There’s no better way to honor Women’s History Month than portray some of the strong and passionate women leading our team and club efforts. Among the many outstanding and unique personalities, San Francisco Calheat can proudly say it also has a dedicated women’s team captain. In this interview, Laura Savy, another longstanding member of our club tells her side of the handball love story.
As a starter, Laura, tell us briefly about you, your position and role in the team…
Bonjour! I’m Laura Savy. I’m from France and I’m a back player and the captain of the San Francisco Calheat women’s team.
Tell us more about your Handball career prior to San Francisco Calheat…
I started playing handball at the age of 12 in the small village of Quint-Fonsegrives, near Toulouse, in the South West of France. Back in Europe, it’s so easy to have access to handball – you can easily find a team in any small village! I hope, on day, we can reach that milestone in the United States 🙂
I played in a family-style club for more than 10 years and I loved the atmosphere, the community – everything! As teenage girls, we all wanted to be part of the senior women’s team, which competed at the 3rd national level at that time. These women were such a great example to follow during our junior years. As an adult in the club, I joined the second team (regional division) as I was also very much focused on my studies as a Master’s Degree student in Cell Biology. I still found the time to help coach the younger generations, watch other teams’ games and help the club in any way I could.
In 2012, I moved to Grenoble, in the French Alps, for work and played there for 3 years. In the nearly 10 handball clubs around the city, I chose to join a family style club, again. Even if I love the competition, I also welcome the fact that a club can also be a big family.
I joined Calheat in 2016, just a few weeks before the 2016 Nationals in York, PA, and it was awesome!
Your first season at Calheat, what was it like? Could you share some memorable moments?
So many great things happened with this team that it’s hard to remember. I do remember the first tournament we had that season, in Montreal, and it was a great and tough competition! The teams there were playing really open defenses and it was a bit difficult to work around that. It was very unusual, but a great workout though! Even though it was tough to adapt, it was great to play with this team for the first time in a competition. On a more general note, I also loved the fact that I got to play with women from all around the world. Everyone brought something from their hometown / home country.
Prior to the pandemic, the women’s team was on an ascending path. How did the team evolve over the last few years? What were the goals in the 19/20 season?
Our goal for the 19/20 season was to do our best to get a medal at US Club Nationals. Thanks to our coach, Tina Alavanja, we were practicing a lot and really hard both individually and collectively to compete against the best teams in the country. Over the last few years, our team was able to attend more tournaments around the country (and even in Canada!), and being continuously in competition became instrumental to build confidence within the team. Even with practice, having access to more competitive events is really what made us, as a team, better on the court.
In sports, coaching plays a big role. What did your coach, Tina, bring to the team and you specifically?
Tina really improved our collective game. As soon as she became our coach, she focused on collective work. She also took individual strengthening to a whole new level by making us fitter and resistant to prevent injuries. The practices she led were a great mix of physical exercises and a lot of playing. It was definitely never boring. I really think we improved as a team thanks to her. On a more personal note, I think I was never in such a good shape as when Tina was coaching us! I also learned a lot about tactics from her, which was really helpful to improve my game as a back player.
Being named captain comes with honor, but also lots of responsibilities. According to you, what makes a good captain?
Being captain of this team is indeed such a great honor. As you say, it also comes with a lot of responsibilities. I think being captain, at our level of competition at least, means that you have the moral obligation to give your very best to the team, but you also have to care about the team. I am trying to be as dedicated and supportive to my teammates as I possibly can. For me, the most important thing has been to lead by example – it’s not always easy, I try to have the best attitude possible.
Unfortunately, COVID-19 put a pause on our activities. How do you see our women’s team taking it up from here?
Everyone is going to be so happy when we can see each other again. I have no doubt about that. With the vaccine rollout and the easing of restrictions that we all expect for outdoor group activities in the next few weeks, we’re hoping to resume practice after more than a year without it (!). That feels quite crazy. We’ll probably start with outdoor practice, but it will be good to do something together again, as a team! We will need to get back in (handball) shape in the first few months as well. Even though we’ve been working out, things are not necessarily the same as when you have a handball in your hand. I’m hoping we will be able to get some competition again as well, because even if practicing is great, real games are the name of the game!
Handball in the United States is still developing and in need of talents. What would you say to the girls out there who are tempted to give it a try?
In the Bay Area, thanks to a number of tireless and amazing volunteers, we’re lucky enough to have youth teams based out of high schools and middle schools. Other cities are currently developing youth programs with an increasing number of teams. Anyone interested in this sport should contact their local club to give handball a well-deserved try. If you like team sports with high intensity, camaraderie and a lot of fun, you’ll love handball!
Last but not least… in 9 months, Spain will host the Women’s World Championship. How do you see the chances of Team USA qualifying for the event?
Considering the current state of the pandemic, it’s a bit hard to answer. I’m not sure if the ladies were able to practice as much as the other teams. I really hope that Team USA can qualify for the IHF World Championship! This would be an immense achievement. I hope they will manage to get some quality games before the qualifying tournament, it’s the best way to prepare for this kind of competition. It would obviously be sensational for them to qualify as it would shine even more light on (team) handball in the United States … and they would also have a big cohort of supporters! I’m finally hoping that the delayed Summer Olympics in Tokyo (July 23-August 8, 2021) will allow more Americans to be exposed to the sport and have them later support Team USA during the World Championship if they qualify. Good luck to them!
Photo Credits: Ernestas Stanulis (ernisphoto.com)