BY ANN CIPPERLY
FOR THE OBSERVER
OPELIKA — This summer the inaugural USA Team Handball Wheelchair National Team was formed in Auburn and will compete in the third International Handball Federation (IHF) Wheelchair Handball World Championship in Cairo, Egypt, Sept. 16-21. Head coach Dr. Ford Dyke of Auburn University and former Olympian Reita Clanton of Opelika, who competed in the 1984 Olympics, is the assistant coach.
Dyke was a member of the Men’s National Team for USA Team Handball from 2013 to 2020. The USA Team Handball Residency Program was centralized in Auburn.
Dyke, an associate clinical professor in the School of Kinesiology at Auburn University, is the performance coach for Auburn Adapted Athletics under the direction of head coach Robb Taylor. Dyke has been involved in Auburn Adapted Athletics at since 2012.
As a graduate student, he was the strength and conditioning coach for the Auburn Wheelchair Basketball Team. He was instrumental in launching the first intercollegiate wheelchair basketball team under head coach Jared Rehm at Auburn University.
In 2013, Dyke began a seven-year career as a Team USA Athlete in the sport of USA Team Handball. In 2016, he became the performance Coach for Auburn Adapted Athletics led by Taylor.
In November 2023, Dyke received a call from his former teammate, Ebiye Jemery Udo-Udoma, about building a USA Team Handball Wheelchair National Team. Dyke was the only person Ebiye knew in the United States that had adapted athletics and team handball experience.
Dyke was the ideal head coach with his background in adapted athletics and team handball. After the United States was unanimously awarded the Wild Card on May 16, He designed a plan to assemble the first USA Team Handball Wheelchair National Team to compete in the upcoming World Championship and beyond.
By the first week in June, Dr. Dyke had submitted over 200 emails to a variety of organizations, teams, coaches and team leaders to spread the word as quickly as possible about assembling the national team.
“On July 5, 6, and 7 — for three days — we broke history and held the first ever USA Team Handball Wheelchair National Team open tryouts at Auburn University,” Dyke said, “We hosted 18 athletes on site who represented over ten states. We facilitated a total of seven sessions, and at the end of training, our team began to look like wheelchair handball players.”
On July 10, Dyke notified 14 of the 18 athletics who received an invitation into the 2024 national team athletic pool. They were then invited to the Aug. 2 to 4 training camp at Auburn University.
Since they are a new team, Dyke is working with a number of Opelika and Auburn organizations, including A-O Tourism, the city of Auburn, the city of Opelika, Auburn Rotary Club and others to provide support. The entire coaching staff is working as volunteers and the USA Team Handball Wheelchair National Team continues to search for financial assistance.
“Our initiative is made up of volunteers,” Dyke said. “Our goal is for the athletes not to pay anything but with sweat and tears of joy. We are trying our best as a staff to ensure everyone is supported with international travel, lodging, meals, ground transportation, uniforms and equipment.”
“We welcome anyone interested in providing support,” he added. “The team needs assistance, and we are seeking sponsors and companies interested in showcasing their logo on our uniforms on the world stage.
“The Auburn family has helped us tremendously,” Dyke said. “The A-O Tourism department helped with hotel accommodations for open tryouts and offered to help with our upcoming training camp. They provided all the snacks for our athletes as well as catered lunches and dinners. They helped us to get on radio and television and helped with press releases. Auburn University opens its doors for us to train onsite.”
The first USA Team Handball Wheelchair National Team will leave Sept. 11 and arrive on the 12th in Cairo, Egypt. Tournaments will be held Sept. 16 until Sept. 21. Dyke said he intends to return home with the gold medal.
In parallel to Dyke’s tenure as a Team USA Athlete, he and Olympian Clanton were co-instructors for a course in the School of Kinesiology. They were also co-facilitators of Mindfulness@Auburn, the evidence-based approach to optimal performance, health and well-being. They have worked closely together for over a decade.
Dyke grew up in Jupiter, Florida. After graduating with a degree in Psychology from the University of North Florida, he pursued a master’s degree in Exercise Science at Auburn University in 2012. While working on his master’s, he was offered an assistantship with the Adaptive Fitness Program at Auburn University. This experience made him the ideal candidate to lead the USA National Wheelchair Handball Team.
The team will be working to reach the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles.
“We need to do our best not just for our country,” Dyke said, “but rather to elevate the sport of wheelchair handball to the highest level both domestically and internationally. We are proud of what we have accomplished so far, but we have so much more to do, and we are fueled by the community. Our friends, family and the community continue to motivate us toward our goal.”
