In several areas, the warm-up ritual of the Norwegian handball girls is similar to the warm-up of the team standing on the opposite half of the court. They start by jogging a bit, by themselves or together with fellow players, bounce a little ball and get their bodies going. Then they throw the ball to each other, two by two, with an ever-increasing distance between themselves and their fellow player, before they line up in a row and combine throwing the ball with small sprints. Then they warm up the goalkeepers, and their own boots, before gradually going into the changing room. But what separates the Norwegian national team from others is how eager they are to hand out “high fives” to each other. Every time they pass a team-mate, fists must be clapped. news’s journalist tried to count during the warm-up in the meeting with Sweden, and landed on 768 “high fives”. 136: In addition to 768 high fives during the warm-up, the handball girls make a further 136 fist-claps when marching in. Photo: Beate Oma Dahle / NTB – The extreme right wing It is also no coincidence that so many applauses are distributed. – There are some written and unwritten words regarding what they have defined as important on and off the track, and this is one of those things. It’s about encouraging, backing up and coaching each other through ups and downs and creating an atmosphere, explains national team coach Thorir Hergeirsson. – It may look strange, but it creates a feeling of being together in it, so that you are not just running around in your own head, says captain Stine Bredal Oftedal. But the players themselves did not believe that the number of “high fives” was well over 700. – No-heh-no! I had agreed to maybe a seventh of it or something. It sounds extreme, says Oftedal. – Maybe 50? asks Silje Solberg Østhassel when she is asked to guess. – We could probably have managed with 500 as well, but I think it’s fine. We are on each other’s side for warming up and we need that, says Emilie Hegh Arntzen. Psychological benefit In addition to giving each other up, this battle ritual has other benefits. Professor of sports psychology at NIH Anne Marte Pensgaard says that research shows that such actions can be useful, for the team itself, and above the opponent. – It creates cohesion, you communicate more closely as a team. It can give more self-confidence and faith, so it’s a nice thing to do. And then there are certainly differences within the team about what is too few or too many “high fives”, but it is in any case much better to have too many than too few, she says. NERVES: This type of contact can also help with nerves before big matches. Photo: Beate Oma Dahle / NTB She also adds that if you feel nervous before a match, such a ritual will ensure that you can get rid of the nervousness by doing something concrete. – It can definitely affect the opponent as well. If the other party looks more self-confident, perhaps more self-confident than they actually feel, then it will affect you. And the Norwegian players have no doubt that it gives a small advantage. – It brings a bit of closeness, we show each other that we are ready. It has become a thing in our team. I didn’t know we did it so much, but it gives a little extra, says Solberg Østhassel. On Wednesday, there will be a new clash, when Norway meets Denmark in the last match of the intermediate round. You can hear the match on news Sport from 20:15.
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The handball girls repeated this ritual 768 times (!) before the match – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
