Two years ago, when Austria took part for the second time in their history at the IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, they finished 23rd, losing all matches in the preliminary round, including one against the Faroe Islands. In the President’s Cup, they drew against India, 32:32, and won against Kazakhstan, 30:23, forcing a rethink of the approach.

Coach Simona Spiridon has been in place for several years now, but the results are still finally showing. After Austria finished 18th at Poland 2018 and 23rd at North Macedonia 2022, they are on track for their best-ever result at this age category, after opening China 2024 with a 30:27 win against Serbia.

“This has been a very good start, winning the first match, because it gives us confidence are, most importantly, two points in the standings. Of course, we still have to play against Sweden and Chile, which are good teams, I have seen the South American side play in their first match and they really can play handball,” says Spiridon.

The Austria women’s youth national team coach was born in Romania, played for the Romania senior women’s national team, but switched to playing for Austria since 2004, after featuring at club level since 2001 at Austrian powerhouse Hypo Niederösterreich.

She also played for Győri Audi ETO KC and Zvezda Zvenigorod, before returning for one more season at Hypo, where she also stayed after the end of her playing career as a youth team coach. Then, she moved into the Austrian national team system, unearthing gems, ready to be polished for the future and be future senior team players.

“Comparing to other countries, there are players who are not fully professional. Some of them aim to finish their studies and play handball part-time. Others are making it into the top teams in the world. So comparing to a country like Romania, for example, it is different. But it is similar to Denmark, for example,” adds Spiridon.

“There is a national training centre, where I am working and the best players are getting there, but it is always a different proposition. It depends on the generation. For example, this one in this IHF Women’s Youth World Championship is better than the one from two years ago.”

Results are important, of course, because they bring the much-needed investment to keep the wheels turning. For a country like Austria, which finished third and won the bronze at the 1999 IHF Women’s World Championship and finished fifth at two editions of the Olympic Games, that is crucial.

And being at the IHF Women’s Youth World Championship is even more important, as players can test themselves against other top teams in the world, knowing fully well that this may serve as a springboard for the future.

“We had three of the current players at the Youth World Championship in 2022 too – Lorena Baljak, Philomena Egger and Emilia Brandle. But back then, we could have done better,” adds Spiridon.

But the one thing that the Austria coach has always done the same is to prepare players for the senior team, irrespective of how the important results are. The tactics used are the same, the systems too, as the strategy has been integrated to make the transition as smooth as it could possibly be done.

Right now, in the past year, with this excellent generation, Austria’s plan seemed to have worked. Last summer, Austria beat Türkiye on their own court, 34:29, in the final of the W17 EHF Championship to return between the best European sides at this age category and also seal a place at China 2024.

“It was the best result we could have expected, because it brought us back between the top teams in the world. And against Serbia, I knew we could have been better than them, because we played four matches last year against them and won seven of the eight halves played. We had three wins in four matches,” says Spiridon.

They will probably have to beat both Montenegro and Croatia next, if the three teams confirm their main round berths, to reach the quarter-finals. Which would be their best-ever result in the competition.

For Spiridon, it is not all about erasing that 23rd place at North Macedonia 2022, but also creating the base of a good future for Austria. A thing that is often overlooked, but crucial in the development of such a handball nation.