DELFT, the Netherlands — The home coach gathered his players in a semicircle for a PowerPoint pep talk. A chance to win a European championship does not come along regularly, he said. He spoke about analytics, but mostly about predatory determination. Rebound like bears, he said. Make assists as hungrily as wolves. Attack like tigers and panthers.
And then the coach sent his players out for the inaugural Champions League final of korfball, a century-old cousin of basketball. It is one of the world’s most obscure games but among the most progressive, a rare team sport devised expressly for women and men to play together in equal numbers, with equal respect and value and responsibility.