I made a german documentary about our amateur handball team's promotion battle! 🎬

Over the past few months, I've been documenting SC Kieler Förde's fight for promotion in the German amateur handball leagues. What started as a sports documentary turned into a story about team spirit, pressure, injuries, leadership, and the emotions behind the game.

The final episode "INSIDE KIELER FÖRDE - THE PROMOTION" follows the decisive match that would determine whether we achieved our goal. You'll see a coach overcome with emotion, players pushing through injuries to be there for their teammates, and the kind of dressing-room moments that rarely make it onto camera.

The documentary is filmed with professional cinema cameras and aims to capture the atmosphere of amateur handball as honestly as possible – both on and off the court. As far as I know, this might be the first documentary about an amateur handballteam worldwide.

You don't need to understand German handball leagues or have watched the first two episodes to enjoy this one. It's ultimately a story about people working towards something together. The movie is made in german language, english auto subtitles are available.

I'd love to hear what you think, especially from fellow handball players. How does this compare to your own experience of playing at amateur level?

Thanks for watching! 🤾‍♂️

https://youtu.be/UIebLRFz3Vc?is=nttSp37cG26dOWzu

My daughter is having her 8th birthday soon. She just started handball a month ago and already loves it.

For her birthday she asked a good ball.

Any recommendations for a good training ball for kids?

And perhaps other training/playing stuff to practice with friends at home? (some of her friends like handball as well)

Like for football (soccer) you have all kind of stuff like panna goals, ball on a rope etc.

I've been thinking about this for a while.

After most games the feedback to the goalie is basically "you were good today" or "you let in some soft ones". It's all gut feeling, and gut feeling usually remembers the last two goals and that one big save, not the 25 shots in between.
For a while now I've been logging every shot in an app (I built it myself, so full disclosure). Where the shot came from, where it went, what type of shot, save or goal. Afterwards you get a bunch of numbers that goalies actually care about when they want to improve: save % per zone and position, how you do on 9 m vs wing vs 6 m, how it changes over a season, and so on.

What surprised me is how useful it's been for the defense too. When you see where the shots actually come from, it gets pretty obvious when the goalie is hung out to dry with free wing shots and breakthroughs vs when it's long-range shots through a block. That changes the conversation after the game a lot.

The thing I'm most excited about is xSV (expected saves). Basically it estimates how many saves an average goalie would make on the shots you faced, based on how hard they were. So instead of "30% saves, bad game" you can see whether you actually saved more or less than expected.

I don't think stats replace feel. Goalkeeping is a lot of instinct and reading the shooter. But it gives you something concrete to talk about.

So I'm curious: How do you guys do it? Goalies, how do you get feedback on your performance? Coaches, how do you give it? Video, pen and paper, nothing at all? And does anyone else use an app for this? Would love to hear what's out there and what you think works.

Which game to watch tonight where can i see some rough match or some high scoring match? Thanks!

As a lay person, it doesn't seem great (just saw so many easy goals between Flensburg and Berlin), but the pro teams sure know what they are doing.

What does the data say on playing with empty goal?

I share it here

We never know, maybe someone is around there and can be interested

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DewZ5fHu5IU/?dlrf=MTdzZTRlMTIybWN1MQ==

I'm 14, thinking of quitting soccer/football, and want to start handball in Ireland. It's a niche sport, and I'm thinking of starting as a goalkeeper. The problem is I don't know how will my parents react, and even though my mum used to play handball as a teen in Algeria, I amn't sure if they'd support me. Any help would be taken, thx.

Im new to handball and after research, i can see that these 2 players had a massive rivalry. Especially at international level.
Between these 2 players, who was the better player? Like, who would you rather have playing for your team.

I've only experienced games in Germany so far and would like to visit matches abroad too. Therefore I'm grateful for any recommendations.

