2) After physical testing for the individual’s jumping/sprinting LI: A handball player has to be able to make decisions
ability and measurements for their height, arm span and quickly as the game is so fast the situation in front
hands were taken, their ‘game intelligence’ was assessed. of you is constantly changing. It is also a very
What psychological/cognitive factors make an excellent tactical game so you need to be able to play to the
Handball player? tactics that suit the game.
SF: I think the ability to read a game and make quick LB: The cognitive factors are the ability to understand
decisions is a must in handball as it is such a quick tactics, and the little things that cannot be taught
game. Speed and jump is also a great attribute as but that instinctively come from the player. The 6
most of the game involves doing both of these – month assessment period looked at the coachability
a lot. of a player to do things differently. In addition, the
life of an elite athlete is a unique one and not
BB: Tenacity, Focused, Resilient, Self confident, Self suitable to everyone, someone may have a dream
motivated, Competitive, Performs under pressure, of becoming an Olympic champion, but the reality
Team player. of the hard work and sacrifices that have to be
made are sometimes hard to take.
“a handball player has to be able to make decisions quickly
as the game is so fast the situation in front of you is
constantly changing”
Sport IQ : September 2008 41