M20 EHF EURO stars dive into Respect Your Talent workshop

“We need to take care of our talent, work hard, be dedicated, learn from other players. Handball needs to be fun,” says Henrik Jevnaker, Norway’s back at the M20 EHF EURO 2022.

Jevnaker is one of the players selected for the class of 2022 in the Respect Your Talent programme, which aims to nurture, improve and help young players to fulfil their potential both on and off the court.

With workshops scheduled throughout the tournament, as well as the introduction of a brand new RYT app, players have been getting first-hand insights from the programme’s ambassadors, such as former Barça right wing Victor Tomas, on how can they become better and better.

The aim of the workshops with the project ambassadors is to inspire young and talented players for a career in professional handball but also to show them how important education surrounding other topics is and that they should not neglect other parts of their life.

Over 30 players attended the workshop that took place on Thursday in Gaia, plenty of whom have already shown their talent on court at the M20 EHF EURO 2022, winning the Player of the Match awards in the games they played.

The trailblazing approach of RYT, by elevating the concept of role models, seems to have made an impression on the talented young players.

“This is a very good experience for a young player. Talking about media management and mental health, make everyone understand what they can do. It is always a pleasure, because it is not every day you meet one of the best right wings [Tomas] ever,” says Portugal’s Joao Gomes, who helped his team qualify for the semi-finals.

Under the guidance of Tomas, the workshop saw the players find answers to the question of what makes a great player together; get to know the RYT app — which has a variety of training material in areas like media management, mental fitness, sports law and anti-doping; and participate in teambuilding exercises.

“Respecting my talent means to nurture it, to improve it, use it to be better and someday play at the highest level. It is good for young players, to show them the best way to talk and to be better both on and off the court. Who could be better to teach us than former players, who displayed their talent on the court for so many years?” says Slovenia’s Vid Miklavec.

One aspect that quickly became a hit for all the players was the media management class, which turned into a teambuilding exercise, where players themselves acted as journalists interviewing their peers.

“When I will use the app, I think I will access the media management part. Because I play in Norway, that is a good thing to practice, as there are a lot of media there,” says Jevnaker.

The introduction of the RYT app will be a gamechanger for both the alumni of the programme, the current crop of players who have just joined and the future stars of handball. New types of training sessions will be introduced, as players will learn from the ambassadors regarding all aspects of the sport. The innovative app is accessible globally.

“I learnt today that I should pursue the best out of me and I should use my chance and use my talent to become a professional handball player. It is great to have this opportunity and I will definitely try to improve in all aspects,” says Dominik Kuzmanovic, Croatia’s goalkeeper.