Former Emporia State basketball player Jordan Fithian is a long way from his home state of Kansas, but he seems to have found a new home in Germany, where he is now a professional handball player for Team USA.
Fithian, who was named Mr. Basketball and Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year as senior at McPherson, played at ESU for two years after transferring from Binghamton in 2006. It was at Binghamton where he met his wife Jennifer, who after graduation, went to Boston and began playing handball. After graduating from ESU, Fithian moved to Boston and started playing for a club team. Soon both he and his wife were headed overseas, Jennifer is a member of the women’s Team USA handball team.
“All the sudden we had this chance to go to Germany and we took it,” Fithian said. “And our lives have just taken off from there. It’s gone in such different directions. I never would have imagined that.”
Handball is a fast, physical sport that pairs two teams against each other, each with six players and a goalie. The teams play on a basketball-like court that is about 66 feet by 131 feet. The object is to score goals and players can dribble, pass, jump and shoot. The goal area is about 20 feet and the goal itself is 6-7 high and 10 feet wide. Players are not allowed to step inside the scoring zone, so players often jump over the line and shoot in midair. A goal is worth one point and teams often score 30 goals or more in a game.
The game is played with two 30-minute halves with each team having one timeout. Game flow is fast because the clock only stops for injuries and timeouts, or at the referee’s decision. On defense, full-body contact is widely encouraged in order to stop the opponent from getting off a shot. On offense the 6-7 Fithian plays the circle position.
“It’s the only position that’s basically constantly engaged with the defender,” Fithian said. “It’s about setting screens, it’s trying to set up the offense. You have teammates without the ball, and they’re available for a bounce pass or a drop pass to score. It’s an active position.”
On defense Fithian plays in the middle as it helps to have a bigger guy there, which is where most of the action happens.
“The more physical you are, the better defender you are, and the better you play the position I play on offense,” Fithian said. “It makes the game fun. I go out there and hit people, and at the same time, I’m still using skills. It’s not just dudes running around hitting each other because there’s still a lot of skill involved. There’s a lot of technique involved, so it’s a nice mix.”
Fithian’s move to Germany wasn’t easy at first. The first two years were especially rough.
“Income was always a question mark,” Fithian said. “And it’s tough on newlyweds and people trying to live a dream of playing a sport for a living and trying to go to the Olympics and not getting much help from the federation or from not making enough money playing the sport.
“We kind of looked at ourselves and said, ‘Why are we doing this?’ But we’re competitors and we like the fact that we can call people now and say that we’re doing OK, and we have our own apartment, we have jobs over here and we’re moving up in leagues every year, and we’re playing good handball. It’s been nice. Two years of struggling has been worth it, I think we learned a lot about each other. It was tough but we’d probably do it again because we know the outcome.”
In addition to playing pro handball, Fithian and his wife also teach 3-5 year olds at an international school.
“It’s amazing to watch the little kids learn and grow and see how intelligent they are at such a young age,” Fithian said. “It’s been a lot of fun to work with them. I think we learned a lot. My wife has been doing it for a full year now, I’ve only been doing it for a few months. But we’ve learned a lot and it’s made us better people. How eager they are to learn and how much fun they can be has opened us up to some new experiences.”
Even though Fithian and his wife live in Friedberg, Germany now, he still keeps an eye on the ESU men’s basketball team. Assistant coach Wes Book and Fithian played together at ESU, and the two still keep in touch. Book said while he never dreamed Fithian would someday wind up in Germany, he’s not surprised Fithian and his wife have turned a tough situation into a successful one.
“He’s that type of person,” Book said. “He’s do anything, and they’re wired the same way. If you told them they couldn’t do it, they’d find a way to do it.”
Fithian also has also talked to men’s coach Shaun Vandiver, who replaced David Moe in April.
“He seems like a great guy, and the right guy for the program,” Fithian said. “I’m excited to see where he can take Emporia State basketball. I know I loved Coach Moe and everything he did for the program, but I know that some people are excited about where Emporia State basketball can go with Coach V.”
Fithian also recalled his playing days at ESU, where he said he had some of the best times of his life.
“The experiences you have in college are unmatched, that’s for sure,” he said. “It was a lot of fun those two years. Playing ball with your best friends at a high level is something that can’t be matched either. Not a lot of people get to do that. Those are memories I’ll take with me forever.”
Fithian said he makes it back to Kansas about twice a year.
“Every time we come back, we make sure we stop in Emporia and see Wes and the people that are still around.”
Fithian added that handball allows him to be a little more aggressive than he was playing basketball.
“I like the quickness and the speed of the game,” he said. “It’s exciting. There’s a lot of goals, the game moves quickly and there’s not a lot of stopping. It keeps moving. I like the physicality of the game. You have the ability to be a lot more physical than you are in basketball. It’s encouraged to hit people and make a strong hit. It allows me to use my size to my advantage more than basketball necessarily did.”
Both the USA men’s and women’s teams have qualified to compete in the Pan American Games this October in Guadalajara, Mexico. The women will play from Oct. 15-23 and the men will play from Oct. 16-24. Opening ceremonies begin Oct. 14.
“That’s something not a lot of people will have a chance doing in their lifetime,” Fithian said. “So my wife and I are excited to be there and take the experience in and the opening ceremonies. We’re not just there to enjoy the scenery. We want to go there and try to make a name for USA handball and win some games and qualify for the Olympics.”
For more information on the USA handball team go to http://usateamhandball.org. You can also follow Fithian’s blog at http://usateamhandball.org/blogs/jordan-jen-live-from-germany.
KellyL (anonymous) says...
How cool!! Way to Jordan!!
July 5, 2011 at 10:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )