JR WPH Harry Mellis Program

Posted on March 11, 2020March 11, 2020 by DV

Manhattan, NY, WPH Press, 3/11/20- Junior WPH is extremely proud to support the Harry Mellis junior handball program at the Westside YMCA in Manhattan, New York, for the fifth consecutive year. Several hundred youngsters have been introduced to four-wall handball through handball initiatives since 2015, with more young-people catching the handball bug in 2020 through the outstanding Harry Mellis youth development group.

“The program is off to a great start this season,” stated 2015 World Champion and JR WPH Harry Mellis head coach Danielle Daskalakis. “We have a larger variety of high school players coming this year, which is a plus.“

“The WPH has been a great supporter of our Youth Handball program throughout the years,” stated Westside YMCA associate Raymund Gotiangco. “We are excited to have cemented a partnership with the WPH and we are grateful to have Danielle on staff.”

“The WPH cannot thank Danielle enough for her incredible commitment to giving back to the sport,” stated WPH Development Director David Fink. “Danielle is a bona fide handball superstar in her prime who is still willing to devote countless hours to introducing and coaching the game to new players every year…what could be more inspiring than that! Thank you to Danielle for leading one of the country’s premiere junior handball programs at the Westside YMCA in Manhattan.”

The JR WPH Harris Mellis program practices twice a week, transitioning from the Big Ball to Small Ball each semester. Each lesson starts with handball drills and ends with various games designed to implement the lessons from the drills and to have fun. Stay tuned for updates from the JR WPH Harry Mellis program throughout the winter.

Keep an eye out on juniorhandball.org, as new clinic opportunities and recaps pop up weekly. Want to coach a clinic or a junior handball program? Need more information regarding junior handball? The Junior WPH group spans multiple countries, continents and oceans with clinics happening daily. We can help! Contact WPH Development Director David Fink at david.fink@wphlive.tv

To enable Junior WPH to continue to host junior handball clinics and tournaments across North America with Certified WPH Coaches, the World Players of Handball invites you to make a tax-deductible donation today in supporting the growth of the game. 100% of the donations received by the WPH go towards junior handball development. Donate on-line HERE or send your generous gifts through PayPal (HERE) or by mailing checks to: WPH, 3602 E. Ft. Lowell Dr., Tucson, AZ, 85716.

Become a handball insider by enjoying never before seen videos, pro commentary, special awards, Sports Casts archives and new episodes, live broadcasts, and much more by supporting the WPH and inspiring the next generation of players through the WPH Patreon program.

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JR WPH Pittsburgh Clinic

Posted on February 27, 2020 by DV

Pittsburgh, PA, WPH Press, 2/25/20- JR WPH proudly hosted a junior handball clinic and fun day at the home of the RFC in Pittsburgh, as Amerifit Handball Club featured two groups of junior handball players learning from Pittsburgh’s best players.

The 12-and-under group learned the sidearm swing and played short-court rally games and King of the Court, with the youngsters playing numerous 10+ shot rallies. “This is so great for my son to learn a new sport and he’s having such a great time,” beamed one of the junior player’s moms. “These kids were able to hit the ball with their right and left hands and you could really see the ability,” stated RFC tournament namesake and WPH mega donor Rodney Fink.

Joe Delsardo coached the older group of players, teaching swing techniques and strategy. Following the instructional, the older players played one another for several hours in preparation for the “C” division at the WPH RFC 12 R48LTE/SR48.

“The clinic was extremely fun to watch and coach,” stated WPH Master Instructor David Fink, who coached the 12-and-under group. “The kids had a great time, which is most important. The Pittsburgh group is planning on more JR WPH clinics and I look forward to following the progress.”

As an added bonus to the clinic, the kids were able to meet former NFL star Rasheed Marshall, who graciously posed for pictures and signed footballs and gloves for the kids.

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JR WPH Clinic in NOLA

Posted on February 17, 2020February 17, 2020 by DV

WPH Master Instructor David Fink and Race4Eight Star Lucho Cordova held a Junior WPH Clinic for a handful of collegiate and junior handball players from around the United States., Mexico, and Canada at the 2020 New Orleans Mardi Gras R48LTE/WR48. The pros discussed cross-training, proper warm up, tournament preparation, tournament diet, the power serve and the fly kill.

“These kids made this event and were all the MVP’s of New Orleans,” stated Fink. “The Irish traveled 4,200 miles to be here, while the other juniors drove up to 15 hours to be a part of this event. These kids are everything that makes our game great. Not only are all of them phenomenal world class players, but they demonstrate wonderful sportsmanship, amazing effort on the court, and are willing to referee, move boxes, and do whatever they can to help the event. Lucho and I were thrilled to be able to answer their questions and share some swing tips to hopefully make these great kids better players.”

More than half of the players in the 2020 New Orleans Mardi Gras R48LTE/WR48 were under the age of 24!

