very comfortable here, therefore, we hope that he stays for a long time……

The Pan American Team Handball Federation (PATHF) Men’s Division 1 Championships will take place in the Dominican Republic from 2-7 November, 2010. Seven nations will be participating: Canada, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras and the host nation. The first and second place nations from this tournament will qualify for the Senior Men’s Championship this summer in Chile. The top 3 finishers from that tournament will then qualify for the 2011 World Championships in Sweden.

Notably absent from the tournament is the United States, which for the second straight time will not participate in Men’s PATHF Championship events. In 2008, the USA was originally scheduled to host the Men’s Championship tournament in Atlanta, but ceded that right to Brazil when the Dekalb International Training Center reneged on hosting commitments. Later in May of 2008, just as the new USA Federation was launched the U.S. also declined to participate in the tournament in Brazil due to lack of preparation. Prior to 2008, the USA had participated in the first 12 PATHF Championships dating back to 1979.

In June of this year, USA Team Handball had indicated plans to participate in this tournament as Mariusz Wartalowicz, Technical Director of USA Team Handball was quoted shortly after a Men’s team trip to Germany:

“We hope to use the momentum created by this trip and announce shortly the road map for all aspiring athletes to qualify for USA Senior Men's National Team which will be participating in PATHF's Division 1 Tournament in the Dominican Republic, Nov. 3-7, 2009.”

Additionally, the Men's PATHF Div 1 tournament is listed as an "event" on USA Team Handball's Events Webpage: http://usateamhandball.org/event
A one sentence note, however, in a Board Director’s meeting minutes from July, indicates that Team USA’s decision not to participate is probably related to the desire to form a separate North American Federation:

“As part of this process, USATH is orienting national teams towards Europe for competitions, friendly tours, etc. until the continental question is resolved. The Board unanimously voted to support this direction.”

An email request for more information/clarification from USA Team Handball has been sent.

Wikipedia: PATHF Championships: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Handball_Championship
USA Team Handball (11 Jun 09): Squad rivals European teams, signals rebuilding process: http://usateamhandball.org/news/article/13403
USA Team Handball (1 Sep 09): Board of Directors Meeting Minutes: http://usateamhandball.org/news/article/15556
THN (2 Sep 09)USA Team Handball seeks breakaway North American Handball Federation: https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.814
Almomento.net: Dominican Republic home of Pan American Handball Championship: http://www.almomento.net/news/130/ARTICLE/44720/2009-10-21.html

In the wake of Chicago’s disappointing first round exit, rancor in the U.S. Olympic movement has been ratcheting up with several sport’s National Governing Bodies (NGBs) calling for the resignation of CEO, Stephanie Streeter and Board Chairman, Larry Probst. Of particular, note is the results of a 63 question survey which was sent to NGB’s by the Association of Chief Executives for Sports (ACES) which queried NGB Chief Executives on a number of topics to include their confidence in the USOC leadership, funding, marketing and the proposed Olympic Network. Most telling were the overwhelming negative responses to questions concerning the acting CEO’s qualifications and effectiveness in her position. Whether the survey had any influence on her recent decision to not be a candidate for the permanent CEO is not clear.

In response to the rancor, USA Team Handball has issued a press release yesterday with Chairman of the Board, Dieter Esch calling for discourse, not discord. Specifically, Mr Esch stated that “Blaming individuals for the actions of the past six months is short-sighted. We need a thorough analysis to cure the fundamental chasm between the USOC and the IOC." Additionally, the release calls for a blue ribbon panel “that puts actionable plans, not finger-pointing, at the forefront."

USA Team Handball Press Release:USA Team Handball calls for discourse, not discord: http://usateamhandball.org/news/article/24425
Sports Features Communications: American NGBs call for immediate resignation of Probst and Streeter: http://www.sportsfeatures.com/index.php?section=olympic-article-view&id=46004
Association of Chief Executives for Sport (ACES) Survey Results: http://assets.teamusa.org/assets/documents/attached_file/filename/18045/NGB_-_USOC_Survey_Results.pdf

Addendum: Dieter Esch and former National Team Player Matt Van Houten are quoted in this NY Times Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/08/sports/08usoc.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all

Ralf Uhding, who is a Board of Director for both USA Team Handball and the German Bundesliga (HBL) has been quoted in the German Financial Newspaper, Handelsblatt that bold plans to establish a professional league in the U.S is in development. Working with Dieter Esch, USA Team Handball President, they have gotten interest from both Google and Facebook and are still searching for more investors. Further talks will wait till October after the Olympic vote. Chicago being selected is seen as a key aspect of the project, but it is not explicitly stated that the entire effort hinges upon its selection.

The article goes on to say that Uhding and Esch realize that it is an enormous and difficult project and that they hope not to repeat the mistake of soccer in the 70’s when a pro league, absent a parallel grassroots effort, ended in failure. One model under consideration is working with universities to establish scholarships for handball to develop more athletes.

Handelsblatt: Handball aims at the U.S. market: http://www.handelsblatt.com/journal/sonstiges/handballer-zielen-auf-den-us-markt;2460717

A recent article at Handball-World chronicled the French Ligue Nationale de Handball’s (LNH) decision to not play their Coupe de la Ligue Final Four again in Florida next year. As had been reported by several outlets, the French League has decided to unilaterally break their 3 year contract with the Miami organizers. The Handball-World article, though, has an interesting twist in that it also reports that USA Team Handball and the LNH are now discussing the possibility of hosting the event in New York City as early as next spring.

In email correspondence, USA Team Handball General Manager, Steve Pastorino, confirmed that preliminary discussions between the two organizations have taken place. As the translation of the Handball-World text is somewhat garbled he also provided a copy of his correspondence:

“The event in Miami was a disaster as the promoter misrepresented himself to the LNH and did not have the backing of USA Team Handball or any recognized entity in the USA. Less than 500 people per game attended, and there was no USA television distribution. It was handball played in an empty arena. We have met with Alain Smadja and LNH and are moving towards a partnership to play the Final Four in New York in 2010, with the full support of USA Handball. More details to come. We think events like this can be very exciting if promoted correctly. We have an agreement to host German National Team and Polish National team for a match in Chicago in 2010 that we will announce soon.”

As a final note, USA Team Handball President, Dieter Esch, indicated in a brief note that he will be meeting with LNH President, Alain Smadja next week in Paris to further discuss U.S. – French cooperation.

Handball-World: No American Dream – French LNH next Final Four will not deal with them in U.S.: http://www.handball-world.com/o.red.c/news.php?GID=1&auswahl=22029

The leading German Handball website, Handball-World has a feature article on the U.S Under 18’s that have been training and playing games in Dormagen, Germany. The article is primarily focused on Christian Hentschel, the director of the sports boarding school in nearby Knechtsteden where the team stayed and trained. Hentschel has also supported the U.S. at the 3 nations tournament this past summer and has assisted in finding teams for players.

The article also highlights the dual citizenship of several of the players and the challenges of training Americans who only discover the sport in their late teens. Hentschel does indicate, though, that Gary Hines, age 25, who currently plays on a lower division team in Bavaria is a tremendous athlete that a Bundesliga team might want to consider taking a chance on.

Boy’s scores (U.S. total listed first)
TSV Dormagen U17 (32:41),
TSV Dormagen U19 (23:34)
TSV Dormagen U19 2nd team (31:23)
TSG Benrath (40:23)

Girls Scores
SG Zons (25:9)
Pulheimer SC (25:14)
TSG Benrath (40:11)
Neuss-HV U19 (28:30)
TSV Bayer Leverkusen U19 (30:32)

Handball-World: Let `s go Dormagen: How Knechtsteden became a training camp for young American handball: http://www.handball-world.com/o.red.c/news.php?GID=1&auswahl=21999

Handball-World, one of the leading German language Handball websites, has posted a feature article on the Minnesota Team Handball Club. The article highlights some of the challenges facing clubs in the U.S. and notes that one of Minnesota’s players, 16 year old John Bellard, is currently in Germany with the U-18 team. Also mentioned is the proposed Germany-Poland international friendly in the U.S. next July.

Handball-World: A rocky road: Team wants to establish handball in Minneapolis, Minnesota: http://www.handball-world.com/o.red.c/news.php?GID=1&auswahl=21895
Minnesota Team Handball: http://mnteamhandball.blogspot.com/

Editor’s note: Perhaps this is old news for some, but I for one sure appreciate the automatic Google translation bar that appears at the top of every foreign language website I check out now. Even did a Slovenian translation for me the other day.

