The Erasmus International Coach Exchange (ICE) project kicked off last week at the Deloitte offices in Prague with the plan to develop a long-term exchange programme for young coaches to develop themselves.

This is to be done by supporting European hockey clubs, helping them to create a technical and community plan.

The meeting was attended by Nathann Kipp and Senna Bombach from the Netherlands; Austria’s Claus König; Gino Schilders representing EuroHockey; and, from Czechia, Apolena Al-Amelová from HC 1946 Praga, a club that expressed interest in participating in the project.

Following an initial introduction of the working group, the agenda continued with intensive workshops and brainstorming sessions, during which participants jointly identified the main pillars of the issues being addressed.

These included safeguarding (protection and safety) and onboarding (integration of new members and project participants).

The meeting brought valuable insights and laid a solid foundation for future collaboration. The next meeting will focus on concrete outputs and proposed solutions.