A Big Fish in a Little Pond : Camarillo’s Fercho Becomes Rising Star in Blossoming Sport of Team Handball

Denny Fercho often wishes he was 4 inches taller and left-handed--2 changes that would give him a distinct advantage in team handball.

If he were 6 feet, 3 inches tall and left-handed, Fercho reasons, he would be twice as difficult to defend than he is at his current 5-11 and 165.

“For some reason people think that if you’re left-handed and 6-3 then you are a God in this sport,” Fercho said.

In addition, if Fercho were bigger and taller--more intimidating--he probably wouldn’t be asked so many irritating questions, like, “What is team handball?”

Fercho has not done so badly for himself as a right-handed team handball player. After less than 2 years in the sport, he already is one of the top players in Ventura County.

Fercho, 19, is also 1 of 4 Camarillo teen-agers who have been selected to compete in a junior team handball clinic at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., this week. Forty of the top juniors in the country will attend the 5-day camp.

Despite his standing in the sport, Fercho spends most of his time trying to explain team handball, a sport that is popular on an international scale but little known nationally.

“Most people don’t have any idea what it is,” Fercho said. “Their first mistake is that they think it’s played on a racquetball court. I usually describe it as water polo on a basketball court.”

That description is apt since team handball is a combination of basketball and water polo--minus the water--and is played on an indoor court slightly larger than a basketball court. A team consists of 6 players and a goalie. A player can move the ball in 2 ways--either by dribbling or running with it up to 3 steps. A team scores when a player hurls the ball into a 10-foot-by-7-foot goal.

Team handball attracts athletes, like Fercho, who thrive on contact in a fast-paced sport.

“You can excel a lot easier at this sport than you can at basketball,” Fercho said. “Everyone plays basketball, but nobody plays this sport, which makes it more fun.

“It’s very exciting to watch because the ball is always moving around. There is constant movement.”

So is Fercho depressed that he’s one of the best Ventura County players in a sport that most people don’t understand? Hardly.

“I don’t really want people to find out about this game because there might be somebody out there who is better than me,” Fercho said. “I’ve set goals for myself and the more people who know about team handball, the harder it is on me.”

Fercho has already achieved several of his goals. He played for a state junior team that competed in Italy last summer. And he hopes to parlay his experience and skill into a spot on the national team and, eventually, on the 1992 Olympic team.

The Ventura College student is also one of the best players on the Ventura County Condors, the only team handball club in the area. Some of Fercho’s teammates on the Condors--his brother Steve, Joe Garces and Jim Hop, all Rio Mesa High graduates--are also attending this week’s clinic along with Mike Hurdle of Reseda, the nation’s top-rated junior player.

Condor Coach Kurt Stone, 28, of Camarillo selected 5 of his players to attend this week’s clinic. He based his decision on his players’ athletic ability and potential in the sport.

“Denny is one of the better players in the country for his age,” Stone said. “Denny is very open-minded and those who are open to learn in this sport are the ones who excel.”

Fercho started playing team handball 1 1/2 years ago, while Garces picked it up 2 years ago at the Boys and Girls Club of Camarillo. He was there looking for a basketball game and found a team handball scrimmage instead.

Both Fercho and Garces have been devoted to the sport ever since.

“I’ve blended my basketball, football and soccer skills into this one sport,” Fercho said. “It’s not a sport where you have to be the best athlete in the world to succeed. You just need to have the determination to learn.”

Fercho discovered team handball after most Southern Californians were first exposed to the sport in the 1984 Olympics. There are more than 4.2 million members in 88 countries in the International Handball Federation, making team handball second only to soccer in in popularity worldwide.

According to the IHF, team handball started in Denmark at the turn of the century. There has been a U.S. Team Handball Federation since 1959, but the sport has only surged in popularity in Southern California since the 1984 Olympics.

The Condors compete in tournaments twice a month from January through May in the 10-team California Handball League. The Condors finished fourth in a national tournament last year.

Each game is divided into 30-minute halves with a 10-minute break at halftime. There is plenty of contact, and the only player not involved in the contact is the goalie, who defends a netted goal as in soccer.

Fercho is adept at playing each position, thus improving his chances of excelling in team handball.

“My coach has told me that I have to be more than a one-dimensional player in this sport,” Fercho said.