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

The Stars and Stripes military newspaper printed an article today on U.S. Army 1st Lt Alexander Mullin. Mullin, a platoon leader in Iraq, has been given the option to train with U.S. National Team, but wants to complete his tour there with his platoon rather than take a staff job.

For those not familiar with U.S. Handball, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point has dominated collegiate competition for decades and has often been competitive against more experienced club sides loaded with transplanted Europeans and/or former national team players

Stars and Stripes: Torn Between Two Loves: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=61252

A dispute between USA Team Handball and the organizers of the French Coupe de la Ligue Tournament may preclude the hosting of the tournament in Miami. The Coupe de la Ligue Tournament, featuring 4 of France’s top professional clubs is scheduled for April 10th and 11th at Miami’s American Airlines Arena and is easily the most significant Handball event ever to be staged in the U.S. outside of the 1984 and 1996 Olympics.

In a notice posted on it’s official website, USA Team Handball has called upon the French Professional League (Ligue National de Handball (LNH)), and it’s American partners, the American Team Handball Federation (ATHF), to formally request sanctioning of their tournament with USA Team Handball and to dissolve the ATHF. USA Team Handball has requested that the International Handball Federation (IHF) address this issue and the IHF is arranging a meeting at the upcoming World Championships in Croatia later this month with the LNH, the French National Federation and USA Handball.

The General Manager of USA Team Handball, Steve Pastorino, further elaborated on the notice via email correspondence and indicated that the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back was the ATHF press release indicating that the ATHF was sanctioning the event and was an organization with national and international credibility. Pastorino further noted that USA Team Handball was:

“about to announce several significant partnerships with international organizations… There are enough challenges to attract interest in handball in the USA without another organization “muddying” the sponsorship, broadcast and event landscape. We have no issues with them as a for-profit entity operating in this country; and we welcome their efforts to further the grass roots development of handball in the USA. But they cannot represent themselves as a “national” or “international” federation.”

Pastorino also indicated that USA Team Handball had contacted the ATHF concerning the sanctioning issue prior to contacting the IHF. Pastorino, however, categorized the ATHF reaction as one of contempt, prompting the decision to seek intervention from the IHF.

In regards to what further actions would be taken, should their requests (sanctioning and ATHF dissolution) not be met, Pastorino had no comment. He did, however, indicate that sanctioning was a simple process and implied that any remuneration (i.e., fees) was likely negotiable.

Cristian Zaharia, of New World Sports Enterprises (NWSE) and the ATHF was also contacted via email and emphasized that the Miami Tournament was a private endeavor and flatly rejected the notion that a probationary federation responsible for the amateur side of the sport could force a for profit professional venture to seek sanctioning.

In regards, to dissolving the ATHF, Zaharia, noted that NWSE, not the ATHF, was the actual organizer and responsible party for the tournament. Zaharia also questioned the heavy handed approach and the underlying motives for the dissolution request:

“Under what right do you get to make that determination? In a country of approx 300M people, do you not think there is enough room for competing federations? Or is their business model designed so that it can not withstand any competition? And how does attempting to destroy an organization who is promoting team handball in US and organizing the arguably the single greatest event in the history of this sport here, will further the development and the credibility of this probationary federation?”

As to the IHF‘s role in the matter, Zaharia maintains that the IHF should not have any jurisdiction in this matter as their mandate is National Teams and international competitions.

With neither side appearing to budge for the time being, further resolution/action will likely wait until the planned meeting at the World Championships later this month. Team Handball News will keep you abreast on any new developments as they may happen.

USA Team Handball Notice: http://www.usateamhandball.org/news/index.html?article_id=94
ATHF Press Release (Nov 2008): https://teamhandballnews.com/docs/ATHF.pdf

In a move that comes full circle from the USOC’s NGB certification process in 2007, USA Team Handball has hired Mariusz Wartalowicz as the new USA Technical Director. As the Technical Director, Wartalowicz will oversee the development of the sport including club and regional competition, tournaments, coaching development and youth development.

