First French PAPA Team Meeting with Coach Educators

The first French meeting with Coach Educators was held at Grenoble University on 18-19 October 2010. Eight experienced coaches joined the team for two days at the Sport and Social Environment laboratory.

Four of the coaches were representatives of the French soccer league, working at a regional level, and four were active head coaches. The discussions that ensued surrounded the role of the ‘coach’ and their ability to enhance the performance and well-being of their young players. The meeting ended positively with the Coaches convinced by the PAPA principles and ready to begin the collaboration to deliver this message to grassroots coaches.

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David Villa, Ambassador of the PAPA Project

David Villa, the world-renowned professional football player for Barcelona C.F. and member of the Spanish Football Selection that won the 2010 World Cup, talked to the PAPA team in Barcelona expressing his commitment to the project. During the interview it was reflected how important the PAPA background and the Empowering coaching program principles were in his sport career, since he was a young player through to the present.