As the first half of matches draws to a close, the women’s team of ASPTT Nice Handball has the opportunity to take ownership of the second place in the Division 2 standings. With a rather favorable record, Valérie Nicolas’s teammates rightly hope to stay in the race for promotion to the elite by the end of the season.
The goals of the ASPTT Nice Handball club were set at the end of last season and remain the same today: promotion to the first division, provided that all conditions and means are met. And it seems, at best, to be the case, or at worst, well underway. The six victories in nine games already played have propelled the players from Nice to the forefront, allowing them to look upward as planned. It should also be noted that the Azureans have one less game than their immediate competitors and that the next two games will be against two of these competitors (against Bègles at home on Saturday evening and at Octeville on January 23).
Precious points lost at the beginning of the championship
However, their promotion to D2 last season confronted them with a more demanding level of play. The lack of cohesion early in the season, due to numerous new arrivals and certain players not yet performing at their best, likely cost Nice precious points in matches that should have been favorable for them. “However, the good integration of newcomers, the enthusiasm of the girls around the project led by Valérie Nicolas and the acceptance by the whole group of the playing system implemented by our general manager, Franck Bulleux,” tempers ASPTT Nice Handball president Claude Israel. A coach whose competence is recognized well beyond our borders since he has just been appointed as the head coach of the Senegal national team.
Nonetheless, the Nice team has had a beautiful journey so far, even though they might be accused of not displaying a particularly exciting play style to the roughly 400 spectators at the Eucalyptus hall in Nice. They have nonetheless delivered solid performances, especially away, such as in Bouillargues with a victory (22-19) after a very tough and intense match. Despite not being very spectacular, the players from Nice have demonstrated great respect for the coach’s instructions, focusing on their strengths: solid defense and rapid counterattacks.
A complete and competitive women’s sector
A style of play that has made the women’s team the flagship of ASPTT Nice Handball, perhaps at the expense of the men’s team, which has seen its numbers decrease by about twenty licensees who have migrated to other clubs. “Maybe they regret it today. But the satisfaction we experience is that the women’s sector is complete thanks to the creation of our under-12 girls’ team and we have three levels of play (D2, pre-national, and PERF) so that our veteran and less experienced seniors can continue to play,” explains Claude Israel.
ASPTT Nice Handball is therefore developing its women’s sector so that in the future, there will be even more Valérie Nicolas or Nodjialem Myaro, propelling ASPTT Nice to the heights of women’s handball. But this also, and above all, begins with promotion to the elite at the end of the season.
