Coaches’ Day: Recognising in order to value

On 25 September, we celebrate Coaches’ Day.

We can start by asking a very simple question: do we really need a Coaches’ Day?

I have no doubt that we do.

Not because handball coaches need a specific day for us to tell them they are important. Nor because we need yet another commemorative date on the calendar. Coaches’ Day matters because we still need to remind society of the importance of those who coach.

And that alone should make us think.

In 2019, International Coaches’ Day began being celebrated on 25 September, linked to the European Week of Sport and the #ThanksCoach movement.

But visibility for what purpose?

Over the years, I have repeatedly argued that the social recognition of coaches is one of the fundamental issues for the development of handball all around Europe.

A coach is always a coach.

They may work in handball or in any of the many existing sports. They may coach six-year-old children or Olympic players. They may work at a small local club or with a national team. Naturally, the contexts, specific knowledge, objectives and demands are different. But there is something they all have in common: they are responsible for people.

And this dimension is often forgotten.

When we think of a handball coach, we normally think about training. We think about technical, tactical and physical preparation. We think about competition. We think about results.

Victories and defeats.

But can we really assess a handball coach solely on results?

I have written about this issue before and I continue to believe exactly the same thing. Restricting our assessment to the final result of a competition can be profoundly unfair. A handball coach’s success also lies in the development of their players, in their ability to keep them involved in sport, in what they teach them, in the behaviours they promote, in ethics, in fair play and, particularly with younger players, in the development of people.

This too is coaching.

In fact, it may be one of the most important parts of coaching.

Some years ago, I said that the handball coach is a central figure in handball development and a genuine unifying force, with enormous responsibility for bringing young people into handball and transmitting values that they can later carry into their lives.

I still believe exactly that.

This is also why I have argued that a handball coach must be an example.

That does not mean that handball coaches have to be perfect. They are not. Like everyone else, they make mistakes. But their position in relation to players gives them an additional responsibility. The way they react to victory and defeat, the way they respect referees and opponents, the way they communicate, manage conflict, and treat those who play more and those who play less is constantly sending messages to their players.

Many of them without saying a single word.

At a conference about integrity in sport, I had the opportunity to highlight precisely the importance of coaches in developing skills and shaping players’ behaviour, stressing that, in the exercise of their profession, handball coaches should be seen as an “example”.

And the greater this responsibility is, the greater their preparation must also be.

A great deal is expected of handball coaches today. They must master their sport, know how to plan, communicate, lead and manage people, understand technology, interpret data, work with different professionals, constantly update their knowledge and make decisions, often under enormous pressure.

In a scientific article in which I participated in the professional education of coaches, we highlighted precisely that coaches today face challenges in different areas and are subject to significant public scrutiny, requiring scientific, technical and human preparation.

The word human is not there by chance.

Recently, when I wrote about artificial intelligence in coaching, I returned to this very issue. Technology can help a great deal. Data can help. Science helps. But what continues to distinguish a good coach is the ability to ask the right questions, interpret the context and communicate with real people.

This is why Coaches’ Day matters.

But there is a problem.

We cannot spend the whole year without truly valuing handball coaches and then, on 25 September, simply say: “Thank you, Coach.”

Gratitude is important. Very important. Who does not like to feel that their work has been recognised?

But it is not enough.

I have said it before and I will say it again: verbally acknowledging the importance of handball coaches is not enough.

Recognition means creating the conditions for them to perform their profession better. It means giving dignity to their career. It means investing in their education. It means listening to handball coaches when decisions that affect them are being made. It means recognising the Associations that represent them. It means providing proper conditions for the many thousands who work every day in clubs, many of whom combine coaching with another professional activity.

And it also means understanding that investing in a handball coach does not benefit only that coach.

It benefits every player who passes through their hands.

How many children and young people can one handball coach influence over 10, 20 or 30 years of activity?

Let us do the maths.

That is precisely why recognising handball coaches is also a social issue.

Honouring handball coaches is important.

Listening to handball coaches is important too.

Bringing handball coaches together to share their experiences is even more important.

Because a profession is also built through the memory of those who have already contributed so much to it, through the recognition of those who practise it every day and through the preparation of those who are only now beginning their journey.

On 25 September, we should, of course, thank our handball coaches.

I too have many handball coaches to thank.

But above all, I would like Coaches’ Day to encourage us to reflect on one question: what importance do we really want to give handball coaches in our Sport and in our society?

If we recognise that they influence the sporting and personal development of thousands of children and young people; if we recognise that they are decisive in players’ performance; if we recognise their importance in promoting values, ethics, health and participation in Sport itself, then we must also accept the consequences of that recognition.

Not only on 25 September.

On the other 364 days as well.

Thank you, Coach!

Pedro Sequeira
EHF Methods Commission Chairman

Photos © Eva Manhart; kolektiff images; Mihaela Bobar