The Last Coach of Ireland's Men's National Team: Roman Abramenko

Photo source: Roman Abramenko

We had the privilege of talking with Roman Abramenko, the last former coach of the men’s national team, to delve into his Irish journey.

His handball journey spans continents and cultures, reflecting a deep passion for the sport. From his early days as a player in the Soviet Union and various countries, to coaching in Israel, Ireland, and France, Roman's story is one of dedication, perseverance, and commitment.

In our conversation with Roman, we explore his early days and professional handball player career, his journey to Ireland, his experiences coaching in Ireland, the challenges he faced, and his insights into the future of the sport.

Russian in origins, his handball journey began at the age of 10 in the Soviet Union, where he received comprehensive training at a sports school, including guidance from experienced coaches. By 14, he had earned a spot on the youth Russian national team and at 15, joined the prestigious Dynamo Astrakhan club, a champion club of the USSR. Initially starting with the junior team, he quickly rose to play alongside five Olympic champions on the first team, setting a high standard for excellence and fostering his development as a player.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, he sought opportunities elsewhere, eventually finding his way to Israel where he played for Maccabi Motzkin in the first division. Seeking even higher competition, he embarked into Europe, playing for esteemed clubs such as: TTH HOLSTEBRO in Denmark, PSV Aurich in Germany, SKA Minsk in Belarus, FC Porto in Portugal, UPV Barakaldo in Spain, and Kragerø IF in Norway.

At around the age of 30, Roman decided to retire from playing handball, focusing in studying Law in Israel.

Despite stepping off the court, he remained engaged with the sport for a short while, where he began his coaching experience as a junior team trainer in Israel in 2006 for 1 year. Later, after a long break from handball,  Roman's journey took an unexpected turn in 2014 when he arrived in Ireland.

Feeling a strong urge to contribute and share his expertise, he reached out to the Olympic Handball Ireland, where it was suggested to coach the student men’s team UCD.  As a UCD coach, he led the team to the final played against Dublin International. Although the team couldn't secure the title, they achieved significant success as a student team in the league. At that final Roman's coaching skills caught the attention of the president Fintan Lyons, as the team's remarkable success surprised him and led to an unexpected offer: the opportunity to coach the men's national team.

In addition to his coaching experience, Roman served as a consultant for the Russian Female National Team U-18 in 2021 and since 2020, he has also worked as a consultant for Kaustik Volgograd in the top league of Russia.

In 2023, he chose to move to France because he wanted to be more involved in handball. Coaching the Irish national team from 2015 until 2019 didn't give him enough opportunities to work with the players. As he explained, "Because A, we didn't meet very often, and B, well, not everybody was as serious about handball as I was." 

He's currently coaching SBBL Handball Béthune, a team from the 3rd league of France, a country with numerous international successes in the sport, including at the Olympics.

"I love this team! Girls are eager to learn. They understand where they are,  understand the level of knowledge. They see the results and see it working. Furthermore, they are enthusiastic despite losing and this amount of trust I get here, that's actually why I did move the house after a month in this club."

He emphasized the significant importance of being eager to learn, as being open to learning from others fosters a positive team dynamic.

The national team coaching journey in Ireland began in 2015 through a player recruitment process facilitated by the Olympic Handball Ireland, however, he faced unexpected challenges related to players commitment, "At first, it was surprising to hear some players say, ‘I might come to help out, but I can't commit to regular attendance or travel.’ And I thought, ‘Wow, guys, this is your country!’ " 

Some players' lack of commitment led Roman to make difficult decisions. "A few players had to leave because I felt we didn't need them. I preferred players who may be less skilled but were proud to represent their country and wanted to contribute. We don't have a superstar like Michael Hansen to come and rescue Ireland. We're all at the top level!"

Despite losing some players, it seems that the core of the team remained, players that went on to participate in three World Championships and European qualifiers until COVID intervened and the decision to abolish the team.

Participation in the first tournament presented challenges, as some players needed to be convinced by Roman to join. Ultimately, 11 players participated. However, for the second World Championship, "Everybody was there and everybody was happy to play. And we played, we played well!"

In addition to the tournaments, it was mentioned that "All the official tournaments were paid by the International and European Handball Federation. And pretty generously. We got everything covered. However, our training sessions and, if we ever played any unofficial tournaments, players paid for themselves. The company I worked for was generous enough to sponsor the national team with a little money."

The Olympic Handball Ireland allocated some funds for the national team, from where some small amount was allocated for the children development in the first years, while the rest were allocated for players tickets who couldn't afford them. A small portion was also allocated for physical training expenses and hall rental, all organized by team captain Alex Kulesh, Chris O'Reilley, and Julien Eberle. “The boys were very involved, sometimes even more involved than I would think, and they did a good management work.  So the boys did a great job!”

The national team trainings initially started in Ireland with 3 - 5 players, however, even they were missing. "Then, more players began missing trainings, and I said, ‘Look, it's not worth my time or your time to meet once a week. What's the point?’ Most of those who lived in Ireland couldn't withstand the competition and commitment required for the team. The foreign players who lived in Denmark and Germany were better prepared. So, what was the point in spending time in Ireland with players who wouldn't play or would play little? I doubted it was my decision, it seemed as if it had died on its own."

As no trainings were happening in Ireland, the team conducted their training sessions abroad for a couple of days, facing more advanced teams to enhance their skills. “We would gather in Denmark, Spain, or in Germany. We would rent a hall, fly in together, or drive in together. And have a few days, say a weekend, a long weekend, training and playing against local teams.”

Considering the limited time available for team trainings, the players who also competed abroad or in the Irish League, under the Roman's leading coaching, elevated Ireland's standing in the World Championship from 13th place in the first participation to 12th place in the second, and to 11th place in the third. Despite facing challenges and having limited resources, their hard work and persistence demonstrated that with patience and dedicated time for growth, improvements can be achieved. “In our last World Championship for developing nations, if Joshua Krohn Grace shot on Nigeria's goal in the final seconds had been successful, resulting in one more goal, we would have played for 6th - 9th places. So, it would have been a stunning result. The team played excellently, and I'm still proud and happy for the team.”

Roman attributes the results to his players, stating, “I was lucky to have great players!“, being proud of each one of the players that took part of the team success and country achievements. The player's dedication, commitment, handwork and organization skills, are well recognized by Roman that made the team bring the best results for Ireland. 

But what was Olympic Handball Ireland's involvement in the national team story besides the budget allocated? "We did it autonomously. I've never had any help from the Federation, aside from organizing the official tournaments, for which they were paid. They hired me, but they didn't pay me. They appointed me, and that's actually it. They started to become involved only when there were official tournaments to handle tickets and call the players, and that's it. Otherwise, I didn't know what they wanted, what they thought, or what they were supposed to do. There was a lot of talk about building handball in Ireland, but as far as I know, nothing was done. So at some point, I just realized people just talk."

Given the substantial improvement of the national team's performance from 2015 to 2019, leading up to its abolition, having experienced players competing abroad, we wondered how far they could have advanced if they had been allowed to continue playing. “It's not an easy question to answer. This particular team was developing well because the players themselves grew and developed. I believe this team would have continued to improve even further.

However, in the case of world championships for developing nations, they typically only allow players under 25 or 24. The players were maturing, and I didn't see new talent emerging. Perhaps there were younger players elsewhere, but it could have been a logical limitation. We may not have been able to field enough players for the last world championship for developing nations.

So, what defines the success of the national team isn't just a specific group of players, rather it's the foundation of handball in schools. Without that foundation, perhaps there would be no point in competing.

First, let's have something in schools. I'm saying that we don't even have it at the school level, so it's too early to discuss the transition between school and the adult level. Obviously, there must be a plan, there must be a structure. You can look at other countries for examples of how to transition from school handball to the adult level, but we don't even have an established school-level program. Let's start there.”

The actual state of development of Irish Handball and the crucial elements needed to propel the sport to a higher level are perceived as follows: "I think it's dying. If we're speaking of Ireland, Irish handball is dying, and I don't know much about it, but I think it's non-existent. There are always the same ingredients: popularity, knowledge, and resources. All three things together, they can develop the sport. Now it's not popular in Ireland. It doesn't have resources and it doesn't have much knowledge. So for me, it doesn't look optimistic now. If Luminița Dulău is still there, she's a great enthusiast. From time to time we had knowledgeable and enthusiastic people coming there, but again they weren't blended in. They weren't required.

