When Monae Hendrickson walked into a women’s handball tryout in Los Angeles, she expected a quiet session with just a handful of curious first-timers.
Instead, she found herself in the middle of a vibrant crowd of over 100 women, all eager to test their athletic chops and see if they could carve a path toward the 2028 US Olympic Games.
The Olympics Opens Doors for a New Generation
With the 2028 Olympics coming to Los Angeles, the host nation automatically earns a spot in every sport — including handball.
While popular internationally, handball has barely made a mark in the US, overshadowed by basketball, football, and baseball.
That meant Team USA had to start nearly from scratch, hunting for raw talent rather than seasoned players.
Athletic Potential Over Experience
Most of the attendees, including Hendrickson, had never played handball.
Many hadn’t competed in organized sports for years.
But that didn’t matter. USA Team Handball was searching for athletic potential above all else.
Handball itself is a whirlwind of speed, strategy, and strength — a mix of soccer, basketball, and water polo played on land.
Players sprint, jump, and launch a small ball into the net with a combination of power and precision that takes years to perfect.
Still, the energy at the tryout made the appeal instantly clear.
First-Timers Step Up
Hendrickson, 30, a former rugby player, learned about the tryout just two days prior through women’s sports influencer Coach Jackie.
She was blown away by how quickly others signed up.
“Almost everybody signed up within 24 to 48 hours,” she said.
“There were over a hundred people who ended up showing up.”
The day was less about handball knowledge and more about raw athletic ability.
“About 95 percent of the people there were just like me.
They had never played handball before, didn’t even know about the sport, and just wanted to be in a competitive athletic environment,” Hendrickson explained.
A Glimpse of the Olympic Dream
The tryout wasn’t a ticket to the Olympics but a glimpse into what could be — a test to see who could survive two years of grueling preparation.
Hendrickson did her homework anyway, watching Olympic matches and studying player stats, even if she fell short in height compared to the average handball athlete.
The intensity of the sport surprised many.
Hendrickson recalls her first defensive play vividly: “I realized you can just grab onto people.
I got grabbed and thought: ‘Oh my god, I forgot we can do that.’ It’s a mental shift.”
A Surge of Support and Community
Head coach Sarah Gascon, 44, has spent more than two decades in handball as a player and coach.
She described the tryout as unlike anything she’s ever seen.
“It wasn’t just a tryout. It was this massive movement of women supporting women,” she told the Daily Mail.
Athletes expressed deep gratitude, some in tears, for the chance to reconnect with sports and find a community they had missed.
Registrations surged so quickly that Gascon had to close the list to prevent overcrowding.
Funding Challenges and a Call for Support
Despite the excitement, the program is drastically underfunded.
Hendrickson and Gascon emphasized that players often cover travel, lodging, and gear themselves.
Training camps sometimes require relocation, and full-time jobs must be balanced with the demands of elite training.
Gascon revealed that the program needs $250,000 just for this year and closer to $1 million for proper operation.
To help, a GoFundMe campaign has been launched to support travel, training, and competition costs for hopeful athletes.
Dreams Bigger Than Medals
Most attendees know they won’t make the Olympic roster, but that hasn’t dampened enthusiasm.
For Hendrickson, the tryout was a reminder of the joy of competition and the thrill of learning a new sport.
“I did get a lot of comments telling me I should try cricket next,” she laughed.
At this point, she just might take them up on it.
What’s next?
The next US handball tryout will be held in Fort Pierce, Florida, over Valentine’s Day weekend, February 14 and 15, offering another opportunity for aspiring athletes to step onto the path to Olympic history.
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