Will melting icebergs result in Greenland participating in the PANAM Games?

Last week I heard several stories on National Public Radio (NPR) concerning the Arctic region.  A couple of stories on Greenland highlighted how the warmer temperatures there are making it easier to explore and potentially extract natural gas and oil.  The stories go on to highlight that dividing up the income from mineral wealth amongst a population of only 56,000 people could make Greenland a very wealthy country.  Wealthy enough so that it would no longer feel any need for Danish subsidies and could become a fully independent nation.  Hence, the title of this story.

Back at the 2007 World Championships in Germany I was first introduced to Greenland Handball and its passionate fans.  For a nation that small (population wise) to play some pretty respectable matches against much larger nations was quite a story.  Long time readers will also remember how later that year the Pan American Team Handball Federation’s (PATHF) tried to drop Greenland as a full member, so they could no longer qualify for the World Championships.  This site and others helped publicize that injustice gradually leading to Greenland’s reinstatement as a full member.

But, while this cleared Greenland for continued participation in IHF events, Greenland’s partial independence still isn’t considered sufficient for IOC and Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) related events.  This is why Greenland has never participated in the PANAM Games or qualification events for the PANAM Games, but does participate in PATHF Championships that lead to IHF World Championship qualification.

Full independence, however, would likely pave the way for recognition from the IOC and accordingly, the opportunity for Greenland to participate in the PANAM Games.  Qualification schemes could change, but the current system would logically put Greenland into the North American Qualification bin and the 3 nations would probably end up playing a single or double round robin with the 1^st place nation qualifying directly and the 2^nd place nation qualifying for the 2^nd chance tournament.

As things currently stand Greenland’s men’s team is probably on par with the USA and Canada.  I would even probably give them a slight nod, but a resurgent USA team with a few more games under their belt would probably beat them.  The Greenland women’s team has been less competitive, but, so quite frankly have been the American Women and the Canadians are currently in rebuilding mode.   So based on results over the past decade an independent Greenland would certainly stand a good chance of qualifying for the PANAM Games from the North American region.

Greenland independence, however, won’t happen overnight and it’s also hard to project future team success.  There are a lot of variables to consider, as well, such as Canadian and American funding levels.  And not to be overlooked is the potential for a more wealthy Greenland to invest a significant portion of its sporting budget on the one sport where they are already competitive.  More funding can only take your National Team so far, but it’s worth noting that at least some of Brazil’s Handball success for the past decade can be attributed to the generous sponsorship of the Petrobras oil company.  56,000 people aren’t a lot to work with, but if Iceland can be one of the top teams in Europe with 300,000 people, it’s conceivable that Greenland could be one of the top teams in Pan America.  And it’s not out of the realm of possibility to even envision a Greenland team that could qualify for the Olympics with a PANAM Games Gold.  It would probably take the combination of a “golden generation” of Greenlander Handball players and the rest of the PATHF nations slipping a bit, but it could happen.

THN (26 Jan 2007):  Greenland Handball:  A National Passion: https://teamhandballnews.com/2007/01/greenland-handball-a-national-passion/

THN (18 Apr 2007): Why the Recent Downgrading of Greenland’s PATHF Memership Status is Wrong: https://teamhandballnews.com/2007/04/why-the-recent-downgrading-of-greenland%E2%80%99s-pathf-membership-status-is-wrong/

National Public Radio Stories on Greenland:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=139825669
http://www.npr.org/2011/08/18/139734019/mineral-companies-eye-greenlands-untapped-wealth
http://www.npr.org/2011/08/17/139696551/greenlanders-divided-on-arctic-oil-gas-exploration
http://www.npr.org/2011/08/16/139673096/in-the-land-of-white-nights-and-erik-the-red

Edmond, Oklahoma: The future home of USA Team Handball. Really?

At the USA Team Handball (USATH) press conference held a couple of weeks ago I was a little surprised to hear that Edmond, Oklahoma is being considered as a potential location for our resident National Teams.  Having grown up on a farm in Iowa, I certainly don’t consider myself to be one of those snobbish types that views everything in between California and the East Coast to be “fly over country.”  There are some distinct positives about Midwestern locales like Iowa and Oklahoma.  Still, there’s probably more than a few reasons why I live in Las Vegas now as my gut reaction was, “Oklahoma? Really? This is the best we can do?”

