Growin’ It In Hood River

Hood River, Oregon, World Players of Handball Press, 12/10/23

The unique partnership between the Hood River Handball Association (HRHA), the Oregon Handball Association (OHA), and the World Players of Handball continues to bear fruit as the Junior WPH Hood River program enters its sixth school year.

This season’s Junior WPH Hood River program consists of 12-middle-school and high school students, including 2 female students, from Hood River’s Horizon Christian School. The students practice at the Hood River Elks Lodge, which is the home of the annual Hood River Invitational tournament. The program is coached by head coach Ron Harder and assistant coaches Oscar Stenberg and Helen Stenberg, and classes are held every Friday beginning with the introductory class in November.

On December 8^th the JR WPH Hood River program was treated to a special handball clinic, hosted by HRHA CEO Stephen Stenberg and OHA Chairman Nick Flores. All 12 students were in attendance for the clinic, with about half the students having taken the class in previous years, and half the students being brand new to handball. The clinic was broken into four parts: observation of coach Stephen and coach Nick playing a brief singles demonstration, serve practice with emphasis on directing the ball to the opponents off hand, return of serve practice with emphasis on using the off hand, and singles practice with the students rotating and keeping score.

A new group of students will be introduced to the handball class starting in early February. As the students improve, they will be transitioned from the white-label ball to the red-label ball. And, as the handball season progresses, students from the JR WPH Hood River program will be encouraged to participate in the State and Regional championships, as well as the Hood River Invitational in June.

Thank you so much to the World Players of Handball for their continued support of the Horizon Christian School handball program! To learn more and support the World Players of Handball, please visit wphlive.tv. To learn more and support the Hood River Handball Association, please contact the HRHA at hoodriverha@gmail.com. To learn more about the Oregon Handball Association, please visit www.OregonHandball.org.

Written by Nick Flores, Chairman
Oregon Handball Association

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 Rd, Tucson, Arizona, 85716.

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