The Heart of the UP Project: A Transnational Meeting to Rethink Youth Sports Together

The best ideas are born from collaboration—and during the Transnational Meeting of the UP – Under Pressure project, that's exactly what happened. Coaches, youth workers, volunteers, and parents from the partner organisations came together to explore a shared goal: creating healthy, respectful, and inclusive environments where young people can enjoy sport without pressure.

Three Focus Areas, One Shared Goal: A Better Way to Do Sport

The meeting activities were structured around the project’s three specific objectives: challenging perfectionism in youth sport, promoting positive coaching styles, and educating parents on what it means to be supportive sport parents.

Perfectionism = Pressure?We opened the programme with a powerful workshop on how perfectionism contributes to stress, unrealistic expectations, and harmful sporting environments for young athletes. Together, participants explored how coaches and families can unintentionally push young people away from sport. The session laid the foundation for Chapter 1 of the “Under Pressure” method, a practical tool designed to help sports communities shift toward healthier values.

Rethinking Coaching StylesWe then focused on how different coaching styles—authoritarian, informative, participative, social, and guided—impact athletes. The discussion revealed how inclusive, empathic, and motivational approaches help foster confidence, engagement, and joy. A practical workout followed, introducing three innovative exercises to help reduce pressure in training environments. These insights were compiled into Chapter 2 of the method, supported by infographics, digital posts, and printable materials for sports spaces.

Parents: Support or Pressure?The final section addressed one of the most influential roles in a young athlete’s life: the parent. Through hands-on workshops and peer discussion, participants explored the fine line between encouragement and excessive pressure. They learned strategies to communicate with empathy, manage emotional stress, and foster a positive sporting environment at home. The outcomes were reflected in Chapter 3 of the method, accompanied by online content and roll-ups ready to be displayed in sports clubs and community centres.

Advocacy and Practical Tools

One of the meeting’s most engaging moments was the co-creation of an advocacy video campaign, where participants wrote, filmed, and edited a message to raise awareness on the risks of performance pressure in youth sport. This video is now freely available for use in community events, workshops, and online platforms.

Participants also helped develop three new physical exercises designed to relieve stress in young athletes—activities that are now being used and replicated across different sports organisations.

A Shared Legacy for the Whole Community

The Transnational Meeting was more than a training event. It was a co-creation space where ideas turned into tools. All the materials—method chapters, visuals, video, and exercise sheets—are now available online and ready to be used by other associations across Europe.

💡 Want to download and use the UP materials? Visit our official project website to access the “Under Pressure” method and help bring positive change to your sports community:👉 www.oltrenetworklab.com/up