International Coach Exchange

ongoing

This project aims to bridge the gap between an abundance of smart young hockey coaches in countries like England, the Netherlands and a need for a structural approach towards coach/player/youth development/education in nations who are less developed in this moment in time. These countries unfortunately do not have the resources and know-how to put technical plans in place. They rely on an ad-hoc approach where a foreign senior coach gives eg. a 2 day seminar in their country knowing they can not afford to pay long term for an experienced technical director. This project will contribute to a solution for this problem by creating a mobility programme within the european hockey family, which has 43 national members and around 5 milion participants. The problem with many young coaches is that they develop themselves quickly in their first years as they learn by coaching in their club. They join national coach education programmes but for many their carreer growth halts there. A logical next step would be to learn more about creating technical plans for a club, a region or for a federation and growing in a role of technical director. Overall, the technical director plays a crucial role in shaping the technical and tactical aspects of a sports team or organization, with a focus on player development, coach development, tactical planning, scouting, recruitment, and youth development. This project aims at providing these young bright coaches an opportunity to develop themselves as technical directors by linking them up for 4-6 months with a club or federation in another european country which is in need for these skills. The 4-6 month period allows the young coach to get to know the culture, environment and dynamics of the hosting organisation and to put a long term technical plan in place focused on grassroot development. For the hosting nation it's both a strategic and a hands-on support opportunity enabling them to boost their grassroot development