Humans of Beach Handball: Matthew Wollin

Wollin is part of the new generation of German beach handball players. Playing for German champions 12Monkeys Köln and the national team, he has come very far at only 21 years old. At a young age, it became clear that he could be a special player. However, being talented in another sport and not knowing about handball until the third grade at school meant that this is the story of a young man who could have chosen a different path.

Early childhood in Nigeria

Wollin is the son of a German father and a Nigerian mother. He was born in Nigeria and lived there until the age of eight.

“It was very nice. We had a big family. Dad worked there. Mum and I were mostly at home. I went to a German school and a German kindergarten. There were lots of Germans there to work, which meant I also had lots of German friends," he says.

After his father got job offers from back home, the family moved to Dötlingen, near Bremen, in the north of Germany.

“I think he was also thinking about me to a certain extent and perhaps about further education,” Wollin says, of his father. 

Another reason for the move to his father’s home country was the family’s experience of dangerous situations in Nigeria.

“Drug trafficking, corrupt police officers, attempted kidnappings; it was all there. You think back and laugh about it now. But I don't think it was that funny for my dad and our family at the time,” Wollin explains.

Due to his father’s job, which required him to be in Germany for some periods, Wollin had already lived there for eight months and attended a kindergarten before making the permanent move a few years later. Due to this, he describes his transition to Germany as “no drastic change”. 

Wollin was a footballer at first. Yet, in the third grade, a classmate invited him to handball training. Right away, he left a lasting impression on the coaches of his hometown club, TV Neerstedt. For about five years, Wollin played both football and handball and even had the chance to take part in a talent day at football club Werder Bremen. However, shortly after, the city's handball club came knocking on his door. 

“I had my trial training at HC Bremen. That's when I decided to play handball. At the time, I enjoyed handball more. Additionally, I never wanted to leave my football team because we were such a unit. I enjoyed handball a lot more at that moment because I saw more options there,” he recalls. It was a decision he wouldn’t regret.

"I could finally do a pirouette. It just clicked"

Wollin’s coach at HC Bremen was none other than today’s head coach of the German men’s national beach handball team, Marten Franke. 

“It’s a funny story. In pre-season, we had training indoors, strength training, and on the sand. In the beginning, I thought, why are we doing this? I couldn’t turn, basically couldn’t do anything,” Wollin says. “After a month and a half, playing a few beach handball tournaments and at the regional championships, I realised that everything was getting easier. I could finally do a pirouette. It just clicked. I kept getting positive feedback from Marten.”

That is when Wollin “suddenly started enjoying beach handball and just kept at it”.

His journey since then has been remarkable. As a 15-year-old, he was the top-scorer at the U17 EHF Beach Handball EURO; at 16, he played his first international match for the senior team. His first senior EHF Beach Handball EURO followed at 17 years old, and at the age of 21, he has already appeared in 52 matches for Germany.

Emotional leader

Despite his young age, Wollin is a leader. He leads through his emotions. “Emotions bring me a lot. Staying focused on the pitch, keeping that healthy arrogance to a certain extent. I want to show my team that I want to score more goals. I want to win, and they should want that, too.” 

He just lets his emotions go.

“If I have to cry, I cry. If I have to shout, I shout. If I have to laugh, I laugh. That's just the way it is. And the boys know me well enough to know exactly that they can rely on me to lead by example. When I’m on fire, we all are on fire," he says.

“That’s my game. That’s me.”

As well as his emotions, Wollin leads through performance.

“In tight matches, it is important to keep a cool head even though it is 35 degrees Celsius and the sun is burning on your head. I've come a long way in that regard. I think I make very few wrong decisions.

"Of course, I'm still young and pretty wild, but wild in a good way. You can see that in the last few years, how we've revolutionised our game, how fast we play, what kind of game we play on the beach handball court. It is difficult to defend for any team.”

The next step he wants to take in his development is to reach a certain level of looseness on the court. “I'm still very tense sometimes. If I can add this relaxed attitude to my game even more, I think it will be good for the team and myself. I believe it will lead to us making even fewer mistakes,” Wollin explains.

Chasing dreams

Wollin’s development can be described as a rush. After his stellar performance at the U17 EHF Beach Handball EURO as a 15-year-old, he dreamt about making his debut for the senior team by the age of 17. This dream came true a year earlier.

He rides this wave on the handball court indoors, too. After leaving HC Bremen to join the youth team of second Bundesliga side GWD Minden in 2023, Wollin dreamt about making his debut in the German second division and scoring his first goals. Only one-and-a-half years later, that dream became reality, too, and he is currently playing at left back for Minden’s second team in the fourth division and is a regular at training and matches for the first team. 

“I believe that everything I have dreamed of so far and everything I have clearly expressed has come true. That's why I'm just going to keep on expressing my dreams clearly," Wollin says.

“Indoors, I want to achieve double promotion this year with the first and second team of GWD Minden. I'd like to put in my two cents, help the team get the best possible results, and get as many playing minutes as possible in the second Bundesliga. On the sand, I'd like to win the EHF Beach Handball EURO title and gold at the World Games if I play in the tournament. I think that would be the perfect year 2025.”

Looking at Matthew Wollin’s track record in terms of achieving his dreams, there is a good chance it will become a reality in a few months. 

Main photo © Jozo Cabraja / kolektiff images; feature photo © Uros Hocevar / kolektiff images