In 2007, Wartalowicz, was the Board Chairman for the unsuccessful American Team Handball Association (ATHA) bid to become the new NGB for USA Team Handball. The ATHA bid lost out to the Utah Team Handball Foundation (UTHF) bid led by current USA Team Handball Board Chairman, Dieter Esch.

Although, the ATHA bid proposal was fairly well conceived it lacked the financial resources of the UTHF bid. Moreover, the bid’s chance of winning self destructed when a rift between other ATHA members (THN’s own Bogdan Pasat and Miami French League tournament organizer Christian Zaharia) resulted in their resignation. The cause of this rift was Wartalowicz’s failure to strongly state the willingness of the ATHA to work with all elements of the Handball community in the U.S. Obviously, in light of the recent hiring any lack of willingness (perceived or reality) to work with Mr. Esch has been resolved.

USOC Announcement: http://www.usateamhandball.org/news/index.html?article_id=89
Commentary of NGB Board Hearing: Do two halves make a whole?: https://teamhandballnews.com/news.php?item.381
Two ATHA Board Members Resign (NGB Bid Likely Over): https://teamhandballnews.com/comment-n387.html
Interview with Mariusz Wartalowicz (April 2007: https://teamhandballnews.com/news307.html

24 year old U.S. National team back court/wing, Gary Hines has signed a contract with German club, DJK Waldbuttelbrunn. Waldbuttelbrunn currently plays in the Bavaria state league and is currently in danger of relegation to a lower division.

Team Handball News contributor and former Atlanta Condor goalie, Bjoern Brembs, played a key role in facilitating this signing. Brembs had first seen Hines play in 2001 and subsequently played with him on two trips to Brazil in 2002 and 2004. DJK Waldbuttelbrun coach Horia Markel-Suciu also went on those trips and was impressed with Hines’ raw talent.

Since those trips there had been talk of Hines potentially playing in Germany, but it is only coming to fruition now. In the intervening time Hines has been a mainstay on the U.S. National team and also played a short stint with Tolimar Tres de Mayo in the Spanish 2nd Division in the 2nd half of the 2006-07 season . Brembs has not seen Hines play since 2004, so he can not fully gage his progression in the past four years, but he anticipates him scoring at least 5 goals a game and thus being a big help for his team facing relegation. More importantly, his expectation is that “his spectacular playing style will create enthusiasm among the many fans and supporters of the club which will invigorate and empower the other players as well and will create a positive atmosphere where it will be easier to win the tough games.”

Although a natural wing, Brembs thinks that Hines will be an effective backcourt scorer in the Bavarian League. Under Coach Horia’s tutelage he also anticipates some rapid progression in his technical play which could very well lead to interest from higher division club in 1-2 years.

Where DJK Waldbuttelbrunn sits in the German club hierarchy:
1) HBL (German Bundesliga) (1 League/18 Teams)
2) 2nd Bundesliga North and South (2 Leagues/36 Teams)
3) Regional Leagues (5 Leagues/80 Teams)
4) State Leagues (16 leagues/ 229 Teams) DJK Waldbuttelbrunn’s level
(Below the State leagues there are 4-5 lower levels of play)

USA Federation website article: http://www.usateamhandball.org/news/index.html?article_id=73
DJK Waldbuttelbrunn website article (with pictures): http://www.djk-waldbuettelbrunn.de/newsentry.cfm?nid=2316573
Bavarian League Standings: http://www.bliga.info/bl2_spiel/tabelle.php

(Note: Thanks to Handball-World’s Christian Stein for his contributions to this article)

Halloween night turned out some intense competition on the team handball court when Army battled a determined Air Force team. The two teams squared off in front of a huge crowd in Arvin gymnasium. The first half was very exciting and full of multiple lead changes. When halftime came around, Army only had a slim 3 goal lead. The second half, however, was all Army. Fast breaks and a high scoring offense coupled with a strong hard hitting defense allowed the Black Knights to charge forward and defeat the Falcons 42-30. Brian Walsh, TJ Giordano and Preston Pham led Army in scoring while goalie Tim Wagner made numerous saves. After the game, Colonel McKearn presented the first annual Team Handball Commander-in-Chief trophy to the winning Army team.
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Editor's Note: This article was submitted by West Point Team Handball