The USA Team Handball Federation has indicated that they are actively seeking to form a new continental federation by splitting the existing Pan American Team Handball Federation (PATHF) into separate North and South American components. The following was posted on the US Federation website in the meeting minutes http://usateamhandball.org/news/article/15556 for the July 27th Board of Director’s meeting:

“Dieter Esch introduce (sic) concept of North & Central American Handball Federation. Modeled after soccer’s CONCACAF or volleyball’s NORCECA, USA Team Handball will present motion at 2010 IHF Extraordinary Congress to add a fifth continental congress after Europe, Africa, Asia and PATHF (Oceania was not replaced after its demise). A NAHF would align with PATHF on many international issues, but also include an automatic berth(s) for NAHF to Olympics and World Championships, a seat on IHF Council and a share of globally distributed IHF revenues including television. As part of this process, USATH is orienting national teams towards Europe for competitions, friendly tours, etc. until the continental question is resolved. The Board unanimously voted to support this direction.”

The PATHF was formed in 1973 and for several years was dominated by the U.S. Since 1996, however, Brazil, Argentina and other South American nations have exerted more control over the PATHF both on the court and off. In particular, a number of PATHF administrative actions have rankled North American nations. These actions include the exclusion of Canada’s participation at the Pan American Championships in 2006 and the arbitrary switching of a PANAM games qualification tournament from Puerto Rico to Chile and attempts to change Greenland’s membership status.

Aside from these political controversies a strong geographical case can be made for a separate federation. The cost of travel between North and South America is expensive and the North/South seasonal differences are sometimes problematic for tournament scheduling. And certainly, if it works for soccer and volleyball the case that it could work for Handball can also be made. A separate federation, however, will not be without controversy, particularly when it comes to Olympic/WC berths. Adding berths for a new region will mean taking them from some place else, with the likely loser being Europe.

THN (April 2006): Canada’s Exclusion from the men’s Pan American Championships- Commentary: https://teamhandballnews.com/news75.html
THN (Dec 2006): It’s a long, long way to Santiago: https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.215
THN (Apr 2007): Why the recent downgrading of Greenland’s PATHF membership is wrong: https://teamhandballnews.com/news312.html

In a blog posting on the USA Team Handball website, General Manager Steve Pastorino highlights that as many as 10 American handball players may sign professional contracts overseas in the upcoming season. Four of the athletes are recent West Point grads who will be training with Dormagen’s reserve team as part of the Army’s World Class Athlete Program. Gary Hines is under contract to play again for DJK Waldubuttelbrun and Adam El-Zoghby, who was born in the U.S., but grew up in Egypt, is under contract with one of Egypt’s top clubs, El-Ahly. Rounding out the list is Jordan Fithian and Mark Ortega, who are expected to play in Germany. Up to two more players (names not mentioned) may also play overseas.

Commentary: In all likelihood, this will be a record in terms of American men playing “professionally” overseas. And many of these players will undoubtedly make up the core of the U.S. Men’s National team as they start on a qualification path for the 2011 WC later this Fall at the Pan American Division 1 championships. If you have been reading my series “Framework for National Team Success” you’ll know that I think that getting more athletes playing professionally is a must for future U.S. International success. As is pointed out by West Point grads Keith Fine and Jonathan Harmeling in the article playing one year in an organized club in Europe is better for player development than 5 years with a club in the U.S.

USATH (Steve Pastorino Blog): WCAP Athletes Visit Salt Lake City: http://www.usateamhandball.org/blog/post/1020
Earlier commentary: Defining a Professional athlete: https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.621
TSV Dormagen: http://www.tsvdormagen.de/
U.S. Army WCAP Program: http://new.armymwr.com/recleisure/sportsandfitness/world_class_athlete_program.aspx

Channel 12 in Minneapolis recently did a feature on the Minnesota Team Handball club. The clip includes interviews with two players and their coach, Wilder Freed.

Video: Team Handball a Hit in Minnesota: http://www.twelve.tv/news/newsitem.aspx?newsid=406&newsitemid=9769
Minnesota Team Handball Club website: http://mnteamhandball.blogspot.com/

USA Team Handball announced earlier today a landmark partnership deal with the German Bundesliga (HBL). The deal is comprehensive and includes, among other things, HBL assistance in player development, TV broadcasts and German club team visits to the U.S. Details are in the press release.

It’s hard not to overstate what a potential watershed moment this could be for Handball in the U.S. The HBL has the resources and cachet to truly make a difference. If both sides follow through on the partnership in the years to come it can only be good news for the sport.

USA Team Handball Press Release: USATH announces partnership with Germany’s Toyota Handball Bundesliga: http://www.usateamhandball.org/news/index.html?article_id=122