Shropshire stars launch a three-way bid for glory

Loewnau will take Shropshire's male under-16s and under-19s, in addition to their female under-19s, to the national finals at Sir David Ross Sports Village at Nottingham University on Saturday next week.

The male under-16s and under-19s are due to face Guildford Sabres and Nottingham respectively, while the female under-19s have been pitted against Loughborough.

Since launching Shropshire Handball in early 2016, Loewnau has successfully guided at least one squad into the national finals each year.

Now, Loewnau is proud of the prospect of leading a trio of teams to the finals, which will be streamed live on England Handball's YouTube channel.

"The journey has been fantastic, but this year has truly been the crowning achievement," Loewnau declared.

"Since I set-up the club in January 2016, our club has had a really high level of success.

"I've brought at least one of the squads into each final. Two years ago, I had two teams in the final and this year is really sweet because I've got three teams.

"No other club has achieved what we've achieved which is great."

From the outset, Loewnau toured schools in Shropshire to bring exposure to the sport, as the club quickly grew from 40 members to over 150 members by 2019.

Those figures have been successfully maintained, despite the challenges brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, with the under-14 section boasting a total of four teams.

And Loewnau has revealed that Shropshire has continued to attract new members due to the strong foundations which were laid early on.

"The relationships with the schools are so so strong and have been built over the years. It's our ninth season now so this year was the first time that I sent an email to all the schools that I work with to recruit year seven, eight and nine students for trials.

"We offer a place in the club to all young people who want to have a go at handball. That's what they did, and I had about 70 people turning up over the five weeks.

"So we've retained about 47 or 48 of them but I didn't have to go to one school which was really surprising. It's been built off foundations with me going to schools for many years and them now returning the favour."

The success of Shropshire also goes beyond the confines of county competition.

Dan Williams, Emmanuel Dallas, Harveer Mohan, Isaac Kirk, Amy Wu, Grace Watkin, Jasmine Hill and Isobel McNaughton have all represented Team GB at various age groups.

"I am absolutely thrilled and our girls and boys have had amazing experiences representing Great Britain.

"Last year, they played in the European Championships. There was different cups in Kosovo, Turkey and Portugal and there was a massive tournament in Denmark.

"Watching them sing the national anthem . There is no greater feeling and it touches you in the heart."