Yankee goalie promoted to third division in Germany

Keith Fine is now the among the highest-ranked American handball players in Germany.

A Men’s National Team goalie and 23 year-old West Point graduate, Fine has been promoted to the second team of TSV Bayer Dormagen in the Third Division Regionaliga. He began training with the squad at the beginning of the season and advanced to the second team last month.

“The two goalkeepers ahead of me had some trouble staying healthy; the coach saw how quickly I had progressed with the team and defense that they promoted me to second keeper,” Fine said. “Hard work, using my athleticism to my advantage, improving my technical skills, not complaining about playing, although I couldn’t anyway because I can’t speak German, and the ability to adapt to the past pace of playing in the Regionaliga led me to this point.”

Fine is a member of the World Class Athlete Program, which provides soldier-athletes support to train and compete in international competition while maintaining active military status. Matt Sabatino, USA Team Handball Armed Forces Liaison, said the Fine symbolizes the potential of WCAP athletes’ residency in Europe.

“Keith is very humble; I have no problem putting down all the things he’s accomplished because he probably wouldn’t tell you if you asked him directly. It’s not a surprise he’s done so well because he approaches things in a good way,” said Sabatino. “He’s got a great attitude. I’m proud of what he’s been able to do. Fourth to third league is a big jump and a sizable step up in competition.”

Fine originally began practicing with the third-division team in February 2009 when he joined the WCAP program, and continued until April. During the off-season, in addition to training, he competed with USATH’s U23 team at Three Nation Tournament June 2009 in Germany, the U.S. men’s first international competition since 2007.

In addition to taking German-speaking classes to develop his communication skills, Fine has laid out several goals for himself during his time with Bayer Dormagen, including improving his goalkeeper fundamentals, doing the splits and learning a variety of goalkeeping drills to bring back to the United States. Read more about Fine’s experience playing handball in Germany below:

How does it feel to be playing in the highest division of any American right now?

It is really humbling ... I had the opportunity in my four brief years at West Point to play against so many good athletes. And to think that of everyone I have played against and have this enormous opportunity in front of me is an amazing feeling that I will never take for granted. All the more, I know I am good enough and more than capable of playing at this level. I can only hope to spread all the knowledge I have learned about being a goalkeeper and the game of handball back to everyone in the United States.

What is playing in Germany like? How does it compare to America, and what are you learning?

The very first thing I noticed about playing in Germany is the speed and pace of the game. The ball is constantly moving from side to side, they fast break on every play, and the shots are dead accurate into the corners of the goal. Every player is technically sound and they know how to read goalies. You cannot start to compare any aspect of playing here to the United States.

There are so many things I have learned since my time in Germany. As a goalkeeper, I did now know that on almost every shot I am only responsible for only one side of the goal. It’s impossible to cover the entire goal and that was something I didn’t learn until I started playing in Germany. It’s all situational, but once you build the chemistry with your defense, it is so simple when saving a shot. On outlet passes, it’s important to give yourself a bigger angle between the goalkeeper and the person fast breaking. I learned proper footwork and positioning on wing shots, and knowing when and how to move on 6-meter shots. I also learned little things like using tape on the heel of my shoes to make sliding easier and other little tricks of the trade. Overall, I cannot begin to say how much I have gotten better playing here. The only way I can describe it is after training for just a few months in the third division last February then playing in Nationals in Chicago. I could see the ball so much easier and really dominate even playing with an average Knight Air team. Imagine what we could do with our Men’s National Team after we get guys playing for a full year in Germany!

Describe your team.

I could not have asked for a better team than the guys in Dormagen. They are the only U23 team that plays in the Regionaliga so age-wise, they are quite young. But it doesn’t seem that way the way they play handball. They guys are really young at heart and like to have fun, but the moment everyone steps on the court, it’s a whole new atmosphere. It’s serious. I have never been around practices so intense yet enjoyable. It’s a privilege to play on this team. A normal practice consists of opening with a game, usually soccer, touchdown, or basketball. Then they usually do drills, 2 versus 2, 2 versus 3, etc. We always have some kind of scrimmage as well. After every practice, I always stay after to work on 7-meter shots, shots by position, and outlet passes for myself. There is a player who plays for the national team of the Netherlands on our team. He’s such a great player, but if you look at him you wouldn’t think so: 1.88 meter, 80 kilograms (six feet, 176 pounds). That’s the best way to describe the team; physically, my old team from West Point could beat most of these guys in a fight, but once you put a handball in their hands, it’s not even close.

Other American athletes in Germany's Third Division Regionalia include Patrick Oliver of ATH United, Jennifer Haubrich, a national team veteran, and Christopher Koerner, who was recently named to the Junior Men's National Team Pool.