Upon further reflection, though, I decided that a gut reaction wasn’t the best way to make an important decision like this.  No, an important decision like this should be carefully made, after a full evaluation of how well several locales meet key criteria.  And as I see it, here’s some of those criteria that should be considered:

– Quality and Availability of Facilities: This may seem like a given, but experience has shown that nothing can be taken for granted here, especially when it comes to gym access.   Bait and switch, whereby the best gym facility is no longer available in the winter due to other athletic teams having priority has been known to happen.  With many gyms being sized for basketball, access to a full court is never a given either.

– Local support: For the most part this criterion refers to how much support the host university will provide.  For instance, will the host school aggressively market itself as the home of the U.S. National Teams?  Will it help secure sponsorship?  Will it seek to host National Team matches on semi-regular basis and work diligently to bring in new fans?  Will it engage the local media?  Beyond, the school itself, what are the chances that a region would embrace being the U.S. Home of Team Handball?   The answer to this last question might actually work to a smaller city’s advantage as being that home could be a big thing in a small pond, vice just one more activity lost in the shuffle of a big city with lots of activities.

– Ease of Travel: Where ever National Resident Teams are located players, staff and hopefully visiting clubs and national teams will need to travel to and from that location.  If you take into account all those potential trips we’re talking about some serious cash adding up over time.  For the foreseeable future it’s hard not to envision quite a few trips back and forth to Europe and geographically this clearly makes the East Coast advantageous in terms of money and time.  Certainly, the departure of the National Teams from Colorado Springs in the 1990’s to Philadelphia and later Atlanta was due in part to this factor.

Additionally, about half the population of U.S. lives in the Eastern Time Zone.  As it’s more densely populated in the East there are a number of locations where driving would be more of an option for athletes and teams traveling to the training center.  That doesn’t mean any location on the Eastern seaboard will do.  (If you’ve ever flown into Burlington, VT to get to Lake Placid, you know what I’m talking about.)  No, the location should be relatively near a major airport with a major hub for European flights being the ideal option.

– Academic Opportunity and Quality: When it comes to our top sports, NCAA collegiate athletes will pick their college based on the coach, the team and the level of financial support (scholarship) they will receive from that college.  In quite a few cases an athlete will end up at a particular school simply because it’s the only one that offered a full scholarship.  For many of those athletes the academic opportunity and quality they get takes a back seat to the athletic opportunity.  When one goes lower down the pecking order in terms of NCAA sports, however, the value of the education at a particular school starts to become more important to the student athlete.  For Team Handball there will be a few potential athletes who’ll pack their bags and go to any college for the opportunity to develop their skills.  I’ll venture to guess, though, that the program will lose out on some prospects that aren’t willing to relocate to what is perceived to be a subpar institution.

– Athlete Financial Incentive: Of course, the possibility of a scholarship will certainly be an enticement. As a minimum, the selected university should have some form of financial incentive.  In the case of public institutions, athletes should at least be able to get in-state tuition rates.  And for private school, there should be a minimum grant.  (Although, I would think that the costs of private schools may put them out of the discussion from the get go.)  Free room and board would certainly be highly desired as well, but barring that it would be nice to get some reduced rates and/or a guaranteed location for the team to set up house in one of the dorms.

– Work opportunities: While I think the focus should be on a good college/university to sponsor the program, not all our athletes will necessarily want a four year degree.  Accordingly, there should be opportunities for professional training and 2 year degrees.  Additionally, I don’t think, that we should be overly concerned with ensuring that the location has multiple opportunities for young college graduates entering the work force.  As I’ve written before, I envision this National Team Residency program to be focused on athletes that are 23 and younger.

– USOC Support: The benefits of co-locating with an Olympic Training Center such as the ones located in Colorado Springs and Lake Placid shouldn’t be discounted.  Edmund is a designated Training site as are the facilities in Birmingham, Alabama that have been used previously.  It’s not clear what the what the difference is between a “center” and a “site” or what the overall financial incentive is for going with the USOC approved locations, but they’re probably significant.  Additionally, there’s the added benefit of having a big brother (USOC) around to help you out should there be problems with a location reneging on aspects of their arrangement

– Intangibles: There are some other factors that could play into this decision.  For instance, maybe there is another Dieter Esch out there somewhere who will donate several million dollars if the National Teams are located in Town X.   (After all, Salt Lake City didn’t just magically become the HQ for USATH, if you know what I mean.)

