I chose to make this Master Coach, because I don’t know what will be with me in my future and I would like to be around handball if I can. This is a really nice opportunity in case I want to be a coach.
A decade on from the first EHF Master Coach course, another 24 participants started their training in 2022, with physical modules throughout the year.
The EHF Master Coach Course began in its current format in 2012 and has had over 150 graduates of the programme since then. Participants must pass through three modules in order to obtain the Master Certificate instead of EHF PRO licence, including a thesis defence in the third and final stage.
Coaches from nine countries completed the first module of the EHF Master Coach Course during the Men’s EHF EURO 2022. The 24 students attended the module in person in Budapest or digitally from the comfort of their own homes during the duration of the module, with sessions also filmed.
Lectures in the opening module were presented by EHF experts as well as top coaches such as David Davis, former coach of HC Vardar 1961 and former national coach of the Egypt men’s sides as well as Veszprém; Xavier Pascual, the former Barça coach who is now at the helm of Dinamo Bucuresti; and Monique Tijsterman, member of the EHF Methods Commission.
The Module One programme addressed a variety of topics that fell under several main categories: coaching philosophy, match analysis, leadership and management, practical coaching, theory of coaching, and individualisation.
“The students of the course said that they find it really practical,” said Davis, speaking about the feedback he received after his presentation. “They can feel that what they are learning is something practical, something useful, something that they are going to need.”
The second module of the 2022 course was held in Porto alongside the Men's 20 EHF EURO 2022 in the summer.
Over five and a half days, 20 participants took part in a mixture of theoretical and practical sessions. The participants also had the opportunity to enjoy wheelchair handball and beach handball training sessions. EHF expert Mario Bernardes and Paulo Félix, the head coach of Portugal's beach handball team, led the beach handball session.
In addition to their work in the classroom and on the court, the course participants had the opportunity to attend some of the M20 EHF EURO 2022 matches.
Participants included Spanish international Nerea Pena, who said she was investing in her future in the sport.
"I chose to make this Master Coach, because I don’t know what will be with me in my future — there are not so many handball years left — and I would like to be around handball if I can. This is a really nice opportunity in case I want to be a coach," said Pena.
The third and final module of the EHF Master Coach Course 2022 took place in Ljubljana during the Women's EHF EURO 2022, with a focus mainly on the participants' thesis defence, as well as anti-doping and a media communication workshop.
