USA Handball Talk (Episode 26): NBC Play-by-Play Commentator, Eric Frede

NBC Olympics Play-by-Play commentator, Eric Frede is a guest on the podcast and we discuss his background and what it’s like for a newcomer to call handball.

Here’s a summary with links to some of the items we discussed:

  • NBC’s mode of operations for handball
  • Eric’s varied commentating background
  • How the gig with NBC came about
  • His preparation for calling handball
  • On the need to call handball with mostly newcomers in mind
  • On whether handball broadcasts in the U.S. need a two man commentating team
  • Aspects of handball that appeal to American audiences
  • On whether handball broadcasts can expand beyond just it’s once every 4 years Olympic cycle

Watch on YouTube or listen/download the mp3 file at the top of the page

If you have any suggestions for future topics that you would like us to consider please let us know on social media.


Don’t miss an episode:

  • Subscribe on YouTube: Link (Earliest Availability)
  • Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: Link
  • Follow the  Team Handball Handball News podcast on Spotify: Link
  • Or use this RSS Feed to sign up for the podcast in your favorite podcast aggregator: Link

And, be sure to check out the podcast archive with interviews and great handball discussion going all the way back to 2006: Link

USA Handball Talk (Episode 25): Me and the Boys are Gonna Go Win a USA Handball Gold Medal in Four Years

John and JD discuss all of the Olympics related handball social media activity, the IHF Beach Handball Showcase, the American Handbal Haus podcast and the upcoming Flanders outdoor tournament.

Here’s a summary with links to some of the items we discussed:

  • The Tweet and my reply that attracted attention and is referenced in JD’s Intro: Link
  • Robert Flores Tweet: Link
  • Jozy Altidore Tweet: Link
  • Pat McAfee Tweet: Link
  • Tweet about Flava Flav and Water Polo: Link
  • USA Rugby player Ilona Maher’s IG post about handball: Link
    • She has gained 1M followers in the 5 days since that was posted and the USA women won the Bronze medal
  • USA Team Handball announcement on Board Member resignations: Link
  • Sporticast Podcast which discusses Olympic athlete use of social media: Link
  • IHF Beach Handball Showcase Summary: Link
  • IHF Beach Handball Showcase Highlights: Link (Includes Handball Ninja trick shot)
  • American Handball Haus interview with 1984 and 88 Olympian, Joe McVein: Link
  • The HBO Mini Series, The Plot Against America, which actually has a scene at a New Jersey German Club: Link
  • The 65th Annual Flanders, NJ Outdoor Handball Tournament is this weekend: Link

Watch on YouTube or listen/download the mp3 file at the top of the page

If you have any suggestions for future topics that you would like us to consider please let us know on social media.


Don’t miss an episode:

  • Subscribe on YouTube: Link (Earliest Availability)
  • Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: Link
  • Follow the  Team Handball Handball News podcast on Spotify: Link
  • Or use this RSS Feed to sign up for the podcast in your favorite podcast aggregator: Link

And, be sure to check out the podcast archive with interviews and great handball discussion going all the way back to 2006: Link

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Could I Become an Olympian on the USA Men’s National Handball Team?

This commentary is regarding the U.S. Men’s National team. For information regarding newcomer prospects for the U.S. Women’s National Team (which are dramatically different) check out this commentary.

Olympic Dreams Fueled by Possibilities

I’m sure there are hundreds, if not thousands of athletes watching the Paris Olympics, seeing handball for the first time and thinking, “What an awesome game! I would be great at this sport. Where can I play?”

And, as America’s #1 handball fan, I can tell you that such revelations are music to my ears. There’s nothing I like better than new athletes and fans following in my footsteps. And, no doubt, some of those athletes are probably thinking even grander thoughts, “Hey, the U.S. didn’t even qualify. Hardly anybody probably plays it in the U.S. Maybe I could be an Olympian. How would I go about becoming an Olympic handball player?

For over 25 years the prospects for any American handball player to become an Olympian haven’t been very good. The U.S. last qualified for an Olympics in 1996 as the host nation. And, since then we’ve never really even come close to securing a berth in qualfication events. But, now with Los Angeles hosting the 2028 Olympics that’s about to change. As Charles Barkley would say, it’s Guaranteed that we’re fielding a team. Out there, many are probably thinking… Somebody’s got to make that team. Why not me?

