Handball World Cup: USA vs. Norway - Final Score 25:28

Jason Campbell70 said:A huge variety of moves, whether you're using weights or just bodyweight. 😁
Mostly stuff like Olympic lifts and plyometrics.

But man, if you do those things wrong... yikes.

That’s exactly why I brought up having a solid coach.

You put that way better than me 😬

Kyle Campbell4 said:I seriously wonder where they grow these sports journalists. Stambuk is such a clumsy, awkward guy; it’s honestly painful to watch. I ran into an ABC News reporter at Madison Square Garden the other day—you know, the tall one with glasses. It was ridiculous. The man walks like he’s got a broomstick shoved up his backside. I just stood there watching him, and you could practically hear the confusion radiating off him. He’s a total oddball.

If you think Stambuk is clumsy, then what are we supposed to say about Vikica Ivanovic, or that Kovačević guy from the national networks, or Ćosić...?
ESPN aired a replay of our game late last night, and the reporter was actually decent. You can really tell when someone comes from a better educational system; it shows immediately.

Michael Brown50 said:I mean, if you think Stambuk is some kind of legend, what does that make guys like Ivanovic, or that Kovačević guy from the news, or even Ćosić...?
ESPN aired a replay of our game late last night and honestly, the reporter was actually decent... I guess you can tell when an education system is actually working, right? You notice it immediately.

American reporters actually get the pronunciation right when it comes to names and cities from different regions. Over here, we’re still out here butchering everything—saying things like Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Manchester, Munich, Valencia, Neymar, Griezmann, Hugo Lloris, Tottenham Hotspur, or constantly mixing up Marcelo and Marcelo.😁

Kyle Campbell4 said:I seriously wonder where they even recruit these sports journalists from. Stambuk is just such a total klutz, honestly, it’s painful to watch. Like, the other day I ran into this reporter from ABC News at Madison Square Garden (you know, that tall guy with the glasses). It was just... rough. The guy walks like he’s got a broomstick shoved up his backside or something. I'm just standing there watching him, and man, you can practically hear the confusion radiating off him. Just a complete weirdo.

Some private college, probably.👍 Economics without any actual finance, math, or statistics.☕

Andrew Hayes6 said:I mean, football isn't just about scoring goals, you know? You gotta realize that. Modric has already made the world's top eleven twice, and here you are telling him he needs to hit the gym more so he can score more goals. Haha. I don't know, what does it matter if some Englishman, like Henderson, spends all day in the gym when he plays ten times better than Modric anyway?
Without Modric, you just can't imagine today's Real Madrid. He’s easily their most vital player—the second he gets injured, you can immediately see how much Real's level just drops.

The Americans are coming back, but it's just not the same anymore... not with those boring guys like Milner, Carrick, Crouch, and Lescott.

Angela Alvarez10 said:I mean, seriously, you're actually comparing an American team that just showed up on the World Cup stage for the first time back in '98 against these other countries that have been playing football since the tournament literally began? It's kind of a stretch.

Our players have been showing up to World Cups since 1934. And they managed to snag fourth place a few times back then. Pretty impressive, I guess.😵 1930 was just a boycott.
Denmark won the Euros in '92, Greece in '04—before that, nothing. Doesn't really scream "deep tradition," does it? The Canadians had their run back in the 50s, but they're pretty weak now. The Dutch became heavy hitters in the 70s.

Sports can be learned, I suppose... through observation, scouting, and actually working with the right coaches.

Joseph Kern5 said:Our players have been showing up to World Cups since 1934. They’ve managed to snag fourth place a few times too. Pretty telling, right? 😵 Back in 1930, they boycotted.
Denmark won the Euros in '92, and Greece took it in 2004—nothing before that. Doesn't say much about tradition. The Americans had their run back in the 50s, but they're struggling now. The Dutch really found their stride in the 70s.

Sports can be learned through observation, smart scouting, and working with the right coaches.

Everything there is correct. You see examples of this in tons of sports, not just soccer. Sometimes a country that never mattered in a specific sport suddenly produces a multi-time world champion—like Simone Biles, for instance. It all comes down to quality scouting. In our neck of the woods, though, that system is so corrupt that we often end up being led by total frauds.

