Discover the magic ingredients of the Icehearts Europe model
The participants will be able to:
- Define the concept of sport team and how it differs from team sport.
- Explain how the sport team can be a pathway to personal growth, fostering personal growth and promoting wellbeing.
- Express the importance of choice and autonomy in sport team.
- Define and describe the characteristics, mindset and typical tasks of the Icehearts mentor.
The Icehearts Europe “Sport team” philosophy
The ‘sport team’ concept is central to the Icehearts model. It is indeed a sport-based model. As part of Icehearts Europe, groups of children and young people join a regular sports team (differs from competitive team sport see below) along with their peers, which will be facilitated by the mentor.
The Icehearts Europe Mentor: The focus and characteristics
Goal of the Icehearts Europe mentor: to offer a growth environment based on equity and equality, safety, care, and appreciation through a committed, lasting and safe adult presence.
Mindset of an Icehearts Europe mentor: Ability to persevere in spite of obstacles and a flexible attitude geared toward accommodating the children and young people’s personal interests and natural predispositions.
Typical tasks of an Icehearts Europe mentor.
These can and must be adapted to suit local/national context through a framework that will be agreed upon with the lead Icehearts Europe pilot organisation that recruits you. The mentor's work is then both very autonomous and yet is always done in cooperation with the children and young people, family and stakeholders (including the implementing partner organisation). Therefore, different mentors can act in different ways and there are also different ways of working within the Icehearts Europe sport team, depending on the children and young people's situation.
FINAL REMINDER: A mentor’s main task is to support and guide children or adolescents in his or her team, with the aim of promoting the development of social and emotional competences, self-esteem and self-efficacy, which are necessary to prevent social isolation and foster positive development.
An Icehearts Europe mentor never acts alone! The mentor is always recruited and supported by a local grassroots sports organisation: the implementing partner. The mentor will be able to have the greatest impact when collaborating with various stakeholders in the community to bridge gaps in the system.
Let’s test your understanding of Icehearts Europe before moving to the next stop
We have developed a quick game to help you identify the important key takeaways so far and ensure you can safely move to the next stop.
