New training Program: „Health and Injury Prevention on Hard sURfaces for young Athletes“ in the field of volleyball

The general objective of the project was to contribute to prevention of injuries and protect health of young athletes. We have achieved this goal with project's results created by carefully chosen HIPHURA partnership that united organizations with strong background, excellent history of achieved sport's results and academic knowledge (KIF) and expertise that complement each other (coaches and methodological experts with extensive experience in training youth). The specific objectives of HIPHURA project were:1) to develop an innovative volleyball training program that encompasses trainings on three surfaces (sand, grass, indoor) and reduce the number of sport injuries.2) to develop and publish e-learning materials (TtT Handbook) that will explain HIPHURA program – we have prepared and publish TtT Handbook, informed (via closing conference and published TtT Handbook) and educated (via demonstration sessions) other interested stakeholders (primarily volleyball coaches) and encouraged them to start using project's results (whole program or its elements in other volleyball clubs) thus securing sustainability of project's results.Project team was set-up as proposed in project proposal, while all planned activities were conducted smoothly (details in section 2.). Quality was taken care from project level (from the first, kick off meeting, quality was regularly monitored and evaluated by all project partners, through project meetings) and from deliverables level (HIPHURA program was challenged on two demo.sessions where developed program with proposed exercises was “tested” by volleyball coaches and players from project’s partners sport clubs). On demo.sessions invited coaches gained a valuable knowledge that, we believe, will have a strong impact on their coaching habits during every day trainings. Based on their enthusiasam, positive and proactive feedback and lots of questions after demo.sessions we believe that those coaches will disseminate further improvements contained in new training program to other coaches. This is particularly important since their influence is quite relevant in their communities. Last quality control was challenging HIPHURA program with Register of injuries filled with partners’ data to verify that exercises recommended in program are adequate to reduce or fully eliminate risk of injuries that occurred in project participants’ sport clubs during the project lifetime. Final outcome, HIPHURA program and TtT Handbook are published on project’s website.We did our best in order to disseminate project and its results as well as to secure its sustainability since all partners are known by continuously undertaking activities, on local and national level, to encourage children and adolescents to practice sports. Coacheas as well as KIF experts that participated in HIPHURA project have quite big and, for this project, relevant network, and they are well placed to make impact primarily in their countries and then on EU level, and to improve the training conditions to safeguard health of volleyball players and prevent injuries. For example, Mr. Peter Eichstädt, COO in SVS Sokol, was Vice-President in CEV SCD (Confédération Européenne de Volleyball, Small Countries Division) and FLVB (Fédération Luxembourgeoise de Volleyball), and was involved in organization of CEV Final Round for Women, Austrian Cup Finals and Final Four MEVZA (Middle European Volleyball Zonal Association), while president of HAOK Mladost, Mr. Miro Pavlovic, is president of one of the biggest Croatian volleyball associations - Zagreb volleyball association. All of them are committed to further disseminate and promote HIPHURA project and its results. Wider awareness of project and its results will promote a volleyball as a safe sport among youth and encourage them to get involved and to gain multiple benefits: enhance their wellbeing, stabilize mood states, reduce stress, enhance the ability to concentrate.