Eleven juniors and three collegiate handball players travelled from all over the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to the Los Caballeros Sports Complex in Southern California eager to learn how to improve their game from eight-time National Singles Champion and first-ranked American pro, Dave Chapman.  For this camp, Dave assembled a first-rate coaching team consisting of two-time National Singles Champion, John Bike, fifth-ranked pro, Emmett Peixoto, seventh-ranked pro, David Fink, and Chapman-trained coach, Gary Maushardt.

Since coming out of retirement in 2008, Dave has been earning a good part of his living by coaching clinics and camps, primarily for masters’ players who can afford to learn from the best coach in the game. “I think I can offer players of any caliber instruction in the techniques needed to improve their game, at least 20%, as long as they’re willing to practice what they’ve learned.” When asked why he was offering a junior clinic Dave explained, “It was my way of giving back to handball.  I lowered the price by almost half, just enough to cover the cost of the camp, and did not take a profit. All the money was used to sponsor as many kids as possible.”

The Chapman method of coaching emphasizes demonstration, observation, and correction of players. “I use an interactive hands-on approach to coaching rather than a classroom lecture-type format,” explained Dave.

During the first two days of the junior camp, the coaches tirelessly demonstrated the proper technique for each of the key shots in handball and then observed and corrected the camper’s efforts to hit them properly. While all of the campers were able to hit some shots well, they all needed instruction with the proper execution of others, especially with their non-dominant hand. The coaches used instructional games to reinforce the techniques the campers learned so they could have fun playing handball and not just drill, drill, drill.

On Saturday afternoon, the campers and coaches all had a great time going outside and playing big-ball three-wall doubles. It was a completely different kind of handball and upset the pecking order just enough to provide some unexpected results among the campers.

On the third and final day, the campers were given the opportunity to play their two favorite pros. All but one of the fourteen campers chose to face the ultimate challenge by playing Dave Chapman, and then divided their second choice evenly between Emmett and Dave Fink. Needless to say, the pros prevailed, but the amateurs had fun trying to score a few points. The coaches ended the camp by dividing the campers into A and B groups, then held two round robin tournaments so that all of the talk about who could beat who was finally determined where it should be—on the court.

Chapman praised the campers efforts, “They took well to the instruction and worked very hard over three days.  I know for a fact most of them went home very sore and tired, but happy.”
When asked what was learned from their experience several campers praised what Team Chapman likes to call “the best handball warm-up.” The “warm-up” was designed by Dave to reinforce proper ball-striking techniques, and if used consistently it will develop the muscle memory required to hit precise shots spontaneously in game situations. Campers also expressed a lot of excitement about the new serves they learned, especially the hard overhand three-wall serve. As one camper noted, “I can’t believe how many weak returns I get from good players when I use the three-wall serve. It’s almost impossible to return when I hit it well.”

While most of each day was spent on the handball court, the campers spent their evenings enjoying a night at Dave and Busters, Disneyland, and at a local pizza parlor. The different settings were appreciated and the campers enjoyed spending casual time with the pros and getting to know one another. We suspect these new friendships will continue, as many of these players will certainly see each other at national tournaments over the coming years.

Because many of our juniors are from working-class backgrounds, not many of them could afford the cost of the camp. We were fortunate in that generous donors, who love handball and want to see its most promising players reach their potential, sponsored most of our campers. We would like to thank all of our many sponsors, but we cannot list all of them here. However, we must acknowledge the extraordinary generosity of the Santa Cruz handball group, the Manitoba Handball Association, John Cammett, Rodney Fink and the WPH’s Fred Banfield. This event would not have been possible without the work of the USHA’s Director of Player Development, Gary Cruz. We want to thank the USHA for sanctioning our event and providing handballs. We would also like to thank Captain Roy Harvey and the Los Angeles Fire Department for providing a lunch for all the coaches and campers. Finally, we must thank Dave’s mother, Kris, for bringing healthy snacks and a positive spirit to camp each day. Thank you!