Representatives from some of Europe’s leading hockey nations gathered in Brussels for an equivalence meeting aimed at improving understanding and recognition of coaching qualifications across the continent.
Hosted by EuroHockey, the meeting brought together representatives from the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium (Flemish and French-speaking federations), Ireland and Germany, while France and England also contributed to discussions and feedback on the meeting outcomes.
The event forms part of EuroHockey’s commitment to strengthening coach development pathways and supporting the increasingly international nature of hockey coaching.
During the two-day meeting, participating federations shared detailed insights into the structure and delivery of their respective coach education systems.
By examining similarities, differences and areas of best practice, the group worked towards creating a common framework of learning outcomes and coaching role descriptors that can be used as a point of comparison across Europe.
The aim was not to create a single coaching qualification but rather to develop a clearer understanding of how existing national qualifications align with one another.
This will help national associations, employers and coaches themselves better understand the competencies and experience represented by coaching awards from different countries.
The programme was led by Nathan Kipp of the KNHB (pictured) and built upon the work of the EuroHockey Institute Erasmus+ project, as well as previous equivalence initiatives undertaken between national associations.
“We all understand the importance of good coaches, from grassroots to top level, for the quality and growth of our sport,” Kipp said of the meeting.
“To have our colleagues together to better understand each others’ pathways, to share knowledge and to also work on a qualification framework to help grow coach education across Europe, underlines this.”
While the project remains a work in progress, participants agreed the meeting represented a valuable step forward. The collaborative discussions enabled federations to learn from one another’s approaches while laying the foundations for a practical framework that can support coach mobility throughout Europe.
The next phase of the project will focus on formalising the outcomes from the Brussels meeting and providing opportunities for additional nations to compare their own coach education systems against the agreed learning outcomes and role descriptors.
