USA Team Handball Announces Initial Appointments to Senior Women’s National Team Coaching Staff, Setting a New Standard for High-Performance Leadership

[Colorado Springs, CO – October 04, 2025] – USA Team Handball (USATH) is proud to announce the appointment of Dr. Sarah Gascon as Head Coach of the U.S. Women’s Senior National Team, supported by a distinguished staff including U.S. Olympian Reita Clanton (Assistant Coach), Pether Krautmeyer (Assistant Coach), Olivier Orfèvres (Assistant Coach), and Elizabeth Hartnett Wyatt (Team Leader). Together, this team represents a landmark step toward building a world-class program that is professional, sustainable, and fully aligned with the demands of the international game.

“Patient and broad consideration yielded all of our precise aims,” said Michael King, CEO of USA Team Handball. “We have assembled a team of coaches and leaders with the expertise, passion, and vision to give our athletes the belief and the system they deserve. Our women have produced tremendous promise repeatedly over eras of American handball, and we must now create the culture and the consistency that supports our athletes to propel to the next level.”

The new staff begins its work during a transformative period for the Women’s National Team, building on recent successes such as the Junior Women’s gold medal and qualification to the 2025 Pan American Games, as well as the Senior Women’s breakthrough win at the 2024 NACHC Championship. Looking ahead, the group is leading preparations for a friendly training week in Samara, Morocco November 1-6, 2025.

Dr. Sarah Gascon sheds her interim tag and steps into the Head Coach role with a rare combination of top-end playing experience, academic expertise, and leadership acumen.

Gascon represented Team USA for over two decades (2003–2023), serving as captain of the Women’s National Team for 10 years and competing in more than 200 international matches. Off the court, she earned a PhD in Kinesiology (Biomechanics) from Auburn University and an MBA in Accounting and Entrepreneurship.

She has coached across multiple levels of the sport, most recently directing operations and technical development for the USA Wheelchair National Team, which captured a historic silver medal at the 2024 IHF Wheelchair World Championships and bronze at the 2025 Hand 4 All Championships. Gascon also served as a performance coach and educator, with a career that blends biomechanics, athlete development, and leadership. Her coaching philosophy emphasizes data-driven performance analysis, tactical innovation, and the building of a resilient, winning culture.

An Olympian, international coach, and performance consultant, Reita Clanton brings tailored experience to the Senior Women’s program. A member of the U.S. Women’s National Team at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, she later served as Assistant Coach for the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team and most recently helped guide the U.S. Wheelchair National Team to silver at the 2024 IHF World Championship in Cairo. Clanton also joined Dr. Gascon's staff in March at the 2025 NorCa Women's Indoor Championships.

Clanton has dedicated her career to athlete wellness, leadership development, and performance consulting, including decades at Auburn University.

With over 25 years of coaching experience across Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, Pether Krautmeyer brings a professional pedigree shaped in high-level European competitions. He served as an analytical and technical trainer for the Danish Men’s National Team from 2015–2018, also founding a Danish handball academy that produced more than 30 professional players.

His club résumé includes leading sides to multiple EHF Cup titles, national medals, and additional deep international runs. Krautmeyer’s coaching philosophy emphasizes adapting systems to the unique strengths of his players, with a focus on modern defensive concepts and rapid transition play.

Olivier Orfèvres adds deep international and domestic coaching experience, including professional stints in France and leadership across Guadeloupean handball. He has coached at the D1F and D2F levels in France with Toulouse Féminin Handball and Stella Saint-Maur, and returns to the U.S. program after previously serving in USWNT Senior and Junior assistant capacities.

Orfèvres is currently Director of Sport at Pointe-à-Pitre Handball, where he continues to develop both men’s and women’s elite talent. Known for his tactical rigor and passion for the game, he brings a global perspective and proven ability to nurture athletes at the highest levels.

With 93 international caps across indoor and beach handball, Elizabeth Hartnett Wyatt will serve as Team Leader, integrating athlete support, logistics, and operational excellence.

Her playing career includes representation at the Pan American Games as well as World Championships and the IHF Global Beach Tour on the sand. She is also a rising leader off the court, currently working in sales and project management while supporting U.S. junior programs as both Team Leader and Assistant Coach. Hartnett Wyatt’s unique combination of athlete perspective and organizational skill will ensure strong alignment between players, staff, and federation operations.

The appointments follow a comprehensive international search involving interviews, consultations with athletes and stakeholders, and alignment with USATH’s broader high-performance strategy. The process prioritized:

• Proven technical and tactical coaching credentials
• Alignment with the 2028 Olympic cycle and international benchmarks
• Integration of junior, youth, and cadet pipelines to ensure continuity
• Athlete support systems and holistic player development
• Cultural leadership and sustainability across the program

These appointments represent the beginning of a broader expansion of the Women’s National Team staff and USATH High Performance Department, with additional technical and performance roles to follow. This phased approach reflects both the complexity of the modern game and the long-term vision required to make the United States competitive at the world level.

“Dr. Gascon and this accomplished group of leaders reflect our commitment to elevating the Senior Women’s program with professionalism, international credibility, and athlete-centered high performance design,” said King. “With realism about what it will require to climb quickly out of a nearly six-year winless stretch—and the bar-dropping disservice to our athletes during that time—we have turned that page for good. By onboarding exceptional talent, we are taking seriously our collective charge: to prepare and position this program to compete at the highest level of international handball.”

USA Team Handball is the National Governing Body for the Olympic sport of handball in the United States, recognized by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and the International Handball Federation. The organization is committed to elevating all levels of the sport—senior, junior, youth, and cadet—and cultivating an elite development pipeline to advance U.S. competitiveness on the global stage.