“Believe in yourself”: Scaglione celebrates International Handball Week by starring for Denmark

The International Handball Week – seven days of celebrating handball's checkered past, amazing present and bright future – is in full swing, and some of the most promising young stars in world handball are celebrating it by playing and vying for a trophy at the W19 EHF EURO 2023 in Romania.

One year ago, this generation provided some entertaining games at the 2022 IHF Women's Youth World Championship, as they are now fighting for the continental title, but also for a place at the 2024 IHF Women's Junior World Championship, the last step in the young age categories before making the transition to senior handball.

There was plenty of talent on display at North Macedonia 2022. Still, one of the players who really caught the eye of many was Denmark's left back Julie Mathiesen Scaglione, a true powerhouse who has already made her mark at club level, winning the EHF European League with Ikast Handbold and made her debut in the Denmark senior women's national team.

She was also the top scorer of the competition, with 62 goals. She was selected in the All-Star team as the best left back, eventually sealing the silver medal after the Scandinavian side lost against the Republic of Korea in the final.

Scaglione also led Denmark to the semi-finals at the W19 EHF EURO 2023 and was once again the top scorer of the competition after five matches, with 48 goals, seven more than any other player. Therefore, her credentials are truly checked, and she projects to be one of the future stars of the sport.

"It means the world to me to be able to play handball and represent my country in various competitions. Handball is who I am. It is my personality. If I have a bad game on the court, I will be sad the whole day. And if I have a good game, I am over the moon. If I play, I am very excited. If I train, I am very excited. Like I said, handball is who I am," says Scaglione.

 

 

And it could not have been different, with both her parents playing handball. Julie's mother, Lone Mathiesen, was a member of the team that secured the gold medal at the 1997 IHF Women's World Championship seven years before Julie was born.

Branded a "jewel" by the Danish media, Scaglione made her debut in the Danish league and in European competition at club level for Ikast when she was only 16 years old; such was the confidence in her from a very young age. She confirmed those expectations, being the true future of Danish handball.

"Since when I was very little, only a few years old, I got a handball in my hand, I was always in arenas, and the sport just grew on me in a short amount of time. From that moment, I just knew that handball was something I was going to hold on and play when I will get older," adds Scaglione.

Yet she knows that there is a lot of work still to be done and plenty of hurdles to jump to become one of the best. Discipline, hard work and grit are needed to become the best; talent is nowhere near enough, especially in the present, when handball is more and more demanding.

"I just think I take it one step at a time and hope for the best. But I think that every handball player wants to be the best, this is the main aim for everybody. And I know it takes hard work to be there, to reach the top and stay there and I'm willing to give that. I am willing to work even harder from now on," says the Danish star.

In a handball-mad country, being branded as the "next big thing" to come up in the system can mean a lot of pressure. Yet Scaglione is unfazed, puts her head down and does plenty of work to be there and improve. Celebrating International Handball Week on the court, and putting in a lot of work during the summer, when older players are on vacation, is just a testament to her dedication, striving to get to the top.

However, a future star in the making is looked at with a magnifying glass and every step on the court is analysed. That does not faze Scaglione, who just gets on and does her job. Yet what makes her tick? What is the specific thing which makes her so good at such a young age?

When asked about this, Scaglione opens up and shares a piece of her struggles earlier in her career, when she "was not that good, really" before morphing into a top player in the younger age categories.

"I think one advice that can really help, which also helped me a lot, is just to have fun on the court. Just keep playing handball and enjoy it. And maybe loosen up a bit when you are there. Yes, I was nervous a lot of the time; I was a bit insecure because I was not that good, really, at that age."

"Always believe in yourself, always strive to do better, always set goals and become better. This is the most important thing," concludes Scaglione.