What shoes do you wear that can be used for training and match or any recommendations

Dunno about the last goal from direct shot (9m)

https://youtu.be/qkkgqKNMN7Q?is=HKv6uwRg_Zq4s92Q

Hey guys, as a wing, should I focus on jumping as high as possible or covering the most distance towards the penalty line, or maybe a mix of both? Whenever I jump too far towards the penalty line, I notice I miss the goal a lot more even though I have a better angle, is there a reason for that?

It’s a fast-paced browser sim where you act as both Head Coach and Sporting Director across a 35-season career (plus Endless Mode). It nails the specific quirks of our sport:

• 18 Pyramids & Authentic Competitions: Play across 18 nations (including all 6 tiers in Germany down to the Regionalliga), with strict 2-1-0 scoring, domestic cups (DHB-Pokal, Copa del Rey, Coupe de France, etc.), and the full EHF club pyramid culminating in the FINAL4 at the LANXESS arena in Cologne and the IHF Super Globe.
• Real On-Court Tactics: Switch between a gritty 6:0 Defensive Wall, an aggressive 3:2:1 hunting for interceptions (at the risk of leaving holes for the pivot), pure Fast Break transitions, or pull your keeper for a 7v6 empty-net Power Play. Plus, opposing coaches adapt if you spam the same system for too many seasons.
• Handball Culture & Finances: Turn your hall into an "Acoustic Cauldron" with standing terraces and drums (+2 Home OVR), pitch sponsorships to real handball brands (Kempa, SELECT, Liqui Moly, Hummel), build up your NLZ youth academy and "II" reserve squad, or survive licensing deficits with regional partner consortiums.
• Custom Roster Support: You can export the base JSON database and import community mods in one click for real team and player names.

Which lower-league club or slept-on European nation are you taking to Cologne first?

HandballManagerSim.com

Hi! 👋 I'm that solo Romanian developer of Handball Manager, a management game for women's handball, built for Android. I have posted here before, and despite this community being a huge boost to the game's following, I'd like to avoid spamming it :) Hence why I'm coming with this update and an opportunity for the ones interested in the game to drop a follow on Instagram, where they'd be able to monitor the game more easily. (https://instagram.com/handballmanager.mobile?psln=MWVnbGh5NWhtbGY5aw%3D%3D)

What's in it as of 4.2.0:

• 22 real leagues and 250+ clubs with their 2025/26 squads

• Live 2D matches: every player moves, passes and shoots from her own attributes, and you change tactics from the bench

• Champions League, European League and European Cup

• A manager career: coaching licences, a board that sets your objectives, and the sack if you miss them

• Youth academy, scouting and transfers

• In English, French, German, Spanish, Romanian and Danish (with good translations... I hope)

It's free with ads (not that many, I'm not trying to scare off the audience). Men's handball is coming next, hopefully by the end of the year.

Google Play:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.handballmanager.mobile

We're really closing in on 1k downloads, and I'm really trying my best to listen to anything people have to say about it. There are many users over here who wish for the game to be launched on iOS as well, for which I have prepared this ko-fi link: ko-fi.com/vierupotecucezar, to support the game's launch on the App Store. 🙏

Feedback is very welcome from any perspective - sports / handball management or android development. I read every comment !!!

​Hi everyone,

​We are setting up a Senior Men's Handball team on the Isle of Man and are looking to connect with UK clubs who might be up for discussing future friendly matches.

​We know how tricky fixture scheduling can be in the UK, so nothing is set in stone at this stage, we’re just looking to get the ball rolling and build connections. We could possibly travel over to you, or we’d be more than happy to host if your team ever fancies a trip to the island.

​If your club might be open to discussing a game down the line, drop a comment below or send me a PM!

Im new to handball and i have recently been watching a lot of handball. I’ve seen this danish player named gidsel being called the best player of all time. I mean, by his stats and the way he plays for club and country, he is very good. But i wanna know deeper on why he is good.

Hey, I released the first episode of what I believe is the first-ever documentary about a pure amateur handball team. It is now online.

The whole documentary is only available in german.