The Wrong Question. Because… You’re not Going to Like my Answer

First things first. Let me be clear. The following is my opinion and certainly not an official USA Team Handball position. That said, I’ve got a pretty good track record of assessing handball in this country. For what it’s worth, here’s my very blunt answer to your question…

As a total newcomer to the sport I would assess your chances of making the 2028 U.S. Olympic Men’s Handball Team are somewhere between 0.0% and .1%. Not 1 percent… but .1%. As in 1 in a 1,000 chance and probably worse than that.

Let me explain further. There are multiple variables to consider and multiple unknowns, but the weight of them all combined leads to the very long odds involved.

The Variables

When one is assessing the prospects of an athlete to take on a totally new sport like handball here are the variables that need to be considered to assess the likelihood of national team success

  • The raw talent of the athlete
  • The starting age of the athlete and amount of time the athlete has to train
  • The training environment the athlete will have
  • The quality of the athletes also seeking to make the team
  • The commitment level of the athlete

Here’s a closer look at each variable

The Raw Talent of the Athlete

Is it possible to pass judgment on athletes I don’t know and have never seen? Answer: Yes and No. Certainly a talent combine whereby athletes would perform drills that could be measured would be very useful. And, basic scrimmaging even of brand new athletes will likely be a good guage of potential. But, sight unseen the vast sporting infrastructure of the U.S. has already likely binned off your raw talent level fairly accurately.

If you’re a pro athlete chances are you’re not contemplating a new handball career. The same is also true for most NCAA college athletes who are still in college. Mistakes, of course, are made. And, there are athletes who are average in one sport, but can excel in another sport like handball. But, those are the exceptions. Chances are… that you are a good athlete that can develop into a pretty good handball player. It’s less likely, that your a great athlete that can develop into a great player.

The Starting Age of the Athlete and the Amount of Time that Athlete has to Train

Well, this is fairly simple to contemplate. If one were to start their handball dream immediately they would have four years to go from zero to hero. Barring another pandemic induced delay that four years is set in stone. With the right training and competition environment great progress can be made in four years. A lot more than some Europeans might think. But, it’s still not very much time to work with.

In terms of the starting age of the athlete if the goal is to get as good as you can in a four year window I think anywhere from the age of 27 on down would be feasible. But, only if that four year goal is set. Obviously, younger ages would be desired because combined with a longer timeline it becomes more and more feasible to develop into a world class athlete.

The Training Environment the Athlete Would Have

For many years the U.S. had Residency Programs that were dedicated full time to developing new handball athletes. However, the U.S. hasn’t had a Residency Program since 2018 and as far as I know there are no plans to start one anytime soon. This means the only currently feasible training program would be to train with a handball club overseas, most likely in Europe.

A handful of stateside based athletes have indeed done this, but it’s not easy and it can be challenging to find a quality club with a good system willing to train a relative newcomer. There are some programs that can help faciliate such moves, but the athletes making the jump typically have been developed some stateside first. It would take a really special athlete for a newcomer to get such an opportunity.

The Quality of the Athletes also Seeking to Make the Team

This factor more than any other drives the percentage chance below 1%. The current Men’s talent pool, which consists mostly of dual citizens that grew up in Europe is the best that the U.S. has had in years. By U.S. standards it is a golden generation both in handball skills and raw athletic ability. Comparable to a low NCAA D1 or high D2 basketball team. And, for the most part, this team is fairly young. Four years out from the LA Olympics, we essentially already know around 95% of the athletes who will make up our roster. We may even soon add a former Swedish national team athlete playing in Denmark’s top league.

Two months ago we played a friendly vs France and lost 38-29. They are either the best or 2nd best team in the world. And, sure it was a friendly, but several players on that French side were fighting for Olympic Roster slots. Watch the highlights– We can ball.

I can not understate what crazy good fortune this is for our Men’s National Team. We’re not going to medal. We might not even win a match. But, this team will compete and will not embarrass. And, this team didn’t cost USA Team Handball a penny to develop.

We’re a big country with a sizable population and we could find better raw talent athletes, but not a whole lot better and those athletes would have a long way to go to get to a similar level. And, no matter what every single state side newcomer would be several years behind in terms of competition experience.

The Commitment Level of the Athlete

If one takes into account what I’ve listed above… it’s reasonable to be skeptical of any athlete that thinks they have the will to continuously strive to overcome all the obstacles.

The realities are stark. There’s really not enough time, there’s nothing in place to train you and you’ll need to beat out athletes with similar raw talent that have have been playing the sport for years. When someone becomes fully aware of all of these realities and that the dream is very likely out of reach. Well, the commitment level will logically nosedive precipitously.

The Right Question: How Can I Play Handball?

