When Monae Hendrickson stepped into a women’s handball tryout in Los Angeles, she assumed she might be among a few intrigued newcomers responding to an unusual call: an opportunity for complete novices to vie for a future spot on the US Olympic team.

With the Olympics scheduled to land in Los Angeles in 2028, it grants the host nation an automatic berth in every sport, handball included.

Although handball enjoys a strong following internationally, it remains relatively obscure in the US, overshadowed by the likes of American football, basketball, and baseball.

This scenario necessitated Team USA to rapidly assemble a team from practically a blank slate.

Contrary to her expectation of encountering only a few beginners, Hendrickson walked into a crowd of over 100 women, many appearing as if they had just come off the track or field, boasting various achievements in other sports.

The majority had never even played a minute of handball; several hadn’t participated in organized sports for years. However, this was precisely what USA Team Handball anticipated: in a country devoid of seasoned handball players, they sought untapped athletic talent.

Handball, often described as a mash‑up of soccer, basketball, and water polo played on land, is a fast, high‑scoring Olympic sport where players run, jump, and whip a small ball into the net with the force of a pitcher and the precision of a point guard. 

Few Americans know the rules, but everyone at the tryout quickly understood the appeal.

Content creator Monae Hendrickson documented her first-ever Olympic handball tryout on social media, where the video has racked up millions of views

Hendrickson is pictured speaking with current US women’s handball player Katie Timmerman during the Los Angeles tryout session

Hendrickson, a 30‑year‑old former rugby player who has lived several athletic lives already, was one of them.

She told the Daily Mail she found out about the open tryouts through women’s sports influencer Coach Jackie, who posted the call for athletes just two days before the session began. 

‘Almost everybody signed up within 24 to 48 hours,’ Hendrickson said. ‘There were over a hundred people who ended up showing up.’

What shocked many women that day was how little a background in handball mattered.

‘It was about potential athleticism,’ Hendrickson said. ‘About 95 percent of the people there were just like me. They had never played handball before, didn’t even know about the sport, and just wanted to be in a competitive athletic environment.’

The tryout wasn’t a golden ticket to the Olympics. It was a test of whether you could become the kind of athlete who might survive the next two years of training.

However Hendrickson did her homework anyway. She watched the 2024 Olympic gold medal match and Googled the physical stats of elite players.

‘The average height is 5ft 9in, and I’m 5 ft 5in,’ she laughed. ‘So on a height level, I’m not sure I’m who they’re looking for, but maybe for the vibes.’

Registrations surged so quickly that organizers were forced to cap attendance to prevent the gym from overflowing. Pictured: Player meetings before the LA Olympic Handball tryouts

Hendrickson (pictured), who played collegiate rugby, relied on her athletic background while trying out for Olympic handball

Many attendees had spent years out of team sports, but the competitive instinct came roaring back as soon as they hit the court.

‘It’s super intense. It’s crazy,’ Hendrickson said.

Her first defensive possession was unforgettable.

‘I realized you can just grab onto people,’ she said. ‘I got grabbed and thought: “Oh my god, I forgot we can do that.” It’s a mental shift.’

Head coach Sarah Gascon, 44, has played and coached at the highest levels for more than two decades. She said she has never seen anything like what happened at the LA tryouts.

‘I’ve never experienced this type of explosion of popularity, ever,’ she told the Daily Mail. ‘It wasn’t just a tryout. It was this massive movement of women supporting women.’

She added that athletes were coming up to her in tears. 

‘They said thank you so much for hosting a tryout. They told me they didn’t realize how much they missed sports, or that they finally found a community,’ she said. 

Sarah Gascon, 44, head coach of the US women’s handball team, said she has ‘never experienced this type of explosion in popularity’ for handball in more than two decades competing for Team USA

Sarah Gascon is marked by Cuban players during the Handball Women Bronze Medal Match during the Lima 2019 Pan-American Games

Registrations skyrocketed so quickly that Gascon had to shut the list down to keep the gym from overflowing.

‘They’re getting inundated with people interested in trying out,’ Hendrickson said. 

‘They told us it could take weeks to get back to everyone.’

Gascon confirmed with Daily Mail that the next US tryout will take place in Fort Pierce, Florida, over Valentine’s Day weekend – February 14 and 15, offering you the opportunity to be part of Olympic history too. Follow her Instagram to see when more details are announced.

Hendrickson said that what the tryout made it impossible to ignore was how brutally underfunded the national program is.

‘Funding just isn’t there. It’s the same story across women’s sports,’ Hendrickson said. ‘You don’t get paid to be an athlete.’

Gascon put it bluntly. ‘We receive zero money,’ she said. ‘So our athletes have to fund everything.’

Players have to pay for travel, lodging, and sometimes even their own gear. Training camps require relocation. Full time jobs have to be juggled around practices that should be full time work. 

With the US guaranteed a place in every sport at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, a nation that rarely qualifies for handball on merit has been suddenly forced to assemble a team almost overnight. Pictured: Gascon shooting the ball during a handball match at the 2019 Pan American Games

Drills underway during the US women’s handball tryouts in Los Angeles, where more than 100 former athletes tried out

Gascon said the team needs at least $250,000 just to cover this year’s expenses and closer to $1 million to run the program properly.

‘If I had a million dollars in funding, I could pay room and board and travel,’ she said. ‘Right now we have nothing.’

The team has launched a GoFundMe to help cover travel, training and competition costs for athletes for the upcoming summer Olympics.

Most of the women who showed up know they won’t make the Olympic roster. But almost none of them cared. 

And as for what Hendrickson might try next, she said: ‘I did get a lot of comments telling me I should try cricket next.’

At this point, she might actually do it.