Book excerpt: Join the growing number of people who are discovering the fun and excitement of team handball! With more points scored than soccer and more continuous action than basketball, team handball has been a popular international sport for years, and now its popularity is on the rise in the United States. No wonder--this fast-paced team sport lets players take full advantage of their running, jumping, and throwing abilities. Written by two former U.S. Olympic players and expert coaches, Team Handball: Steps to Success presents 12 easy-to-follow steps to becoming an accomplished player. Each step is an easy transition from the one before. The first steps provide a solid foundation of basic skills and concepts. As players progress, they’ll learn how to combine these skills to attack the goal, decide when to pass and when to shoot, and support their teammates when attacking and defending. The final steps show how teammates can organize as a unit in attack and on defense and how good communication contributes to the effectiveness of the team. Team Handball: Steps to Success features 62 drills that develop players’ shooting, dribbling, passing, and catching skills. The drills come with performance goals and a list of key points to remember in executing them. Plus, many drills include instructions for increasing or decreasing the difficulty of the drill. By studying the book’s 187 illustrations and following the simple instructions, players will learn • why each skill or concept is important, • the keys to proper technique, • how to analyze and correct common errors, • how to practice the skills in game-like situations, and • how to check their progress. The book’s appendixes explain the basic rules of the game and show how to modify a given floor space to create a team handball court. Part of the highly popular Steps to Success Activity Series, this book will help players learn the game quickly and provide the foundation for their future development.