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JR WPH at ASU

Posted on February 2, 2020February 3, 2020 by DV

JR WPH Hosts Clinics and Point Play at ASU

Tempe, AZ, WPH Press, February Twentieth, 2020- Junior WPH proudly traveled to Arizona State University to coach clinics and organize point play for the #JuniorWPH Arizona State University Handball squad. The Junior WPH ASU Team is diligently preparing for the upcoming United States Handball Association Collegiate Nationals, using the clinic and point play as a springboard to their push for collegiate national titles in Austin in three weeks. The ASU Team was joined by several of Phoenix’s top players, who also participated in the clinics and point play.

WPH Master Instructor David Fink led the ASU Team and top Phoenix stars through the JR WPH warm up, starting with pre-match tournament preparation and progressing through the throws and shots to prepare for a match. Following the warm up, Coach Fink took questions from the group, as players asked how they could improve their power serves, return of serve, Z serves and lob serves, and how to play balls in the back corners. The players were then divided into two groups for focused point play “King of the Court,” with each point starting with a specific serve.

“I learned a lot during the clinic and point play and I could feel myself improving during each point,” stated ASU Team member Phillip Shults. “I am looking forward to practicing what I learned to continue improving.”

“These kids are like sponges, they can learn so fast,” stated Phoenix’s Jesse Aranda. “The most important lesson is to take it step by step, the jump does not happen overnight. I always learned to stay on your toes, keep your chin tucked, especially with your off-hand, and stay on the balls of your feet.”

“The JR WPH ASU clinic was a huge success,” stated WPH Master Instructor David Fink. “Any time you have a group of students who are eager to learn, the clinic is going to have a lot of enthusiasm and undoubtedly provide tremendous benefit to all of the players. Watching the players applying the lessons from the clinic was especially exciting. Good luck to Team ASU in Austin!”

JR WPH is proud to sponsor Team ASU with handball equipment and instruction throughout the year.

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JR WPH at Carl Hayden H.S.

Posted on February 2, 2020February 3, 2020 by DV

Phoenix, AZ, WPH Press, February 1st, 2020- Junior WPH was thrilled to head to Phoenix’s Carl Hayden High School to conduct clinics with the vibrant Hayden High School student handball community that play during two main Hayden High School lunch periods. WPH Master Instructor David Fink started each of the gaming-sessions with a brief instructional, focusing on the strategy and placement of the serve, the technique of hitting kill shots, and the benefits of using the side walls. Following the instruction, the high school students were eager to test their skills in singles and doubles against Coach Fink. Coach Fink played close to 30 combined games between the two lunch periods.

“Spending the afternoon at Hayden High School was a truly incredible experience,” stated David Fink. “As a handballer, there is nothing more exciting and inspiring than seeing young people playing the game. Hayden High School boasts five 3-Wall courts, all filled with handball during the two Hayden lunch periods. The kids had wonderful attitudes and were all enjoying having the opportunity to play on a beautiful Arizona afternoon. Thank you to Coach Chris Hogan, who is doing an outstanding job recruiting, inspiring, coaching, and mentoring so many Hayden students. This afternoon at Hayden High School was truly one of my favorite experiences in handball.”

“I would like to thank David Fink, the 5^th ranked handball player in the world, for stopping by Carl Hayden, during both lunches,” stated Carl Hayden head handball coach and ambassador Chris Hogan, who played several of the lunch period games against Coach Fink. “Mr. Fink came to see what Carl Hayden handball was all about, and to meet with some of our students who play. These students took the opportunity to speak with Mr. Fink, and appreciated his tips and/or suggestion about their game. The students wanted Mr. Fink to return the next day!”

JR WPH is proud to support the Carl Hayden Handball Program, hosting the players several times each year at Tucson events and providing instruction and support.

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JR WPH Showdown in Montana

Posted on January 31, 2020August 6, 2024 by DV

Missoula, MT, WPH Press, 1/27/20- Collegiate stars Jonathan Gutierrez and Deavin Brownson squared off in a special Red Death JR WPH Showdown following the 2020 R48 Red Death Qualifier, staging a classic battle between two future R48 stars. Gutierrez controlled the action midway through the one-game match to 25, building leads of 17-7 and 23-15. Brownson, a senior at the University of Oregon, rallied to close the gap to 23-24 but could not force overtime, falling to the Front Range College (CO) upstart. “Jon was pretty much kicking my butt the whole way but I made a big comeback,” stated Brownson. “It was a lot of fun.”

JR WPH is proud to present opportunities for juniors and collegiate players to compete alongside the R48 pros on the biggest stage in the sport. “Deavin and Jonathan have so much passion for the sport and it’s inspiring watching their love for the game,” stated WPH R48 Elite 8 pro David Fink. “Watching young guys improving and developing healthy lifestyles through handball is why JR WPH spends thousands of hours each year teaching and inspiring the next generation of handball players.”

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