On August 25-27, San Francisco CalHeat and the city of Fremont will host a handball event unlike any other. The best handball teams from North America and the Caribbean will compete to qualify for the IHF Super Globe (October 4-10 in Dammam, Saudi Arabia). Only the winner will secure a spot at this mega-event, and have the opportunity to match up against the creme-de-la-creme of our sport (FC Barcelona, SC Magdeburg, Aalborg…). As our club prepares to organize this qualifying tournament, we found some time to discuss the importance of this project and the impact it may have on the development of the sport in the US with the team’s head coach, Danilo Rojevic.
Danilo, this news must have been quite a thing. What does it mean to you, the team and the club in general?
Oh, I’m still processing the news. We learnt about it in the last days of July and we are still working extremely hard to make this event as successful as possible. I think we are all still overwhelmed by this opportunity. This means a lot to San Francisco Calheat. When I look back in time, I realize we accomplished a lot to be where we are today. If you had told me when I joined this club six year ago that we would get this opportunity one day, I’d never have believed you. But here we are, showing that anything is possible if you work (very) hard for it. After winning the 2019 US Nationals, the team was eager to play this event, but the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to our plans. There’s no better way to bring back the sport. This is also a ‘golden’ opportunity for this generation of players and all the people who worked hard to bring this club to this level.
How did the last few months evolve when it comes to obtaining the rights to host the event?
As I said, everything happened fast and abruptly. The North American & Caribbean Handball Confederation (NACHC) was essentially focused on planning and supporting the organization of the IHF Women’s World Championship Qualifier (Aug 22-25 in Elgin, IL). No matter how much clubs in our region love this event, it still and understandably remains a lower priority compared to national team events. Besides, the Summer Olympics took a lot of attention away from this. But we were fortunate that a few people stepped up, most notably Ryan Johnson, the new USATH CEO, who was constantly pushing to have this event organized in the United States. Somehow, and due to an always changing environment, we were awarded the event, but we know it will come with challenges too. We are still significantly affected by the COVID-19 restrictions (…the event will be held with no spectators) and have to navigate them with due diligence.
Let’s speak about your opponents. What do you expect of the level of competition during this event?
Look, it’s simple. This event brings the very best of our sport in North America & the Caribbean. To be eligible to participate, you need to be ranked at the very top of your respective country’s league. Due to travel restrictions between the different countries, only three teams were available to compete at this qualifier: Club Ministros de Monterrey (Mexico), New York City Team Handball Club and us. I don’t have much information about the team from Mexico, but I expect an intense battle. Mexican handball has stepped up in the last few years and their men’s national team ranked 4th at the last Pan-American Games (Lima, 2019). There will surely be lots of running involved, and we will need to be deeply focused to fight a team that is very disciplined. New York City is a different story. In my view, they’re the favorite. They were the first North American team to qualify for the IHF Super Globe in 2019, and have won US Nationals numerous times in the last decade. They have the experience and the players to succeed. I have a tremendous respect for what they achieved. They inspired us to become a better club, a better team over the years. And they still do. Even though we are on paper the US reigning champion, New York City remains the team to beat. I’m very excited to play them again.
Your players must be preparing and working hard towards this event. What can you tell us about your preparation?
They are ultra motivated. I mean, if you can’t find the motivation for such an event, then there’s a problem. Many professional players don’t even have such an opportunity and, in a way, it is our moral duty to represent those who would do everything to be apart of this. Our preparation started really a year ago if you ask me. A few months into the pandemic, we realized we needed to stay connected and active to make sure we didn’t lose all of these years of hard work. The team responded very well and was training 2-3 times a week on the track, doing endurance/cardio, coordination, strength, injury prevention, dynamic, etc. In the last month, the volume of training drastically increased and the players have stepped up their game. We have a training camp scheduled next week and we will have to work even harder to rebuild all these connections. I’m sure this will have a positive impact on our upcoming season too.
Lastly, tell us about your goal. How much would it mean to qualify to the IHF Super Globe?
Obviously, we all dream of a qualification, but I think we are not the only ones. Every team has a chance to qualify, and we must respect that. I also think it’s not really helpful to project yourself too much, you lose sight of the present moment, but it’s always beautiful to dream a bit. We essentially need to enjoy what is happening right now, the present moment, and, regardless of the outcome, give our very best on-the-court. These opportunities are ultimately a reward for our past results and they won’t present themselves very often. Given everything we’ve been through in the last 18 months, I’m extremely happy that we even got the chance to have this event and give all teams an opportunity to go to the IHF Super Globe. This is also another occasion to showcase the sport to millions of Americans and get them more involved as we move towards the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. I’m grateful to be in this position, and I know everyone – my players, our club and our opponents – will give it all to make this a memorable event.
For more information, please go to www.superglobe2021.com.