You can also factor in “gut reaction” into this fuzzy category.  For better or worse, there will always be locations that will garner instant positive or negative reactions.  Negative gut reactions can be overcome with the right sales job, but it’s certainly easier to not have to fight that battle.  And trust me, if Edmond, Oklahoma were to be the new home of our national teams, such a sales job would be a requirement for every athlete not living within 200 miles of there.  That doesn’t mean you can’t convince top athletes to move to Oklahoma. After all, if I’m not mistaken there’s a little town called Norman with a University that’s been doing it for years in sports like football and basketball.

So, that’s my list of criteria.  I’m sure there are others that need to be factored in.  Regardless, it can’t be understated just how big of a decision this could be.  The right deal in the right location could create a lasting hotbed for the sport with a local community turning out in significant numbers to support their U.S. National Team.  Conversely, a bad decision or a hasty one could wind up being a dead end that alienates a generation of potential athletes.

Youtube: Sarcastic home video “Welcome to Edmond”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnuaHXYef9c

it really hurts;I cannot possibly get up; at least not until my opponent has received a yellow card...

Judging from both the internet broadcasts and reports from those who were present, the recent Men’s Junior World Championship in Greece was a predominantly positive experience.  The performance of many teams and the skills of individual players showed a lot of promise for the future.  Moreover, the attitude of most players and team officials reflected an unusual sense of sportsmanship in most respects.  Teams generally seemed to put an emphasis on technical and tactical weapons rather than on physical or rough play.

But as a contrast, it was impossible to ignore a certain prevalence of ‘acting’ on the part of players who were (or wanted to give the impression of being) fouled, and then spent a considerable amount of time on the floor, writhing in pain and grimacing frantically.  On many occasions, the ‘acting’ seemed to be totally out of proportion in relation to the very modest body contact that had taken place.  And, of course, it caused many seemingly unnecessary and protracted stoppages in the action.  The referees tried their best to get the game going again, but often without much success.  All in all, a frustrating component of an otherwise attractive game.

Clearly, this is not a feature that we find only, or mainly, in handball.  It is not surprising that the best photo illustration I found was from football.  Here the players, especially at the professional level, have turned it into ‘gamesmanship’, using it systematically to cause unwarranted refereeing decisions, including punishments against opponents.  It was interesting to note, however, that the problem was less common in the recent Women’s World Championship in football.  Are the women sturdier, or are they simply more inclined to adhere to a spirit of fair play?

Similarly, in handball the problem tends to be less severe at the youth/junior level than among the adult players.  This may have something to do with a ‘macho’ attitude among the younger players, or it may simply mean that they have not yet been ‘brainwashed’ by coaches into adopting the unsportsmanlike methods instinctively.  But it has also been quite clear to me over the years, as a participant in numerous senior and junior events, that the issue is also ‘cultural’ in nature.  The tendency to this unattractive acting is much stronger among players and teams from certain regions, particularly North Africa and West Asia.

Here again one may wonder what is the cause.  Is it an indication of particularly bad sportsmanship in those regions, and if so why?   Or, if it happens so often at the youth level, is it really ‘cultural’ and something that comes with upbringing and engrained habits?  I have no expertise in such matters; I simply find it puzzling.  In recent months there has been worldwide admiration for the courage, maturity and physical/mental resilience on the part of the youth in precisely these regions, with a totally absence of self-pity and ‘drama’.  How can it be that the tendencies on a football field or handball court are so completely different?

Veteran Sarah Gascon wants to win now.

USA Team Handball (USATH) held a phone in press conference on July 28^th to announce the Women’s National Team roster for the PANAM Games in October.  Here are some highlights along with some commentary.

Playing to win (2016): Head Coach Chris Cappelmann indicated that he thinks the team has a realistic chance of beating Uruguay and the Dominican Republic in pool play, but that they would be hard pressed to beat Brazil.  It was also noted that the roster contains several younger players who will benefit from this experience and hopefully apply what they learn at the 2015 PANAM Games in Toronto, Canada.  I think Coach Cappelmann has targeted a realistic goal, even if I do give Uruguay and the Dominican Republic more of an edge due to the more experience those sides have playing together as a unit.  Without question, if the USA does make it to the semifinals it will be a major accomplishment for a program that’s been whacked pretty good in recent PATHF competition.

Playing to win (now): National Team player, Sarah Gascon, made it clear that from her perspective London 2012 was the goal.  This is certainly the right attitude for the players to have, even if the challenge is very daunting.  It’s also worth noting that a 2016 Olympics is less likely for several of the players in the “old guard” as many of them will hit the age of 30 between now and then.  If history is a guide, it’s likely that “life decisions” will put Team Handball on the backburner for some of them.

