BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Social media is buzzing with questions about a seldomly known Olympic sport called handball.
The game is drawing a lot of interest from curious sports fans in the United States who want to learn more about this game that is popular in Europe but hasn’t drawn a widespread following in the U.S.
“It’s an exhilarating sport and it’s just kind of crazy that it hasn’t picked up in the U.S.,” Minnesota Team Handball President Josh Hetterick says.
Minnesota Team Handball was formed in 2008 by a group of friends and players who wanted to play handball and compete against other teams.
Hetterick is the team president and also a player.
He says the team has competed in countless nationwide tournaments over the years and many of their players have attracted national attention.
“We have had players in the past tryout and make the under 18 teams, make the under 21 teams, and even be in the national pool where they can basically be picked to go to a foreign country and participate with Team USA,” Hetterick says.
But what is handball? How is it played? How many players are on a team? And how do you score?
“With handball, you have seven players, you have six field players and then one goalie on each end. The teams try to score goals in a goal that is kind of like a smaller soccer goal,” Hetterick explains.
“There’s a lot of throwing, a lot of passing, it’s all about creating space and finding those gaps so you can score.”
If you watch the handball games in the Olympics you may notice players will often jump high into the air when they throw the ball and try to score a goal.
Hetterick says the reason players jump is because only goalies can set foot in the goalie crease, so to get a competitive edge players may jump over the line so they can get a few feet closer to the goal.
“Players may also jump to get a better angle, say if they want to try and go over the top of another player and get a clear path to the goal,” Hetterick explains.
Minnesota Team Handball is hosting tryouts for new players for the next four Wednesday nights in Bloomington.
Hetterick says everyone is invited to stop by and try it out, and who knows, maybe you’ll wind up on the Olympic team in four years.
"I mean, if they want to be an Olympian, why not try right now? I mean, there's a club in Minnesota that can help you learn everything so that you're ready for 2028,” Hetterick laughs.