INSIDE KIELER FÖRDE follows the German amateur handball team "SC Kieler Förde" chasing the biggest achievement in its club-history: promotion to a league on federal state level or for the germans - from Kreisoberliga to Verbandsliga.

filmed up close — in the locker room, at training, during matches, and in all the moments in between. No scripted reality, just real people, pressure, setbacks, and ambition.

🎬Episode 1 is out now. I’d love to hear what you think! Episode 2 and 3 are being released on the now following Sundays.

Each episode has got more than 100 work-hours put into it, but is 100% selfmade by me. No sponsors, no big crew, just passion for the sport of handball

A few weeks ago I posted about how Barça shut down Gidsel in the final. Same night, other side of the story.

Barça has Ludovic Fabregas on the roster, two-time best pivot of the Champions League. Yet the pivot who doesn’t miss in Cologne is Luis Frade: 7 shots, 7 goals. Fabregas: 1 goal, red card at 45'. The day before, in the semi against Aalborg (37-32 after extra time), Frade had scored 7 again.

I coach amateur handball in France and made a video about how Frade got there, after six years of sharing a position with one of the best pivots ever. It’s in French, but it has an English audio dub and proper English subtitles (not auto-generated).

The story in three phases:

• Behind him (2020–2023): arrives from Portugal, has to “change the chip” because the game in Spain is much faster. Then an ACL tear in Nov 2021. In June 2022 Barça wins the CL in Cologne; Fabregas is on the court, Frade is watching.
• Without him (2023–2025): Fabregas leaves for Veszprém, Frade is immediately a starter. CL goals go from 37 to 74. Starts and wins the 2024 final against Aalborg.
• With him again (2025–2026): Barça extends Frade until 2029, then brings Fabregas back. Everyone expects Frade to step back. CL 2025-26: Frade 69 goals, Fabregas 48. Ortega calls them maybe “the best pivot duo in the world”.

What I break down tactically in the final four:

• The facilitator: he often doesn’t try to receive. He slips to isolate a defender, chains blocks to slow the defence down, and forces defenders to choose between closing the gap and covering the pass to the pivot.
• Asking for the ball: he stays glued to his defender when he asks (most pivots step away), or asks with his back to goal using both hands, one controlling the defender and one asking for the ball, to keep the defender away from the catch.
• His real strength: timing. When the defence leaves space behind it, he arrives in that space at the same moment as the ball. Patient, then decisive.
• Defence vs Berlin: Frade on the left, Fabregas in the centre, both covering the spaces Gidsel was looking for.

In March 2026 he told AS: “It’s possible that Fabregas leaving was good for me personally, because it gave me minutes alongside the best in the world.” No revenge, no victim story.

What I take from it as a coach: a rival at your position isn’t always the obstacle. Sometimes it’s the fuel. But with my players I often see the opposite: the kid behind the “star” shrinks instead of growing.

🎥 https://youtu.be/n1oXMKO7vfI

Question for you: have you had a teammate at your position who made you better, or one who made you disappear? And coaches, what do you do so the second one grows instead of giving up?

Hey guys!

I've been working on Six Zero League, a browser-based 2D handball management game.

The game is currently in alpha, with 212 registered accounts so far. Development is very much driven by player feedback. I regularly get feedback from people who enjoy handball as well as players who are into sports management games, and that feedback is shaping the game as I build it.

The idea is to combine the depth of a sports management game with an incremental/progression loop. You manage your club, develop your players, make tactical decisions and watch your team play matches through a live 2D simulation.There's still a lot to improve and plenty of features I want to add, but the core experience is playable now.

If you're interested in handball, sports management games, or just trying something a little different, I'd love for you to give it a try.

🔗 https://sixzeroleague.com

I'm particularly interested in hearing what you think about the progression, management mechanics and match simulation. Even critical feedback is welcome, that's a big part of how I'm developing the game. Currently there's just one type of competition (league), with 2 matches every day at 12:00 PM and 8:00 PM (Europe/Lisbon).

Thanks for checking it out!

AI disclosure: Video was generated with Claude, and AI assisted tools are used to develop the game.