Project Overview
The GrassHealth project strengthens the safety, performance, and well-being of grassroots football players by equipping coaches with essential physiotherapy knowledge and skills. Through training in injury prevention, rehabilitation, and performance optimization, coaches become better prepared to protect and support their players on and off the pitch.
By combining a modular curriculum, practical workshops, webinars, and a digital learning platform, GrassHealth offers accessible, evidence-based education for coaches across Europe. The project aligns with EU priorities on health-enhancing physical activity, inclusion, and quality coaching, helping grassroots football become safer, more professional, and more sustainable.
Project Objectives
- Enhance Coaching Competencies: Equip grassroots football coaches with practical skills in injury prevention, basic rehabilitation, performance enhancement, and safe return-to-play decision-making.
- Promote Health-Enhancing Physical Activity: Reduce injury risk and support lifelong participation in football by embedding physiotherapy-informed practices into everyday coaching.
- Foster Inclusive Access to Training: Provide multilingual, user-friendly training materials and digital resources to reach coaches from underserved or disadvantaged communities.
- Leverage Digital Tools for Learning: Use e-learning modules, webinars, and an online platform to make high-quality training flexible, scalable, and accessible across Europe.
- Strengthen European Cooperation: Build lasting collaboration between physiotherapists, technology providers, and grassroots football organisations to improve coaching standards and player welfare.
Key Tools and Deliverables
GrassHealth Modular Training Curriculum
The GrassHealth Modular Training Curriculum provides a structured, evidence-based framework that helps coaches integrate physiotherapy principles into their daily practice.
- Core Learning Modules: Standalone modules on injury prevention, rehabilitation basics, performance enhancement, technology use, and mental health awareness, each with clear learning outcomes and practical exercises
- Flexible Use and Adaptation: Designed for use in workshops, self-study, and online learning, with content that can be adapted to different grassroots contexts and levels of coaching experience.
GrassHealth Training Resources Package
The Training Resources Package turns the curriculum into concrete, coach-friendly materials that can be used on the pitch, in the classroom, or online.
- Multimedia Learning Materials: E-learning modules, multilingual manuals, video tutorials, and infographics that translate complex physiotherapy and sports science concepts into clear, actionable guidance.
- Practical Coaching Tools: Checklists, step-by-step instructions, example drills, and case studies that support coaches in planning safer sessions and responding appropriately when injuries occur.
GrassHealth Digital Training Platform
The Digital Training Platform is the central online hub where coaches access all GrassHealth resources and track their learning journey.
- Integrated Learning Environment: Hosts the modular curriculum, e-learning modules, recorded webinars, manuals, and video tutorials in one user-friendly space, with progress tracking and completion certificates.
- Community and Support Features: Includes discussion forums and interactive elements that encourage coaches to share experiences, ask questions, and build a peer-support network around safer grassroots football.
Workshops and Online Training Package
The Workshops and Online Training Package brings the curriculum to life through hands-on learning and live interaction with experts.
- In-Person Workshops: Two full-day practical trainings where coaches practice injury prevention exercises, basic rehabilitation techniques, and performance drills with physiotherapy experts and trainers.
- Webinar Series: Three structured webinars focusing on injury prevention, rehabilitation basics, and performance enhancement, designed to reach coaches who cannot attend in person.
