Harz plays such a central role in handball that the once world’s best goalkeeper Niklas Landin called his Danish podcast “Duften af Harpiks”, “Scent of the Harz”. Without “Patte” on the fingers, handball wouldn’t be handball. The adhesive is also used in every game at the European Championships in Denmark. Natural resin (from pine trees) sticks particularly strongly, but is more difficult to remove than synthetic resin.
A short history of resin also includes a chapter on its ban – “resin” is prohibited in municipal halls because it sticks to the floor. This disrupts school sports the next morning. Handball players can tell stories of fights with caretakers over “yes” or “no”.
The associations are playing for time – resin-free professional handball came into play every now and then. Or a particularly grippy ball has been developed. A new trend is coming from Switzerland: a spray for the ball and fingers that bonds upon contact and provides adhesion.
Brave new world of handball? The national players Miro Schluroff (backcourt), Jannik Kohlbacher (circle) and Lukas Mertens (outside) interviewed all agree that they only believe in one suitable adhesive: resin.
Miro Schluroff:
“Handball without resin would be a catastrophe. Then I wouldn’t be able to do it professionally. The balls then fly five meters over the goal. You can’t hold them. Handball without resin would be like ski jumping without skis. It would limit you completely. I need it to pull the ball, to work with my wrist.
It would be an incredible disruption to play without resin. The ball then slips out of your hand. I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on it if I didn’t have resin on my hand – I would be throwing 40 kilometers per hour less. Throw around the block, past the block – that wouldn’t work without resin.
There were clever attempts, but they never replaced the resin. I’ve been playing with Harz since the C-youth in Habenhausen. That was lucky. At a certain age you have to do it. Not yet for the basics for the little ones. But from 13 or 14 years old. The green tree resin is not my thing. I use synthetic resin. But not that much.
We have experts who take half a ton of resin. The circular runners are particularly bad. Kohli (Jannik Kohlbacher) takes half the handful: the main thing is to catch the ball. The main thing is seven meters. I then know that I don’t need anything because a lot of it sticks to the ball. Some people only use resin as a ritual. Our goalkeepers don’t use any, just what sticks to the ball anyway.
Each team has its own resin. The ball and resin manager manages this. This is our youngest – Marko Grgic. After the game I don’t want to know anything more about Harz. I use baby oil to get it off. Some people use cream. This is what the physios have with them. In the club this is the beauty attendant. Everything has to be gone after the shower.”
Luke Mertens:
“I grab the Harz pot at the beginning of the game and then again at the beginning of the second half. That’s all I need – the others are already taking too much for that. Especially the pivots. I played with Harz for the first time in the old D youth team in Wilhelmshaven, my father was the coach. We should get used to it back then. Since then I don’t want to do without it. I need it for spins: spins from above, from below – without Harz these throws wouldn’t be possible.”
Jannik Kohlbacher:
“I’m a resin junkie. We have two different resins. One smells like Jägermeister. I use both and plenty of them. I have both together on a strip of tape on the back of my shoe.
Without resin we wouldn’t have control of the ball. I need this at the circle; I have to catch the ball with one hand, in full contact with the opponent. This would be impossible without resin. The same applies to backcourt players. You can hold and throw the ball much longer with resin without having to squeeze your hand to control the ball – the backcourt players throw the ball out and the goalkeeper ducks his head. Without resin he would catch the ball laughing.
There was once a synthetic resin that left yellow stains on the jersey that wouldn’t come off. I don’t use that anymore. Yes, resin leaves something behind. You know it yourself, when you’re warming up in the goal area, you get stuck there. Or lying on the floor when doing gymnastics, you will be bothered by it – if the hall was not cleaned well beforehand. Luckily, we have a sit-on mop at the Rhein-Neckar Löwen. It goes through and cleans regularly. The hall attendant does that.”
