On May 14, the SNU Women’s Handball Team cheered victoriously as they were crowned winners of the 2023 “Yeongju Love” National University Handball Championships. The team came first in the non-professional players’ league of the competition. The latest in a string of championship victories, the team’s outstanding performance was a result of intense concentration and unwavering faith in each other. The skills and teamwork that the players showed in the games were honed through rigorous training that the team underwent together in the months leading up to the championships.

The SNU Women’s Handball Team celebrating their victory at the 2023 National University Handball Championships

Determined to win at this year’s competition, the Women’s Handball Team trained strenuously together, focusing on developing in the various areas needed to perform well in handball. One area that they focused on particularly was strength and stamina training. Although such training is not as exciting as practicing game strategies or skill sets, it is the most important foundation for playing safely and achieving good performance. Without good strength and stamina, the team cannot execute consistently during matches. Injuries are also more prone to occur, especially among those who have just started playing the sport, and maintaining full concentration throughout the entirety of the match may also become a problem if players lack stamina. The team’s hard work paid off as, despite many of the players having almost no experience in competitive matches, they were able to play with complete focus throughout the matches.

Other than strength and stamina, handball also requires good teamwork. Refining the players’ teamwork is another aspect that the team focused on in the months leading up to the competition. Building teamwork is the most important yet most challenging skill to develop, especially for non-professional players. Because handball requires players to pass and receive the ball while running, players are prone to making mistakes. The team worked arduously to familiarize themselves with each other’s tendencies.

After months of practicing together, the team tested their skills at the National University Championships. There was much nervousness among the players since they were representing the university name. Since the team has won the non-professional league championships every year since 2021, there are numerous videos of their matches online that opposing teams could use to analyze their strategies. The competition was not an easy one, but believing in their training and their teammates, Team SNU enthusiastically participated in the matches.

“Whether we win or lose, just ensure that the team members do not lose their spirits,” said Jungah Hyun, the team’s captain. Because handball is a sport where teams can score many points in a short time, the flow of the match can turn in favor of one team instantaneously. She commented that she made it her goal to ensure that such changes in momentum do not dampen the team’s spirit.

For Hyun, the most memorable match was the match against the team representing the Korea National Sport University (KNSU). It was the first time that KNSU participated in the University Championships, and the fact that they were a team from a university that specialized in sports increased both the worries and the excitement. “There were no materials that we could use to analyze their strategies and for the first time in the competition, we lost the first point of the match,” Hyun said. The SNU team’s failure to score after they lost the first point was concerning, but the phenomenal performances of the top players and the vice captain’s efforts to revive the team’s spirits helped the team take the lead and eventually, they won the match.

The team’s continuous victories thereafter led them to the finals and eventually became the victors of the non-professional players’ league of the 2023 National University Championships. For the team, the victory was a reward for all the hardships that they had gone through in the period before and during the competition. Every player shone brightly throughout the championships and through playing in the matches, they were able to deepen their love and passion for the sport.

For Hyun, this year’s victory was a special one as it was the first championship victory that the team won since she became captain. “The experience I gained through working as a team and guiding my teammates taught me new things about the power of teamwork,” Hyun said. As difficult as preparing and competing in the National University Championships were, this competition taught her a lot about working in a group and allowed her to grow closer than ever to her team. “I don’t think I will ever forget the warmth and camaraderie I felt from being on the team.”

From its establishment, the handball team strived to become a group where students could enjoy sports together and develop lasting relationships. The bonds created in the team also extend across generations. It is these relationships that allow the team and its members to thrive on and off the court.

All the sports teams under the Center for Sports Development and Promotion at SNU aim to foster lasting relationships and create a platform where students can stay healthy through active participation in sports. The Center continuously strives to improve its sports teams and facilities to ensure that they are readily available to all SNU students who want to participate. If you are looking for a way to stay healthy and develop new friendships, SNU Sports Teams might just be for you.

Written by Yeryoung Lee, SNU English Editor, yeryounglee@snu.ac.kr
Reviewed by Professor Travis Smith, Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations, tlsmith@snu.ac.kr