
First module of Master Coach Course 2024 completed in Hamburg

The Men's EHF EURO 2024 is not only about exciting games, amazing goals, crucial saves and the hunt for the title, but it is also about things that form handball off the court – from sponsorship activations, the first ever EHF Grassroots Convention to the EHF Master Coach Course.
A Master Coach Course has been held on the fringes of the EHF EURO since 2014, gathering a new generation of top-level coaches together.
During the Men's EHF EURO 2024 in Germany, the EHF Competence Academy & Network (CAN) organised the first module for the EHF Open Master Coach and Licensing Course where coaches with Level III certificates got the opportunity to take the next step in their handball coaching career.
Some 23 participants from 13 different countries, including EHF Champions League 2014/15 finalist and Veszprém legend Péter Gulyás, and EHF Champions League Women 2009/10 finalists and Romanian greats Paula Ungureanu and Neli Ardean Elisei, were successful candidates.
The team of EHF experts, top international coaches, EHF Master Coaches as well as experts in the field of sports management, sports medicine, sport psychology, leadership and coaching philosophy across seven days tried to give new knowledge and new angles on important sports topics to the participants.
After opening words from EHF Methods Commission Chairman Pedro Sequeira, focusing on proactive involvement and detailed analysis, Scandinavian coaches Ulrik Jørgensen and Daniel Birkelund talked about coaching philosophy and possible holistic athlete development.
The second day opened with two new important topics in focus – changes in performance and complete video analysis. Sport management experts Jacqueline Muller and Stefan Walzel closed the day on Tuesday talking about leadership and management.
Performance coach Jürgen Boss kicked off day three with a session on sports psychology, focusing on players and coaches at the highest international level and how to deal with pressure and emotion.
The participants then looked at how to use new technologies and innovations in a session led by data scientist and EHF Expert Anselmo Ruiz, while expert coaches Monique Tijsterman and Mark Hawkins led them through quantitative and qualitative analysis, preparing the coaches for live analysis of Men's EHF EURO matches.
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On Thursday, after analysis presentations, physiologist Jesper Bencke gave an overview of injury prevention both on the court and physical training in the gym, while the day closed with another set of important psychology courses. In the next two days, before the last day on Sunday, the coaches had more live match analysis and learned about how to implement all the learned things into the real world.
Spanish coach Dani Gordo gave his insight on coaching philosophy, match reviews and game preparation before the participants had a chance to gave their opinion on different aspects of the game at the round table with Dani Gordo and Zoltan Marczinka. Hungarian handball professional Marczinka also talked with coaches about the difference between coaching female and male handball players and helped the group to choose a topic for the final thesis and how to set the framework while doing the integral part of the EHF Master Coach Course.
On Sunday, the first module was completed with Dani Gordo's session on the applicability of the defensive game model and the closing words from EHF Master Coach Course leaders João Pedro Monteiro (Educational Path & Sport Management), Eva Reihofer (Assistance and Administration) and Noemi Szecsenyi (Grassroots Coordinator).
“I am proud of having 13 different nationalities, bringing the cultural diversity to the course making the exchange and sharing of the ideas more enjoyable. I am also happy that the number of female coaches is one of the highest in recent years and I hope this will give empowerment to other female coaches to take the next step in their careers,” says Monteiro.
Péter Gulyás said: “Fantastic organisation - how they built the modules and what is necessary for the coaches. We got a lot of knowledge after one week and I can say that I will be a better coach after this. We got a lot of information, we shared a lot of different opinions and finally, the group work was amazing. It was kind of a building one team and we touched on many topics. After each lecture, we talked about the situations and I believe everyone got more experience from the conversations we had.”
“I enjoyed it here. Everything I have learned here will help me to become a better coach and improve my knowledge. I have the experience of being a former professional player, but not so much experience as a coach. What I heard and saw here, I loved it. Our group was amazing and for me, it was a privilege to be a part of it. I can't wait for the second module to learn more,” added Neli Ardean Elisei.
The second module will take place in Celje, Slovenia during the M20 EHF EURO from 8 to 13 July 2024, while the last on-site module will be at the Women's EHF EURO 2024 in Vienna, Austria from 2 to 8 December 2024.
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