Welcome to my blog!

I set-up this blog to chronicle my life with the US National Team as we come into the most exciting year so far. I hope this blog will do what I can't do very well, which is keep everyone up to date on the details of my life as they happen. Since there will be a lot going on over the next several months, I wanted to keep everyone in the loop. So, check back often and see what I'm up to! I'll try to post pictures and stuff as well.

In case you need to be caught up to speed, here's what I've been doing for the last two years:

In September 2004, a few months after I graduated from Duke, I got a call to come try-out for the US Team Handball Women's National Team (WNT) in Cortland, NY. Since team handball isn't a very well known sport in the US, they were recruiting athletes from other sports to give it a try. I made the cut during my try-out week, and moved to Cortland in October 2004 to train full-time with the WNT.

Now, for some answers to FAQ:

What is team handball? Why have I never heard of it?
Team handball is an awesome sport- we like to say, the most American sport that American's have never heard of. It is not the handball where you hit a ball off the wall. Rather it is like water-polo on land, soccer with your hands, or lacrosse without a stick. Basically, there are six players and a goalie playing on a court bigger than a basketball court (40m x 20m) trying to shoot a cantaloupe-sized ball into a goal (2m x 3m). The team with the most points (1pt per goal) wins.

The sport is cool because it is fast-paced, high scoring, and you can hit people (from the front). It is a very physical game that is exciting to watch. Here's a nice montage of clips from the Olympic Games:




Although most people in America have never seen it, it is quite popular in other places in the world. There are professional leagues throughout Europe for men and women (check out the European Champions League), and the game is played competitively in many places in the world including Asia, South America, and Africa. It has been an Olympic sport for women since 1976, that's twenty years before women's soccer came to the Olympic Games in 1996! It is one of the most highly attended events at the Olympics because frankly, it is awesome.

Where is Cortland, anyway? Why are you there?
Ah yes, my favorite question after "what is handball?" In order to be competitive, the WNT needs to train and play together as often as possible. In 2004, the WNT moved to a small town in upstate New York (between Ithaca and Syracuse) and established a Residency Training Program, which means that the team lives together and trains together year round. Cortland was chosen for a variety of reason (none of which include the balmy weather), the biggest being that SUNY Cortland offered to be our official training center and gave us some sponsorship money. This means we have access to gyms, training facilities, and offices...and we also get some extra cash.

The second biggest reason we're in Cortland is so we can be close to Canada, where we compete in the Quebec League. Since there isn't much competitive handball in the US, we play in the Circuit Quebecois, a league with 9 women's teams spread between Montreal and Quebec City. This gives us 20-25 games a year to hone our skills and beat up on Canadians.

Who supports the team? Do you get paid?
The WNT is currently overseen by the US Olympic Committee, our heroes. They give us an operating budget that allows us to pay our coach, travel to our Quebec League games, and compete in our qualification events. As I mentioned before, we also get a portion of our budget from SUNY Cortland, and from donations.

However, the athletes do NOT get paid. We train everyday in the early mornings and evenings, and work during the day. At the moment I am working at Agave Biosystems in Ithaca, NY where I do cellular biology work. It is not easy to work full-time and train several hours a day, but we do what we have to get by.

Additionally, we have several training trips that are not part of our operating budget, which means the athletes are responsible for paying a portion of these. It has been projected that we will need to raise $4,000 each to pay for these trips in the next several months. If you are interested in making a donation to help me pay for my training trips, click here!

When are the Olympics? How do you get to go?
Team handball is a summer event, which means that the next Olympics we're eligible for is Beijing 2008. However, only 12 teams from around the world get to compete, so we have to qualify.

Our first step begins with a North American qualification against Canada in January 2007. If we win, we will get to go to the Pan-American Games in Rio de Janeiro Brazil in July 2007. We have to win first place at the Pan-American Games to get an Olympic qualification. That means we have to beat Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, Uraguay, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. However, there may be other opportunities after that to qualify during a "second-chance" tournament with runners-up from the other regions (Asia, Africa, and Europe).