If you’re new to handball, you may be wondering what equipment you need to play the game. Luckily, handball doesn’t require much gear at all. I put together a list of mandatory and optional handball equipment for you to consider.
The mandatory list contains the bare necessities anyone needs to play the game. Gear every handball player or game needs to take place.
The list of optional equipment is geared towards coaches or veteran players who often find themselves responsible for setting up the games. On here, you’ll find items every handball lover can keep in their gym bag or car trunk. Most of these will come in handy at one point or another.
Mandatory Equipment
- Handballs
- Nets/Goals
- Sport Shoes
Optional Equipment
- Ankle Guards
- Ball Bag
- Ball Pumps
- Bibs/Pinnies
- Clipboard
- Training Cones
- Finger Tape
- Goalkeeper Pants
- Goggles
- Hand wax
- Jerseys
- Knee Pads
- Wrist Guards
- Whistle
To play a game of handball you need 2 nets and a handball. Sports shoes are certainly recommended. If you want to start up a game at your local gym, that’s all the equipment you need to consider!
Net/Goal
In handball, there are two goals/nets at each end of the court. Players try to score points by shooting(throwing) the ball into the goal.
The official measurements of a handball goal/net are 2 meters tall, 3 meters wide, and 0.8 meters deep. That’s 6.56 feet tall, 9.85 feet wide, and 2.62 feet deep. The frame of the net is made from steel, white the posts and crossbar are flat wood.
Handballs
A handball needs to be small enough to catch and throw with one hand. The most common material for a handball is leather because it’s not slippery.
The size of the ball differentiates, depending on the age of the players:
Size 1: 50-52 cm for boys from 8 to 12 years and girls from 8 to 14 years
Size 2: 54-56 cm for boys from 12 to 16 years and girls 14+
Size 3: 58-60 cm boys over 16 years+ (professional size)
Sport Shoes
Since handball is mostly played indoors on a court, it’s important to have the right footwear for the game. Consider investing in indoor running sneakers to avoid sliding around the court. The best handball shoes are light and aerodynamic but protect your ankle and toes from getting hurt.
These are the best handball shoes I’ve played in, and I always recommend them to anyone who asks me for advice.
Ankle Guards
Ankle injuries are very common in handball. This sport is fast-paced and results in a lot of people stepping on each other feet and rolling their ankles. It’s a wise idea to protect your ankles with simple ankle guards. They work by adding an extra layer of stiff protection to your ankle and heel while reducing the severity of any possible injury.
Ball Bags
Make it easier on yourself, especially if you must carry more than one ball. The convenience of a ball bag is underappreciated, but every coach, trainer, or official will tell you how handy they really are. You only need 1 ball to play the game but it’s likely that you bring more than 1 ball with you to the court.
Ball Pumps
Since the game balls are being gripped and thrown throughout the whole game, they will lose a little air or go flat. It’s important to keep a ball pump handy to blow up your balls before the game. A ball with low air pressure will be harder to pass and shoot.
Official game balls are pumped to a pressure of 0.6 PSI and should never drop more than 15% below that indicator. Handballs can be pumped with the same pump you use for a basketball or a football.
Bibs/Pennies
Color-coordinated shirts to distinguish teams. Often used in practice to dived the team into two groups. They also come in handy when both teams show up to a game wearing the same color jersey. You’ll notice they are made from really light and soft material. Most of the time you won’t realize you are wearing one.
Clipboards
Every coach needs a clipboard to draw plays and explain tactics to their players. Common clipboards are made from plastic so the marks made on them with a marker or a pen can be erased. They are not necessary for a game of handball but are a great tool for communicating strategies to a group of people.
Training Cones
Perfect for practice and warm-up drills. Anyone who has played a sport in their life will recognize training cones. They are usually orange which makes them easily noticeable on every surface. Coaches and veteran players may want to have a few cones handy when they get together with their teams to run drills and go over strategies. As a player, you don’t need to invest in this item to take part in a handball game.
Finger Tape
This small tape is a lifesaver for anyone who injures a finger during a game. Finger tape is often used to wrap knuckles, wrists, and injuries. It’s very common for everyone on a handball team to use finger tape to prevent cuts, bruises, and blisters. One roll of tape should last you a whole season unless you decide to share it with your whole team.
Plants
Goalies wear pants in handball instead of shorts because they have to make diving stops. Goalie pants have padded knees and sometimes padded shins as well. If you’re playing goal, you should consider investing in appropriate pants to prevent skin burns from the court. You can play goalie without them but a pair of goalkeeper pants will save you from cuts, bruises, rashes, and skin burns. Luckily they are often quite inexpensive.
Goggles
Proper eyewear is a must for anyone who wears glasses or contacts. The pace of handball requires you to run, jump, and move your head at all times. You need a secure form of eyewear during the match and that’s where goggles come in. Additionally, they protect you from being poked on hit in the eyes. Since everyone is trying to block your shots and swat your passes, you’ll notice hands and fingers flying close to your face quite often. Goggles give you an extra sense of security when playing or practicing handball.
Hand Wax
Professionals use hand wax for better grip on the ball. It’s popular because handball players aren’t allowed to you gloves. This type of wax helps with catching, passing, and shooting the ball. I always recommend learning to play the game before getting used to hand wax. Once you get comfortable with your hand-eye coordination, using wax will improve your game.
Jerseys
Jerseys are the shirts your team wears. They display your team colors, sports, logo, and of course player numbers. Casual handball teams won’t always have team jerseys, they will just use shirts. Everyone will agree to wear black shirts to the game, for example. Pro teams or teams who have been playing for a while will have their own game jerseys which always make people feel more like a unit. Some leagues offer jerseys when you sign up to play, others will need you to make your own.
Knee Pads
Knee pads are popular in volleyball but can be useful for handball players as well. Advanced players often take diving shots and make diving passes. Knee pads protect against unwanted skin burns and cuts. It’s important to protect your knees in any sport, and knee pads might not be a necessity in handball but are a good idea for anyone who likes to play with lots of jumping, sliding, and diving.
Wrist Guards
Much like ankle guards and finger tape, wrist guards protect you against common injuries in handball. Your opponents will be trying to swat your passes and block your shots. More often than not, they will make contact with your hand, wrist, or arm. Wrist guards will wrap around your wrist and palm to give you an extra layer of protection from bruises and fractures. They stiffen up the entire area of your arm to protect against all the hits you may have to endure. Anyone with previous writs injuries should play handball in wrist guards.
Whistle
Sports games need a whistle. They are used to start and stop the game and to signal fouls and penalties. If you’re playing the game, you don’t need to worry about bringing a whistle with you to the gym. If you’re planning on coaching or referring, you better have your own whistle ready.
Want to Know More About Handball?
If you want to learn all the rules of the game, I’ve put together an article with everything you need to know. It’s called Handball Rules, How to Play Handball. The guide is equipped with a bullet point list of all the rules you need to know to play the game. Regardless of if you play indoors or at a beach, the same rules apply.
There, you’ll find a downloadable PDF of all the rules and regulations. Feel free to download my guide and share it with your teammate and organization.
Keep playing this amazing game, and always remember to be competitive and have fun.