Handball Club’s double celebrations

Jun 1 2011 by Paul Thomson, East Kilbride News

EK82 Handball Club celebrated a major double last week as three of their sides claimed Scottish Cups – and a whopping 11 members made the Scotland under-15 side for a prestigious tournament.

Coach Michael Lavery was thrilled with the club’s performances and believes the success is the first step on the long road to the European Handball Championships in 2015 for these youngsters.

The spectacular week began when EK82 claimed three Scottish Cups in Cumbernauld.

The boys’ super-minis (under-10s) beat Livingston 7-5 in their final, the under-12 boys also beat Livingston, this time 14-1, while the under-14 boys conquered Ayr in an exciting 16-13 triumph.

And following that success, things got even better for EK82 as no less than 11 members were called up to the under-15 Scotland squads for an international training event in Sweden which will culminate in their participation in the prestigious Partille Cup on June 27.

Goalkeepers Brian Taylor, Caitlin Paul as well as outfield players Jack Lees, Cameron Fyfe, Christopher Mowet, Benjamin Muir, Robin Perrie, James Smith, Aimee Taylor, Sarah Clelland and Amy Stuart, were the lucky ones who were picked for the squads.

And coach Michael Lavery (pictured right), who claimed the EK Sports Personality coach of the year award in March, was delighted that their dedication to the sport since primary school has paid off.

He beamed: “I’m absolutely proud of every one of them for making the Scotland team. They train 10 hours a week and they all deserve to go and enjoy the experience.

“More could have gone in the end but a few just missed out, unfortunately.

“But to win three Scottish Cups just before that announcement was fantastic for the club as well.

“The under-14 girls just missed out on making it four after they lost to Livingston but after winning four Scottish Cups last year that’s us won seven out of eight in the last two years, so we can’t complain.

“It’s a great group of kids we have here and they all started playing in primary four when I went round the schools and held handball sessions, so now they are in third year at high school they’ve come on so well since then.

“They’ve won at least one Scottish Cup every year since we started and that’s a great achievement.”

After witnessing such great success, Michael is hoping this will be the start of bigger things to come for these youngsters.

And he believes, with handball featuring in next year’s Olympic Games in London, there will be plenty of kids out there keen to take up the sport.

He added: “The Partille Cup in Gothenburg is the largest children’s handball tournament in the world and kids from all over the world take part from pre-school age to under-21s, so it will be huge for the Scotland team members to be involved.

“We are aiming to have these kids involved in the European Handball Championships in a few years time, but the game will get a lot of exposure over the next year or so with Handball featuring at London 2012.

“When people see it being played on television, I think there will be an influx for our club and clubs around the country.

“Handball is a great game and when head teachers at schools see it and the pupils watch it as well I think they’ll be hooked – and we will be ready for them.

“I’m hoping to branch out to Strathaven, Rutherglen and Cambuslang and possibly Hamilton as well and with our festivals in schools and the primary five handball league doing so well, I believe the game is only going to get bigger over the next few years.”

A fundraiser for the youngsters heading to Sweden will be held on Saturday at the Ballerup Hall. There will be food and a live band on the night and tickets can be obtained by contacting the club’s website at www.ek82handball.co.uk