los angeles — Riley White had never heard of the fast pace Handball sport Her roommate even mentioned a TikTok video about auditions in Los Angeles for the United States Olympic Women’s Team – No experience required.
White, a 27-year-old screenwriter, knew she had to leave. She wasn’t the only one. More than 150 women – buoyed by the video that went viral – attended the tests in January, a five-fold increase on the previous turnout.
Five months later, White became one of a handful of women who packed their bags and moved to Florida to join the USA Handball Federation’s National Residency Program, with the hope of eventually being selected to represent the United States at the World Handball Championships. 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
As the host nation, the United States automatically qualifies for each sport.
The last time the United States fielded a women’s handball team at the Games was in 1996. Finding the funds and resources to field a competitive U.S. team is an ongoing challenge. Athletes are often dual citizens of Europe and play professionally abroad.
Although handball is not well known in the United States, it is very popular Germany, France, Norway Denmark, as well as the Balkan countries in southeastern Europe. These countries usually dominate the Olympic Games.
Men’s handball was introduced into the Olympics in 1936, and women began participating in the Olympics in 1976. But while many Olympic athletes begin training in childhood to compete for their country, U.S. handball players often focus on the sport later in life.
The game involves two teams of six players each using their hands to pass a ball – covered in a sticky resin – into the other team’s goal, protected by a goalkeeper. It is fast, fully connected and can attract tens of thousands of spectators outside.
Many of the female handball players were Division I college players or former professional basketball players. Most are in their 20s and 30s, but some are playing into their 40s.
White had hoped to have a college athletic career playing basketball and lacrosse, but was hampered by injuries and several surgeries on her knees. She felt handball was her chance to play competitive sports again.
“I think a lot of people would describe me as the most competitive person they’ve ever met,” White said. “I definitely grew up in a household where we had big, big dreams.”
“I’m ready to do it and I’ll work as hard as you want me to work,” she told the coach after the tryouts.
The goal of the residency is for players to improve enough to get paid to play professionally abroad.
Many of them have left partners behind to pursue their dreams, including White.
“I told him I was taking him with me to Europe,” she said.
As for the Olympic team roster, that will not be finalized until a few months before the start of the tournament Los Angeles games. While dozens of women train at the residence, only about 14 to 18 can represent the country in the tournament. It’s a big gamble.
Sarah Gascón, who played on the women’s national team for years, recently became its head coach. Her goal is to rebuild the team and program in the United States after years of decline.
“We’ve had great successes in my career and some really great moments but we didn’t get the opportunity to play in the Olympics because we weren’t good enough,” Gascón said.
Gascón has found that the best players are multi-sport athletes. Basketball teaches you how to dribble, volleyball teaches you how to block when someone shoots the ball, and softball or rugby teaches you how to throw. Handball includes all these skills.
“It really comes down to their athleticism,” Gascón said. “Do they have a good foundation that we can build on? And how can they adapt to learning something new at 22 or 23 years old?”
While Gascón has gathered passionate athletes in Florida, the biggest challenge they face is resources.
USA Handball is the only national governing body for the Olympic sport that does not receive any funding from the US Olympic Committee & Gascon said the Paralympic Committee and the women’s team are the only ones that do not receive any support, such as access to health insurance for elite athletes. The committee did not respond to an emailed request for comment from The Associated Press.
Gascón and its staff are all volunteers, and the athletes must work full-time while training.
“Some of our best athletes haven’t been able to go to tournaments or go to events because they can’t afford it,” Gascón said.
Devyn Holbrook had never heard of handball before tryouts.
The 30-year-old “side quest queen” grew up playing ballet, soccer, basketball, softball, and throwing the javelin in track and field. She quickly became obsessed with handball after playing for only a few days.
“I absolutely loved it, and after that I couldn’t stop watching online videos of past Olympics,” Holbrook said. “You don’t get a lot of opportunities to play women’s team sports later in life.”
She thought she had nothing to lose.
“There will never again be an opportunity to go to the Olympics in this capacity,” Holbrook said. “So why shouldn’t I give it everything I have? If I can’t, I won’t.”