Kamiak High School graduate Bill Johnson is one of the top players the United States has to offer in his sport: beach handball.
Beach handball? What exactly is beach handball, you ask? Well, it’s a form of team handball played on sand, of course. However, unlike its indoor brethren, handball on the beach is all about tricks and flair, as goals scored while performing a trick (a 360-degree leap or an alley-oop) are worth two points, while those scored without a trick are only worth one. And Johnson, who already has an interesting story as he’s coaching basketball in Tibet, is a key member of the U.S. beach handball national team.
So let’s take a look at exactly what Johnson does as a beach handball player.
First, here’s Johnson scoring during a shootout using a trick of his own:
Johnson was part of the U.S. team that surprised everyone in the beach team handball world by winning the 2016 Pan American Games. Here’s a highlight package from the U.S.’s run to the gold (Johnson is the tall guy wearing No. 8 in the highlights).
And if you want a sample of team beach handball at its best, here’s the top two teams in the world — Brazil and Croatia — squaring off for the 2014 world championship:
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