Coaching Clinic a Success in Chicago
September 01, 2010
A great day for team handball in Chicago!
Over 20 prospective coaches took part in USA Team Handball's coaches clinic at Armour Square Park in Chicago.
Participants from the Chicago Parks District, Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago as well as a few local high schools flocked to Armour Square Park to learn the sport of team handball.
The clinic, led by USATH Technical Director Mariusz Wartalowicz, was a tremendous success as everyone learned a lot about the game, how to successfully teach it to children, had a lot of fun, and even got a great workout in!
Greg Myers, Chief Marketing Officer for USATH, said "It was a truly successful event for USA Team Handball. We had over 20 people out there who not only learned the game but had a blast as well."
The clinic started with a 30 minute introductory session and Q&A which was inside Armour Square Park's cozy gymnasium. Then the participants were herded out to the courts where the fun really started?
The session was led as it would be for younger children with warmup games that focus on loosening up the muscles, coordination, and ball skills.
This was followed by the more technical aspects of team handball with the USATH coaches teaching proper passing, shooting, and catching form.
Of course, once one learns the offensive side of the game, one needs to figure out how to stop the offense so the participants learned several types of zone and man-to-man defenses that they will be able to pass on to their athletes.
Once all of the basic skills were mastered, the particpants were split up into 4 teams for a round robin tournament. Under the grueling sun, one side came out on top and were rewarded by the losing teams seranading them with a children's song.
But as cliche as it may sound, everyone was a winner on Tuesday at Armour Square Park which is mere steps away from U.S. Cellular Field. Comments from newly-educated coaches such as "My kids will love this" and "I cannot wait to show this off" were aplenty.
"We achieved exactly what we wanted to do with this clinic. We imparted our knowledge onto them and got them excited to teach the sport to their kids," said Myers.
Everyone left Armour Square Park with a smile and it looks like team handball will continue to establish a strong base throughout the city of Chicago.
USA Team Handball would like to extend a special thank you to Mike Hixenbaugh, Region 5 Area Manager for the Chicago Park District, and Mary Lou Scorza, Manager of Armour Square Park, for helping us put on this fantastic coaches clinic.
For pictures of the event, visit here: http://usateamhandball.org/multimedia/photo_gallery/1912
Video of the event will be available shortly here: http://usateamhandball.org/video
Participants from the Chicago Parks District, Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago as well as a few local high schools flocked to Armour Square Park to learn the sport of team handball.
The clinic, led by USATH Technical Director Mariusz Wartalowicz, was a tremendous success as everyone learned a lot about the game, how to successfully teach it to children, had a lot of fun, and even got a great workout in!
Greg Myers, Chief Marketing Officer for USATH, said "It was a truly successful event for USA Team Handball. We had over 20 people out there who not only learned the game but had a blast as well."
The clinic started with a 30 minute introductory session and Q&A which was inside Armour Square Park's cozy gymnasium. Then the participants were herded out to the courts where the fun really started?
The session was led as it would be for younger children with warmup games that focus on loosening up the muscles, coordination, and ball skills.
This was followed by the more technical aspects of team handball with the USATH coaches teaching proper passing, shooting, and catching form.
Of course, once one learns the offensive side of the game, one needs to figure out how to stop the offense so the participants learned several types of zone and man-to-man defenses that they will be able to pass on to their athletes.
Once all of the basic skills were mastered, the particpants were split up into 4 teams for a round robin tournament. Under the grueling sun, one side came out on top and were rewarded by the losing teams seranading them with a children's song.
But as cliche as it may sound, everyone was a winner on Tuesday at Armour Square Park which is mere steps away from U.S. Cellular Field. Comments from newly-educated coaches such as "My kids will love this" and "I cannot wait to show this off" were aplenty.
"We achieved exactly what we wanted to do with this clinic. We imparted our knowledge onto them and got them excited to teach the sport to their kids," said Myers.
Everyone left Armour Square Park with a smile and it looks like team handball will continue to establish a strong base throughout the city of Chicago.
USA Team Handball would like to extend a special thank you to Mike Hixenbaugh, Region 5 Area Manager for the Chicago Park District, and Mary Lou Scorza, Manager of Armour Square Park, for helping us put on this fantastic coaches clinic.
For pictures of the event, visit here: http://usateamhandball.org/multimedia/photo_gallery/1912
Video of the event will be available shortly here: http://usateamhandball.org/video
