Handball trying to catch on in Utah

Utah has a team that plays one of the most popular sports in the world, and most people across the valley don't even know it.

Of course, the Jazz lost in the Western Conference Finals.

Nah, that's not it.

OK, must be Real Salt Lake then, right?

Soccer is extremely popular across the globe, but that's not what we're talking about either.

We're talking about the Salt Lake Warriors, Utah's handball team.

Handball?

Yes, handball, which is not to be confused with wall-ball, the game played in the elementary school courtyards. What many people don't realize is that handball is as big as soccer in many parts of the world. Handball is also gaining steam in South America and Africa and will soon become the world's No. 1 sport, said Amir Haskic, coach of the Salt Lake Warriors.

"At the Handball World Championships in Germany, people were saying it was bigger than (last year's) World Cup (there)," said Haskic.

Wait, hold up. Umm, is he serious?

"If you can imagine how much Europe is developed in soccer, it's better developed in handball," said Haskic.

So what is this game that is so foreign to Americans, yet so prominent in the rest of the world?

It's pretty simple actually. Just think of basketball, soccer, hockey and water polo mixed into one. OK, so it's not that simple, but it doesn't take long to catch on, so let's do some handball for dummies.

Start with seven players on each team, one of which is the goalie. You have a ball, think the size of a mini-basketball. Players must dribble or pass their way down the court — double the size of a basketball court — and they get three steps without dribbling. There are two arching lines (like basketball 3-point lines), the 6-meter and 9-meter lines, surrounding the goal (presumably the size of an indoor-soccer goal).

A player may not cross the 7-meter line unless he jumps from outside the line, and then lands inside it, on a shot attempt. Goals are worth one point. There are fouls, however. Players are allowed to body check (think hockey) and can never foul out. If a foul is too egregious, then a player is awarded a free shot from the 6-meter line (think soccer), and the offender may have to sit for a two-minute penalty (like hockey). Finally, players jump and launch shots from every angle imaginable to score (like water polo).