The EuroHockey Coaching Committee met at EuroHockey headquarters in Brussels at the end of September to review current education programmes, assess future priorities and explore new opportunities to support coaches across Europe.
A focus of the two-day meeting was the continued evolution of EuroHockey’s flagship education initiatives, the Top Coaches Programme (TCP) and Coaches 4 Europe (C4E).
Committee members reviewed feedback from participants and mentors following two years of the programmes’ revised format, identifying opportunities for further enhancement.
The committee also examined the Development of National Coaching Systems (DNCS) programme with feedback from educators currently delivering the programme and consideration of how EuroHockey can strengthen its support for those leading coach development within their national associations.
Members heard directly from Nikola Hanžek about the Croatian experience, providing insight into DNCS’s impact at national level and highlighting further opportunities for collaboration between EuroHockey and its member associations.
Another important topic was the ongoing work to align national coaching frameworks across Europe to create greater consistency and shared standards in coach education and development throughout the continent.
Supporting greater diversity within coaching was also high on the agenda. Committee members reviewed the findings of a Joy Jouret’s EuroHockey-supported study into barriers faced by female coaches in high-performance environments and discussed recommendations that can be shared with national associations.
The group also considered how best to promote the findings and encourage meaningful action across European hockey.
Looking ahead, significant time was dedicated to selecting participants for the 2027 editions of the TCP and C4E programmes.
The committee also welcomed an update on two coaching-focused Erasmus+ projects, ICE and SELF, highlighting how European-funded initiatives continue to contribute to coach education and innovation.
Among the additional topics discussed were opportunities to introduce stand-alone EuroHockey Institute seminars, including the possibility of specialist events linked to major championships, as well as an update on safeguarding initiatives.
