Checked in at the Y and this old guy was about in tears.  The Houston Y was like the Downtown Denver Y on steroids.  Everything you loved and hated about the Y was there.  Stairs up the kazoo; little porticos, niches and stairways leading to the dreams and aspirations of sweat of the past.  Old crap that seemed prehistoric to some but not to Handball players - we started playing on cave walls way back when.  I was in heaven.  And so were the young players.  The Houston Y had a force, an ambiance about it that screamed Handball and a dedication to it.  It's old school, get to work athletics there and it’s not such a bad place to be.  Unfortunately the Y will be a memory within the year.....

 

Last year seeding was well done but scheduling was a nightmare for our team, because of several factors including my inattentiveness.  This year both the scheduling and the seeding were well done.  As an inexperienced coach, I'm still learning the ropes but my team felt that the seeding and bracketing were both fair. 

 

Coaches meeting was interesting.  After conducting normal business I brought up the ongoing rift amongst the WPH and the USHA and what it meant to Colorado Handball.  It was the elephant in the room and I had been thinking about it all night. At the meeting I expressed that this issue has become an Achilles heel and needs to be resolved.  I presented the fact that the continuing turmoil and non-resolution has created angst and division within the ranks of lifetime supporters of the USHA and Handball in general.  The response was civil but pointed.  Mike Dau presented, as always, a well-rounded, concise, historical representation of issues; Mike Steele offered the official viewpoint of the USHA (including non-negotiable items).  All the coaches subsequent to the meeting shared their thoughts in a thoughtful, poignant manner.  

 

The bottom line the USHA ran a Collegiate Tournament with a 50% participation rate.  It is shameful and sad that a sport, in such desperate need for numbers, is undergoing this upheaval.

 

Mines had a contingent of 7 women and 1 man.  errr sorry Freudian slip.  We actually had seven guys with the heart of a mouse and a lady with the heart of a lion.  Just kidding -the Mines team were determined and focused despite dealing with a mediocre coach (me).  But they scored big time because they had heart and determination. 

 

No Finalists on this team, B's round of 8; 2 Intermediate round of 16; A doubles match that in second round saw a lost to the 16th seed.  Lots of REFFING with our group.  Why?????  because we want to know Handball.  Lots of questions to the experts about reffing and lots of "well, it's a judgment call". The CSM team ended up placing 9th for the combined division and 5th in Division II Men’s - pretty damn good! Men’s team standings; Women’s team standings; Combined team standings Division I; Team standings Division II

 

Walking out of the Y you'd think that the CSM team was older than the Y.  Hobbled, bending over, mumbling about the fly shot that they should have taken; the team was reminiscing about coulda, shoulda, woulda.........

 

It was a tourney like no other; a changing of the season and the times.  The team didn't know the tension and the heartache of the difficult decisions made in tournaments in the past and it showed.  Rarely was there a display of frustration and a visceral confrontation of years past. 

 

Mines was one of the first to arrive and the last to leave the tournament.  It was not all Handball 24/7, the team tore up downtown Houston, snuck in some Frisbee Golf and did what engineering students do with extra time on their hands-things you don't want to know about.

 

All in all a great trip and very competitive Handball, and a memorable experience for all participants including the old guy.  Thanx to the USHA, CHA and Costigan youth for the opportunity to represent Colorado and the School of Mines.

 

Gene Schneider