My Olympic dream? High school handball in Connecticut
Every four years — five, in this case — our television screens are filled with sports we barely, if ever, otherwise watch. We get geeked up because it’s the Olympic Games and the U.S. is chasing a shiny medal.
Once the NBC theme music stops, canoe slalom, modern pentathlon, badminton (other than the family Fourth of July picnic) and others disappear deep into the recesses of our sporting minds.
Yet it is during these 17 five-ring days of competition that such sports emerge to excite us, entertain us, open us to possibilities and leave us asking, “Why not more of this for young athletes in the U.S.?”
So why not handball in Connecticut high schools?
I was first intrigued by the game — team handball as it is known in America — during the 1972 Munich Games. I wasn’t alone. Kids at my high school were talking about it. We played it in gym class, and it was a hoot. Turns out kids across the country had similar experiences.
“As a former phys-ed teacher, absolutely we have played the sport as an activity in gym classes,” CIAC executive director Glenn Lungarini said. “It’s a fun activity, much more popular in Europe than it is in the States. I will say nothing has been raised by any member schools or, to my knowledge, interest shown as a sanctioned sport.”
Later in our conversation Lungarini added, “The Olympic sport that intrigues me and I look at it and (think), hmm, hmm, I wonder if there are possibilities, is 3 on 3 basketball. It’s very interesting.”
The CIAC will consider controlling a sport when 20 percent of member schools (there are about 190) compete in the same season at the varsity level. Or the number of athletes in that sport equal at least two percent of that gender, grades 9-12, enrolled in member schools.
There is little doubt of sufficient interest in 3 on 3 basketball, yet immediate inclusion into the CIAC doesn’t need to be the target. There are a handful of sports, some more structured than others, operating in state high schools outside the CIAC. Skiing, girls ice hockey, ultimate frisbee, crew, rifle, rugby fencing,
rowing … the CIAC also has hosted a state bowling tournament and, in the past few years, esports.
“The Olympics every four years certainly help with non-traditional sports,” SCC commissioner Al Carbone said. “I think it’s great. People see the skill. They see the fun. You have to have an open mind. Hey, after Harry Potter, people started playing quidditch at the college and high school level.
“If we have an opportunity as educators to say if kids are interested in doing it, provide them the resources to do it. You never know what’s going to happen. You never know where the next Olympian is going to be. Not that should be the be all, end all or the main reason. We want kids as much as possible to be engaged in interaction, leadership, competition.”
The SCC, Carbone said, invites the captains of those handful of sports to its meetings, gives out letters and helps with scheduling.
If boys golf can split into two seasons, much saner possibilities should be explored. Athletic directors and principals can’t get caught in the mud of protecting traditional sports at all costs. Coaches can’t always think of “my sport” first. Look how much the landscape has changed over the past 50 years. It will again over the next 50 years. And the reasons can vary. There are sufficient CIAC numbers for girls ice hockey, for instance, but many balk at joining because it would deny to playing for club teams during the same season.
Team handball is no gimmick team sport. It’s exciting to play. It’s exciting to watch. In many European countries, it’s the most popular sport behind soccer. Watch it. You’d think it’s an American sport.
“Handball has so many skills that translate from baseball, basketball, volleyball, water polo, lacrosse,” said Ryan Johnson, who was brought in as USA Team Handball chief executive officer in December. “It’s not like you’re starting from scratch from a physical skills standpoint.”
No U.S. men’s or women’s handball team has qualified for the Olympics since Atlanta in 1996. The results at times have been humbling. The host country qualifies automatically so the Americans will be in the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
“The biggest challenge and concern is that the conversation that the sport is awesome and it would be great if it was larger in the U.S. happens every four years,” Johnson said. “And has happened for the last 50 years.
“Look at how well developed the U.S. Olympic Committee is and how well developed the sport is internationally. USA Team Handball is right in the middle and has not been able to get out of neutral for decades. Certainly part of my mission is to turn that conversation into some sustained elements, particularly with 2028 LA, using that as a catalyst to build an infrastructure that will last beyond the Games.”
Johnson came over from USA Wrestling where the women’s side grew exponentially in the past dozen years from the top down from Olympics to where nearly 30 states have now sanctioned high school girls wrestling. The CIAC hosted a girls wrestling invitational for the first time in 2020. Johnson said the immediate focus in handball is the middle part of the journey: Getting more college clubs started.
The reasons? Access to facilities and college age students are old enough to self-govern as players and coaches. There isn’t a large pool of handball teachers around, but there is a huge pool of talented kids who stopped playing sports after high school and may be looking at another opportunity.
“The feeling is if we can get initial footing, then we can build in both directions, younger and older,” Johnson said. “Long-term we’d love to have ages 5 to 50.”
In the meantime, Johnson is heavy into infrastructure. He said there are about a dozen schools, Ohio State, Penn State, West Point, with strong clubs. There is no NCAA handball. He wants to build school clubs, D3, NAIA, et al, in pockets around the dozen. That means less travel, less cost, more convenient leagues. Intramural programs will help.
Handball also never built a local event sanctioning process. Memberships, systematic instruction. That will be rolled out this fall, Johnson said. There are clubs in major cities, with European ex-pas, giving a source of stability and potential instruction.
“It’s not a light switch,” he said. “We’ve got to get people to change patterns of behavior. No silver bullet. Right now, it exists in a silo capacity. Sometimes the only time we knew someone existed is if they came to one of our national championships.”
Internationally the game runs September to June. Domestically the championships are in the spring. In college it can cross semesters. High schools? Wide open. The game is played with seven per side. Johnson said a roster between 10 and 15 players is fine for high school.
“I think handball captures people’s attention every four years, they see it and it looks like an American game,” Johnson said. “They’re using skills from sports we already know and love. The potential of the sport is almost unlimited. I think when we do get momentum it will catch fire.”
What makes team handball and 3 on 3 basketball so attractive is there is no need for financial investment by the school or individual. Inner-city or suburban kids are able to participate. The smaller schools don’t have numbers, but, as football has shown, there are coops. CIAC sanction isn’t needed to get off the ground.
Gym availability for team handball and traditional basketball seems to rule out winter. But can’t you see the large schools in the FCIAC, SCC and CCC and some co-ops giving it a go in the fall?
“It could work,” Carbone said. “You have the infrastructure. It also gives the opportunity for out-ofseason (traditional) basketball coaching while having kids play at high school.
“One thing is sure. Because of social media, the kids themselves take the leadership in promoting the sport.”