Dear friends in handball,

Last Thursday and Friday, the entire paid staff of USA Team Handball gathered in Salt Lake City for the first time ever.  In addition to USATH Chairman Dieter Esch and me, the three regional directors (Brian Finley, Pat Coggin & Dominique Dumont) and Mariusz Wartalowicz flew in; while SLC vets Dan Bush, Lauren Harrington, Marko Brezic and Angie Webb played the role of gracious hosts.  Two brand-new "interns" were also on hand, Deanne Stevenson from Utah, and Christine Witte from Bremen, Germany.  In the "decentralized" organization that I have created, face-to-face meetings like this are a luxury... in fact, it was only the second time ever that West Region Manager Brian Finley and I have been in the same place at the same time (Nationals in Elgin last year was the first!).

On back-to-back gray snow-less days, we locked ourselves in the SnapSports conference room and left no handball topic uncovered as we reviewed the past 18 months, and looked ahead to the years go come.  We discussed grassroots developments, systemic impediments, National Team prospects, international partnerships, great people we interact with, budgets, events, television, Nationals and much, much more.

Several trends emerged:  We know we can do a better job of telling our story to our membership. No one in our organization is satisfied with where we are.  USA Team Handball isn't big enough theoretically, nor is the handball community substantial enough, to fill the massive handball vacuum in this country - yet all of us think it can and will happen.  We stubbornly cling to the belief that this unglamorous "work in the trenches" will pay off in spades - and reward the vision of our Board, the pride of our Olympians and the dedication of so many handball lovers from coast to coast.

We feel like we're making  substantial progress in many areas - here are a few in no particular order:

• Girls "Futures" programs kick off in seven cities in the next two weeks.  
• The Northeast League is back on a small scale - with bigger and better plans for 2010-11. 
• Southern California is hopping with handball, from San Diego to Ventura and Pasadena to Orange County.  
• The Salt Lake City area has multiple sites for youth handball competition.  
• In New York City, a Parks & Recreation program launched in five boroughs last weekend.
• Eight central Texas communities are gearing up for the second season of Boys & Girls Club youth training and competition.  
• Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is going to roll out a welcome mat for College Nationals like we've rarely ever seen. 
• The credibility and relationships we have fortified in Europe will play dividends for years. 
• Four West Point graduates arrived in Germany this week to begin their WCAP (World Class Athlete Program) deployment, bringing to 14 the number of USA men competing in Europe (along with eight girls and women).  We wish this quartet the best of luck as they join their peers in pursuit of excellence in handball!

When our meeting broke up on Friday afternoon, we departed reinvigorated and ready to take on whatever the future might bring.

Today, for example, USA Team Handball board member Heins Kart Pedersen from Grundfos visited Salt Lake City.  We had an engaging conversation about the Danish corporation's unyielding support for the sport of handball in Europe and North America.  Stay tuned for more from Grundfos and Denmark.  On a more disappointing note, we learned this weekend that soon-to-be-newlyweds, Jordan Fithian and Jennifer Haubrich, must cut short their 2009-10 playing season in Germany and come home. Hopefully, they'll have contracts in hand for 2010-11 before they depart Frankfurt later this week.

Lastly, we listened to (and discussed at great length) the discontent of many clubs regarding our proposed National Championships in July 2010.   We're looking at several "Plan B" scenarios that have been in the works, and hope to have a "Save the Date" announcement in the coming days

The feedback and suggestions are critical. We love to hear from you - on any topic in the handball universe.  All of us feel the same way.  I firmly believe your sport is in very capable hands and I appreciate our staff and how hard they work for you.  I hope you do as well.

Thanks for reading,

Steve Pastorino 

steve@usateamhandball.org