So it should come from the top down. There must be a decision to develop this type of sport, must be resources allocated, initially management knowledge to invite and hire the right people and then must be right handball knowledge injected in the lowest level. For example children and that should be maintained for a few years which is again resources, and then you would have a school league, a junior league. This way you could promote it and manage it, but again there is no popularity, no strategy, no decision, no resources, and no knowledgeable people, not even 1 ingredient."

In regard to a role model, Roman suggest to look at the Denmark strategy on how they have an excellent structure for preparing children, their methodology, and tournament structure. Their well-designed systems for tournaments to engage and interest children and how to transition from youth to professional levels, Roman says that “cannot be adequately explained, you have to visit the federation and ask specific questions about particular elements of their structure.”

We also sought opinions on how Irish Handball could be developed.

“Perhaps the only objective way to improve Irish handball in the current situation is to have more people coming from abroad for student exchanges or work. If we are lucky to have some Romanian, Croatian, Danish guys, or girls coming to live in Ireland and join the league, this could significantly enhance the league. As of now, nothing else—neither players nor trainers—seems to be a viable solution.

I speak from experience, having also tried in the United States, specifically in Washington DC. The concept there is more or less the same. People just pay 10 bucks each, rent a hall, and come to play. Migrants from Guatemala, Mexico, Brazil, and other countries participate. So, in non-handball countries, this is how it works: the structure is there, but the education is lacking.

Therefore, the only way to actually improve performance and have more fun in the league is to have more people coming from other countries, people who already know something about handball. It may sound pessimistic, but that's what I think.”

The advice given to Irish players seeking to further their involvement in handball was as follows: ”It may sound overly pessimistic, but I'll say whatever I said to Alex Kulesh, to Blake VanDuyvenvoorde: if you love this game, and it's a considerable part of your life, get up and go, get up and leave Ireland, try to do it elsewhere.”

However, the decision to abolish the national team came as a surprise to Roman, “Honestly, I'm hearing it only from you. I didn't know it was abolished. What happened after COVID… I was invited by a friend of mine, a coach of the Latvian national team. He invited the team to come to Latvia to join a tournament with Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian national teams, and that's a great honour. They are all three great teams with people playing in Bundesliga and elsewhere. I asked the boys in the chat, and of the approximately 15 members, only three or four answered. So it kind of felt like the end of it. I think it was December 2021.”

In conclusion, Roman Abramenko's perspective, actions, and involvement with the Irish men's national team have left an indelible mark on the pages of Irish handball history. Despite the challenges faced, including player commitment issues, restricted trainings and lack of support, Roman's dedication and coaching pushed the team for better results. 

Ireland's journey, under Roman's guidance and players commitment, reflects a determined effort to make its mark on the handball landscape. Although questions of "what if" may linger, there is ample opportunity to focus on the present and ask, "what can be done better from now on?"

Roman's Irish experience serves as a reminder of the potential for growth and improvement within Irish handball, paving the way for future success and a lesson in regards, where is the place for improvements. In this entire story, the players' commitment, abilities and hard work are not only acknowledged and praised by Roman but also observed from the outside.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Roman for generously sharing his time, offering invaluable insights, and recounting his remarkable handball journey. As he embarks on this new chapter in a team and country that embraces the sport, we wish him continued success and fulfilment on the field.  

Whether Ireland is your home country or your adopted one, how much are you willing to contribute to the growth of this sport? Merely being a spectator and a complainer of the actual situation of this sport, whether you're in Ireland or abroad, won't bring about any changes. Waiting on the sidelines and expecting miracles won't yield results either. While some individuals emphasize the significance of transparency in the sport, we extend our gratitude once again to Roman and those who support the importance of shedding light on what has happened and what is currently occurring within the sport. 

If presenting reality is perceived negatively by those who feel defencive, would it encourage more changes within the sport if we excessively praise actions or inactions that do not produce results, or if we portray Irish handball as a victim in the face of competition?