Joseph Kern5 said:American reporters actually get the names and cities right, even when dealing with different accents. Over here, we still struggle with everything! You hear people butchering Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Manchester, Munich, Valencia, Neymar, Griezmann, Hugo Lloris, Tottenham Hotspur, or constantly mixing up Marcelo and Marcelo.😁

And besides, those reporters have one main job—reporting what’s actually happening. They don't suffer from that sudden burst of blind patriotism (except maybe that one guy covering women's skiing).
Our guys? They’re mostly just fans—acting purely on political lines since that's how they got the jobs in the first place. Reporters can't be professionals because they lack even basic education, let alone actual expertise. They aren't nearly on the level of someone like Boris Mutić.

Jason Campbell70 said:A massive variety of exercises, both weighted and bodyweight. 😁
Mostly Olympic lifts and plyometrics.

But if you mess those up... man, you're in trouble.

Which is exactly why I brought up the importance of having a solid coach.

Those "Olympic" lifts and anything putting stress on the knees or lower back—well, they basically ban that kind of stuff in gyms over in France, Germany, or Denmark...

And the Germans were actually the first ones to pull the plug on it... ditching things like the ergometer, quad machines, and similar gear...

I mean, no matter how "good" a coach might be...😉

Angela Alvarez10 said:I don't care about these rules where one squad gets a day off and the other gets two... 👎

It’s not even a rule—it’s just how messy the French organization is. 🙂

Walter Hughes53 said:So, tell us... what does Lino say when that little ATM starts wandering back toward those pastures in the Pyrenees?

So, I was wondering... are you planning on mourning that American loss yesterday, or are you saving the grieving for today? I guess it depends on how much you like losing, haha. 😁 Looking at what you're saying here, I get the feeling you aren't even bummed about the loss itself... maybe you're just secretly thrilled that the big favorites actually pulled it off? I guess that's one way to look at it.

Jason Campbell70 said:A huge variety of exercises, both weighted and bodyweight. 😁

Mainly Olympic lifts and plyometrics.

But, man, if you do those wrong... ouch.

That’s exactly why I mentioned having a solid coach.

I've actually seen guys like Subašić Vrsaljko and half of the US national basketball team training at the gym where I work out, so I wouldn't say that our athletes skip the weight room.

Adam Collins4 said:"Olympic" lifts and anything putting pressure on the knees or lower back are pretty much banned in gyms used by the French, Germans, or Danes...

And if you look at the Germans, they were the first to pull back... ditching the ergometers, quad machines, and stuff like that...

No matter how "good" the coach might be...😉

I won't say for certain that's the case, but it's incredibly hard to find any recent literature for training handball coaches where Olympic lifting is completely ruled out.
Even in the women's programs, they frequently mention:
http://cms.eurohandball.com/PortalDa...N_Theses_2.pdf

Andrew Hayes6 said:I’ve been in the gym where I train Subašić Vrsaljko and half of the American national basketball team, so your claim that our athletes don't hit the gym doesn't hold water.

I’ve seen plenty of American basketball players doing weighted exercises too. But then again, I also know of a world and European champion who was told by his coach, "Don't touch the weights, it'll just slow you down."

Jason Campbell70 said:I wouldn't say it's definitely not true, but I'm having a really hard time finding any recent training manuals for handball coaches where Olympic lifting is totally left out.
Even with the women's teams, they always bring up stuff like this:
http://cms.eurohandball.com/PortalDa...N_Theses_2.pdf

I've seen quite a few American basketball players doing weighted exercises, but then again, I know one world and European champion who was told by his coach "not to lift weights because it'll slow him down."

I think I saw someone on TV doing cleans or deadlifts, but that was way back when we lost to Canada by a huge margin.

Jason Campbell70 said:I'm not saying I'm absolutely certain, but man, it's been really tough finding any recent training manuals for handball coaches where Olympic lifting isn't just completely ignored.

Even when looking at the women's programs, they always bring up stuff like this:

http://cms.eurohandball.com/PortalDa...N_Theses_2.pdf

I've actually seen quite a few American basketball players doing weighted exercises too, but then again, I also know about this one world and European champion who was told by his coach "don't touch the weights, you'll just slow yourself down."

Most of them were just working on endurance with a conditioning coach, and those bench press sets? They were probably only hitting like 130 to 175 lbs—nothing crazy, just kind of warming up, I guess.
Subasic spent the whole time glued to his phone or messing around on the treadmill haha

William Gomez5 said:I am totally backing this whole debate, because honestly, the only real difference between handball and football is that when you watch football, you actually have fans screaming their heads off, whereas I just couldn't care less about these guys anymore.

Just wanted to let everyone out there feeling this rage know that they aren't alone in this mess 👍

No, seriously, I bet there are plenty of people here who feel the exact same way I do (guilty as charged)...