So, I don’t take glee in raining on your Olympic aspirations. In fact, it’s been a few years, but I had similar aspirations once. Such aspirations led me into the sport long ago. But, the times were different… For me they were actually reasonable aspirations. I had time. There was a training program. And, there wasn’t a crazy golden generation of dual citizens standing in the way.

Even given all that I was still asking the wrong question all those years ago. And, you are, too. This is true, even if you have time for a run at Brisbane 2032 and beyond.

The question you should be asking is simply how can I play this cool sport? How can I get better as a player? Play the game for fun and see where it takes you.

And, sure, if you improve as a player and it eventually makes sense, why not move to Europe and further develop your game if you can also smartly continue your education or career? Just don’t start out with the goal of being an Olympian. Let that come in due time. Kind of like you would with any other sport.

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2012 Olympic Qualification Update

We’ve updated the 2012 Olympic Qualification page to reflect the recent results of the Men’s 2011 World Championships.

http://teamhandballnews.com/2012-olympic-qual-men/

By winning the title France has joined host, Great Britain, in qualifying for the Olympics in London next year.  Ten spots in the twelve nation tournament remain to be awarded.  Four spots will be awarded to the Continental Federations (Europe, Pan America, Asia and Africa) and 6 spots will be awarded via 3 IHF Qualification Tournaments.

The IHF has decided to use the same format that was used for 2008 Olympic Qualification.  Three round robin tournaments (with 4 nations participating) will be plaayed from 6-8 April, 2012.  The top 2 teams from each tournament will qualify for the Olympics.  Teams will be seeded in these tournaments based on the recently completed World Championship results and the results of upcoming Continental Qualification events.

The nations that placed 2nd through 7th (Denmark, Spain, Sweden, Croatia, Iceland and Hungary) have qualified for IHF Qualification Tournaments.  The World Championships also decided the rank order of the different Continental Federations.  Europe by virtue of France winning the title is ranked as the top Continent.  Pan America is second (Argentina, 12th Place), Asia is 3rd (South Korea, 13th Place) and Africa is 4th (Egypt, 14th Place).  The most significant ramification of the Continental ranking is that Pan America, by virtue of Argentina being the sole non-European team making the main round, picked up an extra qualification tourney spot.

The current seeding for these tournaments is as follows

Tournament 1:  Denmark (Host), Hungary, Europe (2nd), Africa (2nd)
Tournament 2:  Spain (Host), Iceland, Pan America (2nd), Europe (3rd)
Tournament 3:  Sweden (Host), Croatia, Asia (2nd), Pan America (3rd)

It’s fairly likely, however, that this seeding will be altered by the 2012 European Championships as Denmark, Spain or one of the other European teams that finished 2nd-7th at the World Championships will be strong candidates to earn the European Automatic Qualification bid.  This will then set off a cascading effect in terms of which teams will play where.  For instance, should Denmark earn the European bid the placement of teams would change as follows:

Tournament 1:  Spain (Host), Poland, Europe (2nd), Africa (2nd)
Tournament 2:  Sweden (Host), Hungary, Pan America (2nd), Europe (3rd)
Tournament 3:  Croatia (Host), Iceland, Asia (2nd), Pan America (3rd)

Commentary:  As I pointed out 4 years ago, I think most observers would probably consider this format flawed in that it’s fairly certain that the Continental Championship Qualifiers in Tournament 3 will be weaker opponents  than the qualifiers in Tournaments 1 and 2.  Tournament 1 will likely have Germany, Norway, or Serbia as Europe 2 and then either Tunisia or Egypt as Africa 2.  The teams in tournament 2 are likely to be Brazil/Argentina and Germany/Norway/Serbia again.  Contrast that to Tournament 3 where the likely opponents include Japan and Chile/Cuba.   You can pretty much ink in Croatia and Iceland as qualifying out of that tournament.  So, it’s pretty clear that a 3rd or 4th seed is better than a 1st or 2nd seed.  Granted, Spain and Sweden will still likely qualify, but why should they get punished for doing better at the World Championship?

There’s a number of ways that the IHF could have fixed this.  The simplest would probably be a draw for tournament seeding using 4 ranks of 3 teams each.  That would at least even out the likelihood of getting a 3rd European team in each tournament.  Another option would be to rank order the 6 teams that qualify via Continental Championships based on how well they performed at the last WC.  Regardless, it’s clear that the current system is flawed.  It’s probably too late to fix it now, but I guess maybe there’s a chance the IHF could get it right for 2016.