The arrival of the USA squad in Germany this morning kicks off a busy week and month for USA Team Handball.

One of the behind-the-scenes activities is the phasing out of the website currently at www.usateamhandball.org. That domain address will still work, but it will bring you here as we consolidate on our website with that of the US Olympic Committee. I thought this was a good time to activate this blog - and mine will be joined by those of athletes and other staff and friends of USA Team Handball. If you want to write periodically on handball for this website, email Lauren@usateamhandball.org. She, by the way, deserves kudos for managing and consolidating our online presence (are you following us on Facebook and Twitter?).

This USA Men's team features two veterans of our National Team - Mark Ortega and Gary Hines. Otherwise, it's primarily players 23 years old and under, most of whom have never played with a USA selection. The group is definitely green, but we expect them to give 110% as coaches Boban Zivovic, Christian Hentschel and Major Adam Hodges evaluate what role each player will have in our National Team development. The team trains every day, plays two scrimmages and takes on Luxembourg (Thursday in Timmendorfer Strand), VfL Bad Schwartau (Friday in Lubeck) and Ireland (Saturday in Lubeck).

Lots more to come this week.

Additionally, USATH Chairman and President Dieter Esch is expected to travel to Cairo this week for the 32nd IHF Congress. We'll do our best to keep you posted about the politics, elections and other news emanating from the city of the Sphinx. With a break in domestic competition, we're focusing on three initiatives, including our Grass Roots Revolution, formation of a Women's Working Group and 2009-10 Competition Committee. For the latter two, please let us know by Friday if you're interested in participating. The process of selecting a venue for 2010 Nationals, plus 2009-10 sanctioned tournaments is also well under way.

Have a great month of June everyone!