IOHA agrees on collaboration with UCD Institute of Sport and Health

The Irish Olympic Handball Association (IOHA) announced first ideas and steps towards a partnership with the University College Dublin Institute of Sport and Health (UCD-ISH).

The UCD-ISH approached the IOHA as part of a general plan to expand its partnerships and services with popular European Olympic sports. UCD-ISH Manager of the Human Performance Laboratory Dr Domenico Crognale and IOHA Technical Director Dr Andrea Ongaro have been discussing various possible collaborations that will take place once sporting activities can resume in Ireland.

The relationship is focused on multiple development avenues, as the two organisations aim to have a permanent partnership of sharing knowledge and resources and be open to develop and explore new opportunities in the future. 

The IOHA will offer sport specific knowledge and an environment where UCD Health and Performance Science students can acquire high-level competition experience. The first step includes UCD-ISH students and graduates joining the coaching staff of senior clubs as sport scientists. There, they can acquire knowledge and experience on the specific physical demands of handball.

At the same time the IOHA will deliver handball coaching courses to the students who then can pass on their knowledge as junior team and school handball coaches. What the UCD-ISH can offer is the expertise of their student and personnel in high performance sports, athletic development and conditioning.

“This is a huge advantage for the IOHA because every year a new class of coaches would be qualified and available which can be employed in delivering handball coaching in the communities. Graduate students might decide to stay in the handball environment”, says Dr Ongaro. 

Further contributions from the UCD-ISH include preparing the material for higher level coaching courses in fitness, conditioning, performance, physiology and biomechanics. It can not only improve the distinct performance of top athletes and clubs but also educate handball coaches and sport specific fitness and condition coaches, raising the overall quality to a higher level.  

How and when handball will be permanently implemented in the students’ curriculums will be discussed in a couple of years and is subject to the success of the first part of the project. However, this collaboration is already considered a milestone for the development of handball in Ireland and an opportunity that can boost the sport at multiple levels, from performance to education to player safety.

For more information on the IOHA, visit the official IOHA website.

Photos: IOHA