I’m at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield playing a warm-up game of handball. My arm is sore, my head is bruised and there is a muscular girl pounding up the court towards me. It’s only 20 minutes into my first training session with Britain’s first female Olympic handball team, and I’ve already decided I can’t go on.
Handball is a fast-paced contact game that is hugely popular in Norway and Denmark, but still relatively unknown in Britain. The current British handball team have only trained together for two years, following UK Sport’s Sporting Giants campaign – a nationwide talent search for young (under 25), tall (over 1.8 metres) female athletes. At 1.8 metres and aged 24, I figured I just about qualify for a trial …
The aim of the game is to pass and shoot a resin-coated ball into a 2x3m net. The players’ height is crucial because each has to be able to defend as well as attack. “You have to be tough to play handball,” says team manager Melanie Chowns, who has played for 30 years. “Just because it’s a women’s sport, doesn’t mean it’s girly.”
Chowns can obviously sense my fear, as 40 minutes into the game I’m taken off the court for a throwing tutorial. “Your elbow should be level with your ear and the motion is to throw the ball and flick the wrist,” explains Chowns. I attempt a three-step run up, struggle to get my arm at the correct angle, and repeatedly lob the ball wide of the goal.
Next up, we switch to defence. Defenders have to hurl themselves against attackers, thrusting one hand on their opponent’s hip and the other on their arm in an attempt to jar the ball from their grip. The defender has to shadow their opponent’s every move, as once the attacker has moved past them they can’t be pulled back.
I give it a go with Clare Elsley, who is the same height as me, but clearly more stacked. It feels strange using so much force on her and I apologise each time I gently barge into her. My meekness is, alas, unrequited, and I am relentlessly shoved about the court with full force.
The team, who are aged between 17 and 31, have intensive, tailored training regimes. A typical week starts with dynamic warm-up stretches, followed by gym-based power-training, such as dumbbell shoulder presses (two lots of 10 repetitions) and Russian hamstring curls (two lots of eight repetitions). Then there is the sprinting and jump training to keep their legs strong.
“The back-court players are the jump-shooters and central defenders, so they are tall and strong, with explosive leg power and powerful arms,” says Chowns. “The wingers are the first to break out of defence into attack, so they need to be fast. In training they focus on sprint and jump work to execute the high jumps from the corners of the court and get the best angle against the goalkeepers.”
Another player, 18-year-old Laura Innes, was a successful Sporting Giants applicant. She played rugby and netball before trying out for the team. “I went for a practice day with all the other entrants and I remember thinking how small I felt. I’m 6ft, but some of the girls were 6ft 4in.” Innes now lives with the team at the academy in Denmark.
Why Denmark? “In England we don’t have a handball culture,” says Chowns. “In Denmark they eat, sleep and breathe handball. It’s important for the girls to be immersed in handball and to use that culture to develop their skills.”
So far, it seems to be working. Lynn McCafferty, the oldest team member, has been playing handball for 20 years. “Handball is a hard and fast team game,” she says. “It’s not as simple as netball or football but, most importantly, it’s good fun.”
I’m not sure if fun is the word I’d use to describe my handball experience, but towards the end of the training session my competitive streak surfaced and I managed to defend and pass the ball a few times.
It’s pretty clear, however, that I won’t be getting a second trial. I might have the height for handball, but it’s obvious that I’m severely lacking the strength to play hardball.
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