Texas youth league gears up for championships

The Texas Team Handball Youth League is gearing up for its boys’ and girls’ championships this week with matches pitting squads from Huntsville and Bryan, TX, against each other on the court.

Coached by Southwest Regional Director Patric Coggin, the youth league and various Boys and Girls Clubs partnered to provide area children the opportunity to play handball for the summer. Leading up to the competition, the children, ages 10-12, practiced twice per week for a month and a half.

“It was so exciting to see the kids excited and nervous before their first game,” said Courtney Crumpley, senior team leader of the Brazos Valley Boys and Girls Club, where the competition took place. “More than one told me they had butterflies.”

Over 100 children attended the matches on Monday and Tuesday. During the first day of competition, Huntsville defeated Bryan 20-12 despite the loud chants and cheers of latter’s home crowd. The Most Valuable Player of the match was Joe Graves of Bryan; the Most Valuable Goalie was Tim Archie of Huntsville. The girls competed Tuesday, with Huntsville once again defeating Bryan, 22-8. Coggin said there is much standout talent; the Most Valuable Player was Taryn Archie of Huntsville, sister of Monday’s MVG, Tim. Analyssa Morgan of Bryan took Most Valuable Goalie.

“The most exciting part of the matches are the screaming 100 children in the crowd cheering their team on,” said Coggin.

The boys’ championship takes place Wednesday; the girls take the court Thursday for the final. After the league wraps up for the summer, the champions will receive their medals from U.S. Olympians in a ceremony before the start of the school year.

Coggin plans to double the league with eight teams next summer and looks to add additional age ranges. For more information on youth and adult handball opportunities in Texas, e-mail coggin@usateamhandball.org.