US Team Handball Women's National Team

Basic Facts

DOB: 1/11/83
Place of Birth: Dallas, TX
Hometown: Houston, TX
Height: 5'6"
Position: Left Wing
Started playing: June 2006
High School: Westfield
College: Cornell University
Major: City and Regional Planning

Erin hails from Texas and is proud to represent the Lone Star state as a member of the women's national team. As recent graduate of Cornell University, Erin is excited with the opportunity to return to upstate New York and continue to pursue her athletic dreams. At Cornell Erin was a three-year starter and captain of the Big Red softball team. As a second baseman she helped her team to four very successful seasons, and an Ivy League title in 2004.

"I loved my time at Cornell and especially my time with the softball program. It was an incredibly rewarding experience for me. I had unbelievable teammates, who pushed me to become a better softball player and athlete every day. I think that drive has transferred over into handball, allowed me to make strides in learning a new game and developing in the sport."

In high school, Erin Kizer competed in several sports that helped broaden her athletic skills. Besides softball, Erin also played volleyball and basketball, with her basketball team competing in the Texas state finals her senior year. "I was really fortunate in high school to play with some incredibly talented athletes that helped me develop. I think that skills from both of these sports have really helped me in playing team handball."

When Erin finished playing softball at Cornell in 2005, she was pretty sure that her days as an athlete were over. "Athletics have always been central in my life, but once I was done with school, I didn't really see how they were going to fit in anymore."   In June, she packed her bags and moved to Philadelphia to begin working.

Following graduation Erin spent a year teaching in inner city Philadelphia with a program called Teach for America. The goal of the program is to place recent college graduates into high-needs and underprivileged schools throughout the country. This was a very demanding and rewarding experience, which further strengthen Erin's academic ideals. "Teaching in Philly was incredibly challenging, but I learned so much. Issues that I had only learned about before were painfully real. Social justice issues will always be important to me, and an area of work that I will want to pursue when my time with team handball is over."

Erin learned about team handball almost completely by chance. "I actually came across it while doing research on the Olympics for a unit I was going to teach my students. I was really intrigued when I started reading about the sport and how it was played. I looked immediately to see if the US had a team that had ever competed, and that's when I came across the Women's National Team." When Erin realized there could be an opportunity to play a sport competitively and even have the potential to go to the Olympics, she wasted no time in setting up a tryout.

Moving to Cortland has been an adventure for Erin." When I graduated from Cornell, I didn't really anticipate living back in upstate New York, but here I am! Playing for the USA and representing my country is an incredible opportunity, and I couldn't imagine passing it up no matter where the residency program was. Having a chance to be an athlete again, and focus on training is absolutely a dream come true. I love being a part of a team and competing for a common goal. The Olympics have always been a dream for me, but now they are an actual goal which is absolutely amazing."