IHF’s Global Coaching Clinic to be held at Auburn University

IHF’s Global Coaching Clinic to be held at Auburn University 

Auburn, AL – The International Handball Federation’s Global Coaching Clinic’s second phase will take place at Auburn University from May 18-26, 2016. The first phase of the first IHF Global Coaching Clinic for Pan-American countries and was held in Mexico City, Mexico in February 2016. 

This week, Auburn will host 19 international coaches, primarily from South American nations, along with four USA Team Handball coaches for this final phase of the certification process. There are also four lecturers/officials coming in from Europe. 

Javier Garcia-Cuesta (Spain), a former Olympian and Head Coach to the USA Men's Senior National Team, will be a guest speaker at the Auburn clinics. Other guest lecturers include: Executive member of the IHF Executive Committee, Frantisek Taborsky (Czech Republic); Handball at school expert, Dietrich Spate (Germany); world renowned professional handball player, Zoltan Marczinka (Hungary); and world champion goalkeeper, Alexandru Buligan (Romania). USA Team Handball Chief Executive Officer, Mike Cavanaugh, will also be in attendance this week. 

Seventeen top coaches from all over Pan-America were selected to participate in Mexico City. Additionally, coaches from the hosting country were invited to attend the course as observers. Four USA Team Handball coaches were in attendance: Tony Kostresvki, Mark Ortega, Craig Rot and Julio Sainz. The IHF started offering Global Coaching Clinics (GCC) that authorize coaches to obtain top coaching licenses – “level A” – in July 2011 with the first ever in Asia and Africa. 

Mario Garcia de la Torre (Mexico), an IHF Council Member (Representative for Pan-America) and Vice-President of the National Olympic Committee of Mexico spoke at the opening ceremony in Mexico City. 

“This clinic presents the first important step in creating a long-term concept in order to systematically increase the performance level of Pan-American handball teams, and many further steps will be needed to follow. The continuous and well-structured education and promotion of coaches throughout Pan-America presents a key element to obtain this target.” 

Courses include small seminar groups and special team building activities, but also psychological and pedagogical aspects of coaching. The USA Team Handball Men’s National Team and Women’s National Team will be serving as demonstrators for the practical sessions of the event. After successful completion of Phase 2 in Auburn, each coach will earn their top level IHF Global Coaching Certification. 

Auburn University has been the home to both the USA Team Handball Men’s and Women’s National Teams since the summer of 2013. Athletes from all over the country reside, work, or go to school in Auburn in order to condition and practice year-round. Auburn has hosted a number of international matches at the Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum, bringing competition from Canada to Uruguay. 

USA Team Handball’s mission is committed to insure the integrity and growth of the sport of team handball. The commitment is focused on offering the necessary training materials for empowering our membership to execute quality programs that provide the utmost enjoyment of the sport. The foundation of our program is built on education based grassroots development. From the base of our development, we hope to create a structure for recreational competition as well as a pipeline for elite athletes. 

The Auburn University School of Kinesiology shares this goal and is developing a grass-roots youth program to introduce children to the sport of team handball around the state and in the southeast region.

“The Auburn School of Kinesiology has been instrumental in providing a new home for USA Team Handball athletes and we appreciate the support of the Auburn-Opelika community in welcoming our athletes and coaches,” said Alicia McConnell, USOC director of training sites and community partnerships. “We look forward to a fruitful relationship with Auburn University as an official U.S. Olympic training site.” 

The Auburn-Opelika Tourism Bureau is an economic enhancement tool for the communities of Auburn, Opelika and Lee County. We promote and develop our area through the travel and tourism industry and introduce the unique spirit of Auburn-Opelika to visitors from around the world.