5 Weeks of Preparation:  USA Team Handball will hold a 5 week long training camp at Lake Placid prior to departing to Houston, TX (the USA staging city for all sports), enroute to the PANAM Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.  This will be the USA’s most extensive training camp prior to a competition in several years.

Lack of Games:  While 5 weeks of dedicated practice time will allow the team to gel, there will unfortunately, be a lack of competition.  USATH looked at several options for competition and training in Europe and appeared on track for a trip to Spain, but this option fell through due to lack of USA funding and the economic struggles in Spain causing the sponsoring club to withdraw much of its hosting support.  A lot can be learned in practice, but the USA may not see how well those lessons are being learned until their first game in Mexico.  This lack of competition may well be the difference between winning and losing a close game.

7 Week Commitment: With a 5 week training camp and 2 weeks at the PANAM games, athletes with be dedicated almost 2 months to the USA National Team and a shot at the 2012 Olympic Games.  This is a massive time commitment for amateur athletes, most of who are either working or going to school.  It’s simply not sustainable and the U.S. will either need to have a stable of athletes who are playing professionally in Europe or who are receiving some level of compensation from USATH.

Resident Programs coming back?: The reality of the 7 week commitment problem isn’t lost on the Federation and the possibility of restarting a nation team residency program was highlighted.  The women’s team staff was impressed with the facilities and the support of the University of Central Oklahoma’s (UCO) staff during their training camp.  UCO has been designated a Para Olympic Training Center and they were some preliminary discussions about the possibility of setting up a permanent resident program similar to what was done previously at Cortland University in New York.   Other locations in the U.S. are also being considered and  it was noted that it’s likely a men’s and women’s program would be co-located as this would have advantages in terms of staffing.

The exact nature of the resident program is still to be defined, but it does seem to be similar conceptually  to what I proposed in an article a couple of years ago in that this would be more of a development program and that top players would still be encouraged to play with overseas clubs.  The details as to who, what, where, when and how seem pretty sketch at this point.  Hopefully, we’ll hear and read more of this important development in the coming months.

Finances:  U.S. participation in PANAM Games qualification events was not fully funded by the Federation and relied heavily on financial support from the independent USA Team Handball Foundation.  In light of this fact, I asked GM Steve Pastorino to give a grade as to the financial health of USATH.  Steve’s answer was that things were still “fluid” and this understated response certainly warrants further analysis.  More financial data has been released in the past few months on the Federation website, but it’s still hard to get a complete picture as to what exactly will be funded (and to what level) in the coming years.  I’ll be trying to track that that down in the coming weeks.

USATH (GM Steve Pastorino Blog) (28 Jul 11): 15 Women Named to Team USA for Pan Am Games: http://usateamhandball.org/blogs/steve-pastorino-on-handball/posts/3077-15-women-named-to-team-usa-for-pan-am-games

USATH (28 Jul 11): Women’s National Team Roster for Pan American Games Named:  http://usateamhandball.org/news/2011/07/28/women-s-national-team-roster-for-pan-american-games-named/43816?ngb_id=42

Edmund Sun (16 Jul 11): Team USA sets up camp at UCO: http://www.edmondsun.com/sports/x1241065109/Team-USA-sets-up-camp-at-UCO

THN (15 Aug 09): A Framework for Creating U.S. National Team Success (Part 3: National Development Teams): https://teamhandballnews.com/2009/08/a-framework-for-creating-u-s-national-team-success-part-3-national-development-teams/

New Ademar Leon Coach Isidoro Martinez

French Handball website, Handzone, has a short, wide ranging interview with former U.S. Men’s National Team coach, Isidoro Martinez.  In the interview Martinez reflects on Spain’s performance at the Junior Worlds (he was their coach), his new job coaching Spanish club Ademar Leon and the state of the Liga Asobal.

Martinez was the U.S. Men’s National Team Coach at the 2006 Pan American Elite Championships.  The U.S. lost to Greenland 30-29 in the bronze medal match, narrowly missing qualification for the 2007 World Championships.  Martinez did a credible job of putting together a competitive U.S. side in a short amount of time and also helped Gary Hines secure his first professional contract in Spain.

Handzone: Isidoro Martinez: looking towards the Liga and Montpellier http://www.handzone.net/asp.net/main.news/news.aspx?id=55734

THN (15 Apr 2006): USA Hires New Men’s National Team Coach: https://teamhandballnews.com/2006/04/usa-hires-new-men%E2%80%99s-national-team-coach/