Limited Camps, High Demands: Preparing for International Handball Tournaments

The Women’s EHF EURO 2026 and the Men’s IHF World Championship 2027 will bring national teams together for two of the biggest events in handball. Long before the first game, however, preparation comes with a challenge that differs considerably from the club environment: national teams have relatively little time with their players. There may only be a few camps throughout the year. These are often short, ranging from a few days to around a week, with a limited number of training sessions and one or two games. At the same time, players arrive from different club environments, with varying levels of match exposure, training load and physical readiness. 
For coaching and performance staff, every camp therefore has to serve several purposes at once: preparing the team collectively while also understanding the individual players they have available. 

The differences between players can be considerable when a national team meets for camp. One athlete may arrive after a demanding period with significant match exposure. Another may have played fewer minutes in recent weeks. Others may be returning from injury or managing physical issues from their club season. 

Tracking the camps leading into a tournament can help staff establish an individual picture of each player over time. Rather than evaluating a training session in isolation, current workloads can gradually be considered alongside previous sessions, games and camps. 
Where both the national team and a player’s club use KINEXON Sports, data from the club environment may provide an additional point of reference. Some teams already request this information from clubs before players join the national team. This can be particularly useful when the number of sessions available within the national team itself is relatively small. 

Collecting data can begin quickly. Building a meaningful baseline takes longer. With KINEXON PERFORM IMU, a team can start recording after an initial onboarding of approximately one hour. Another one or two sessions, followed by several weeks of practical use, allow staff to become familiar with the workflows and begin working with the collected data in their daily load management. 

When tracking is consistent, approximately one to two months can already provide initial individual baselines. Intensive training sessions and games are particularly valuable during this period because they capture players under higher physical demands. 
More historical data provides a broader basis for comparison. In an ideal scenario, staff can draw on half a season or even a full season of data. 
National teams rarely have that amount of uninterrupted time together. This makes it useful to have the system and processes in place before the first camp that should contribute to the analysis. 
Instead of spending valuable camp time establishing new workflows, data collection can begin from the first session. 

The number of recorded sessions is only one part of building a reliable dataset. Consistency in how those sessions are captured is equally important. Training phases should also be labeled in the same way, while features such as benching and the game clock need to be used accurately if sessions and games are to be compared over time. 

The same applies to intensity zones. Changing the underlying thresholds makes it more difficult to interpret differences between one camp and the next. There are also factors that cannot be standardized completely. Coaching style, session structure and the exercises performed all influence the physical demands placed on players. A comparison between camps therefore needs both consistent data collection and an understanding of what was actually happening on court. 

Even when tracking begins only a few months before a major tournament, teams can still establish useful information about their players. 
One application is assessing the physical condition in which athletes arrive at camp. Previous measurements provide a point of comparison when a player joins after a demanding club period, reduced match exposure or an injury. 

Across subsequent sessions, staff can also develop a better understanding of how individual players respond to different training demands. This can inform how load is managed throughout the camp and how players are prepared for a tournament with several games in a short period. 
The available preparation time may not produce the same depth of information as a full club season. But it can provide staff with an individual history for each player before the tournament begins, rather than starting from zero once competition is underway. 

The need for an individual view continues once the tournament starts. Match exposure can vary significantly across the squad. While some players accumulate substantial playing time, others may play only a few minutes or remain on the bench. National teams can use tracking to assess the load accumulated during the game and plan additional work for players who had limited or no match exposure. 

This is particularly relevant during tournaments with short recovery periods between games. The physical demands of the previous match can be considered when planning what each player does next, rather than applying the same follow-up session across the entire squad. For players with fewer minutes, additional work can help provide the exposure they missed during the match. For those who carried a higher match load, the priorities for the following day may look different. 

National teams face a unique challenge when it comes to athlete monitoring. Unlike clubs, they bring players together for limited periods throughout the year, making it difficult to establish the same level of continuous monitoring. This makes every preparation camp a valuable opportunity to gain insights into player performance and physical demands. 

While longer monitoring periods provide a stronger foundation for identifying individual trends and establishing baselines, meaningful insights can also be gained within shorter timeframes. Even during the final preparation phase, teams can benefit from objective data to better understand training loads, monitor player responses, and support day-to-day decisions. The earlier teams begin collecting data, the more context they can build over time. But regardless of when they start, each camp offers an opportunity to turn performance data into actionable insights. 

Preparing for an upcoming tournament? Learn more about how KINEXON PERFORM IMU supports athlete monitoring in handball.