ZPRP Kielce II

The Świętokrzyskie derby against KSZO Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski is what gives the reserve side of the Kielce academy its edge on the fixture list, one of the sharper local rivalries in the second tier of Polish men's handball. It is a young man's fixture by definition: SMS ZPRP Kielce II is the reserve team of the School of Sports Excellence run by the Polish Handball Association, a feeder side whose whole purpose is to send players upward rather than to collect trophies of its own.

The team plays in the I Liga, Group D, alongside AZS UJK Kielce, Wisła Sandomierz, MTS Chrzanów and CMC Viret Zawiercie, and has moved between that division and the II Liga in recent seasons depending on results — a mid-table or vice-leader finish is closer to the norm than a title. The senior handball line in Kielce goes back to Iskra Kielce in December 1965, the club that grew into Industria Kielce, and the white-and-red colours the reserve side wears are the same the city's senior team carries. The main SMS side, one level up from this II team, has taken the SMS Cup in Płock three years running, in 2022, 2023 and 2024; the reserve team itself has not matched that run.

What the school does best is move players through: Miłosz Bączek and Jakub Ałaj both left the Kielce system for Gwardia Opole, part of a production line that has run through coaches including Sławomir Szmal, a former national-team goalkeeper, and Radosław Wasiak. The nickname Licealiści — High Schoolers — is used loosely rather than worn with pride, a description of who is actually on the roster more than a badge.

Home games are played at Hala ZPO nr 2 on Jagiellońska, an old school hall still known locally by its former name, Budowlanka, in a city where the senior arena a few streets away draws the crowds this one does not.