EHF Young Reporter Project at the Women's EHF EURO 2014

It all began in Vienna, late November 2014. I had been invited to an EHF Young Reporter Workshop led by BBC reporter, Marcus Bösch, and wth a special focus on mobile reporting. 

We had one goal: getting eight youngsters from all around Europe ready for the challenge of reporting on the Women's EHF EURO 2014.

Using many apps, testing our skills at Fivers - Schwaz (Austrian HLA clash), being taught what our smartphones are really capable of and how to use it as a journalist. All that in just three days. Without a doubt, Marcus did great job!! Actually, It turned out to be one of the key weekends in my life - opening doors into to the media world and professional handball.

That hidden treasure of handball, many influential players and coaches, most of whom I had only watched on TV earlier, were standing beside me. Most of them very relaxed, like it was just another day in the office.

It made my job as a young reporter much easier and turned the EHF EURO from 'regular competition' to a life-changing experience. 

It was not just about handball as a game anymore, but people as well. Especially when it comes to psychology. I was lucky enough to get behind-the-scenes and see some players' pre-game routines, and discover their hidden talents.

Thanks to other guys on the EHF Media Team including Andrew McSteen and Nemanja Savic, I also had an opportunity to be present at team training. This was very excited for me because the Montenegrin coach, Dragan Adzic (head coach), is one of my favourite handball experts. 

However, the great experience did not stop at the Montenegrin training sessions. The EHF President, Mr. Jean Brihault, arrived in Osijek later on. To do an interview with him was something I could not even imagine, but it became reality (see video). 

My journey continued in Zagreb where the Main Round took place. It was such an honour to work along with the 'handball journalism king' Björn Pazen over there. 

Anyway, it's not how you start but how you finish, and this championship was finished in style. Great games at the Papp Laszlo Sportarena in Budapest were followed by an entertaining closing ceremony, which was just the cherry on top of a great event.

Happy birthday EHF and thank you for the experience.

Cheers!