Safeguarding and mental health in focus at Grassroots Convention

The participants heard from 25 speakers at keynote presentations and panel discussions, with the topics of safeguarding, mental health, and injury prevention all raised at the two-day event.

Keeping players safe and happy was a discussion point in several talks. SG Flensburg-Handewitt team manager Ljubomir Vranjes spoke about a holistic approach to handball.

"One of the first things we talk about in Flensburg is that the environment for players is safe. We need to be more open-minded when we talk about how do we train focus and confidence with the kids. We have to tell them that they are good in something. We have to inspire them and motivate them,” he said.

Five handball academies — BM. Granollers, Montpellier HB, Sporting Clube de Portugal, Papendal Academy and Skanderborg — presented their work and shared their philosophy for developing young players.

Aleix Caussa Roca, director of Granollers’ academy, revealed that 43 per cent of the players in the club’s men’s senior team, and 56 per cent of players in the women’s senior team, have come through the academy system. Around 50 per cent of the players in junior and U18 teams started playing in their club before they were 10 years old, and there are currently 600 players involved in the Granollers academy.

“Our main goal is to raise the most popular number of players from the academy to the first team. We want to have a competitive team with the most possible players that started playing in our academy,” Caussa told participants at the convention.

“Competing against giants is not easy. You must forget about following their path and focus on following your way in your pace. Wasting time complaining about what other have and you don’t, it’s not worth it at all,” he added.

The academies feed into the development of young players, but other speakers said coaches and parents can also have significant impact on how they grow into the sport.

At a panel discussion, women’s stars Katrine Lunde and Andrea Lekić, both role models for the EHF’s ‘Her Playground’ project, talked about the need to have someone to look up to in sport.

“I think to have a role model in handball is of big impact, because you have someone to watch up to, to give you inspiration, maybe also they can give you advice,” Lunde said. “And just to have someone who inspires you, maybe takes some steps that you don’t, maybe want to do, but you take it because you see somebody else take it.”

Lunde said coaches can also inspire.

“The coach has a big responsibility because they should try to see every person and make a good environment. They should try to have good sessions to give inspiration for the kids so they stay in handball, and find that they can develop and try some new stuff,” she said.

As a parent herself, Lunde added: “The parents have really big impact on their kids. So they can do a lot, and they can do sometimes too much. It’s a dream to have parents to encourage the kids to stay in the sport, but also make kids be the owner of this decision, not pressuring to think about goals, but have them safe environment together with other teammates and be there to have fun.”

Presentations also included sessions focusing on encouraging players from a wide range of backgrounds to participate in handball; Dane Andreas Kronborg talked about the Special Olympics and handball for players with intellectual disabilities, while Norwegian Handball Federation president Randi Gustad gave a keynote on women’s empowerment.

Several sessions put the emphasis on scientific approaches to player development, in terms of injury prevention but also psychology and coaching.

Participants were enthusiastic about the convention and what they had learned. One Veszprém sports director and Hungarian Handball Federation board member László Nagy said: “To keep building this nice sport of course we need a future. The future is among the kids and we have to teach them and give knowledge about handball, but I think it’s important also that they practise while enjoying this nice sport.”

Photos © kolketiff images