Ethics means "The learning about the right conduct". We talk about the right conduct in all the life's doings and also the right conduct as a handball trainer. 


The line of direction can look like this schematic:

And what is the right conduct? If you are a Christian you have "The 10 Commandments", which is considered to be the Christians guiding principles to live and to act. There is hardly anyone who would alter the text in The 10 Commandments, so they are here to stay. But handball is a game, which is subject to alterations for example new rules, better training methods and new formations. When these are changed,  the trainer's attitude to the game has to be evaluated and maybe revised. Still you have to take a look at The 10 Commandments and relate to them. One of the Commandments says "You shall not kill!" - then you are not a good Christian. Are you a good handball player if you deliberately slaughter an opponent on the court? No- hopefully everybody would say - but what if there are 10 seconds left, the score is 21 - 21, the opponents sharpshooter is building up to a shot right in front in a last try and if she succeeds you won't win the tournament????
Someone may give the sinner a heroic status and immediately absolution and accept that the referee disqualifies the player. But hopefully no trainers encourage their players to act like this. 

The handball also includes some superior guidelines, which all trainers ought to relate to and be aware of. That is fair play, moral, ethics and more -  concepts one as a trainer has to accept, if one wishes to be a part in the sport.

In this part I will be concentrating about the concept Identity.

As a trainer you have an identity, which makes the basic for your behavior, so in the first place you must establish an awareness of your interpretation of yourselves as trainer. A natural question must be: "Why are you a trainer and what you want to accomplish as a trainer?"

Then - when you have clarified that question and think, that everything is ready, you experience the variety in handball and players.

Why are you a trainer?
A trainer must always be aware of his trainer post and have a defined relation to what he wants as a trainer. All trainers act from different angles and opinions of what ought to be trained, and how to act in the different situations which occurs during training and matches. These actions often start with the trainer's undefined identity and personality, and add to the confusion on the team. If the trainer was aware of his trainer identity, he would no doubt be a better trainer. There would be established a common denominator for his training post.

As handball is a game in constant development it means that you as trainer must evaluate and maybe revise your idea about the game. New ideas in the game are created, referee rules are changed, the science discovers new physical training methods and  humanistic ideas are being revised. That means, that a trainer's identity, which is the basis of his actions and attitudes is changeable - taken into consideration if you are a trainer for youth or grown ups, broadness or elite.
Furthermore the game's development can course that you towards the game must revise your position. 

As a trainer you must be aware why you want to be a trainer and what you want to achieve. Here your personal goals come into action.

The answer could be:
1. I have personal ambitions.
2. I want to be a trainer.
3. I was pressed to be a trainer.

Re 1)
Generally most youth trainers have few personal ambitions, but there are some, who thinks on their present trainer functions as a step up on the ladder. The ambition could be, that the trainer wants to be a division trainer and that is not a bad intention. But care must be taken at the personal ambition does not have a negative effect on the players and turns the game into a negative direction. Such trainers can be recognized in their one-sided efforts to get good results without any regards to the fact that the players must learn to play handball both technically and tactically. If such a trainer has 2 "sluggers" on his team, he can go far in the young rows by telling the rest of the team to play up to these "sluggers" who then blows the goalkeeper into the net and the game is won - he can present the result and climb up the ladder. But sooner or later that trainer must realize that the mentioned way is not the right way, as the opponents gets better. If you have the ambition you must also learn that a division trainer must teach the team to play together and make all the players dangerous. He must also himself be willing to learn. A trainer's greatest restriction lies in the person himself.

Re 2)
If you really wants to be a trainer, you have a positive line of approach to the job, but then further questions arise, which you have to consider::

The questions could be:
1. I get a trainer suit for the job.
2. I get well paid.
3. The club has done a lot for me and/or my children, so now I will do something for the club.
4. I like to work with young people.
5. I would like to teach young people to play handball.

If you have chosen 1 and/or 2, maybe you should consider one more time if you want to be a trainer, as it is the outer motivation which counts.

If you have chosen 3 you have a better angle of approach, but 4 and 5 must be the best reasons. It is due to the fact that it is the inner motivation who drives you to be a trainer, i.e. because of the pleasure and joy there is in teaching and to deal with young people.

The opposite is the outer motivation - a state where you can experience the pleasure and joy by teaching, but the primary reason or motivation is the fact, that you are rewarded with different forms of rewards (training suit, money etc.). Sooner or later the motivation will disappear and the interest in being a trainer in handball becomes void in favor of a much more fancy dress or more money in another sport.

It is the inner motivation, which must be established and nursed. However there is nothing wrong in having ambitions on behalf of the team.

Re 3)
If you are pressed into the job, the press could be made in 2 ways:

1. You want to be a trainer, you fell, that the task is too difficult.
2. You really do not want to be a trainer, but was pressed to accept, as the club was short of a trainer.

If the press is 1, there is no reason for despair. There is always help to get in trainer courses, and mostly you can also get in touch with the more experienced trainers in the club and get inspiration advice and guidance from them.

If the press is 2 you ought to contact the club at once and inform, that you stop at once. If the urge to be a trainer is not present, the starting point is all-wrong, and there is no great chance that you will change attitude to the job. Sooner or later that attitude will reflect on the team, and that is of no benefit for the team.

What will you accomplish as a trainer?
Next step in the role as a trainer is to find out, what you will accomplish as a trainer.

There are 2 answers to that question:
1. I have no ambitions with the team.
2. I have ambitions with the team.

Both answers are correct if the trainer and the team are aware of the consequences.

Always start looking at the players. It must be fun to play handball, but it is also the trainers responsibility to teach the team to play handball. Therefore it must be a your trainer's ambition to make the game entertaining and educational. It is not always easy, as a team may consist of players who want to be elite and players, who just want to throw around with a ball. The art is to get the team to work together towards a common goal.

If you have no ambitions with the team, you better pick a team with the same attitude. It means a team which  sporting ambition is replaced by comfort and social aspects - where the match is played because of the exercise and comfort and where it in the training is not that important to learn new attack systems, but just to get a little sweat on the forehead.

If you have ambitions with the team, there is always a great problem if you become a trainer for at team, who wants to play comfort handball. There will arise great conflicts of interest, which should be avoided. It is therefore important at you - before you become a trainer for a team - clarifies whether ones ambitions match the team's ambition.

Unfortunately it is not always that simple. The worst that can happen is that the players says one thing and means something else. Here you must - as a trainer - try to evaluate whether is a "bluff-team" or single "bluff-players" and whether you are able to change their attitude or able to take the necessary decisions, which is needed to create agreement between you and the team.

You cannot discard a whole team, but single players can always be discarded. Just make sure, that the committee and the rest of the team is backing you up, because you otherwise will meet conflicts or get fired.

Another type of ambitious trainers (there are not many of them) is those, who - by learning the team new attack- and defense systems - achieve results. It means a trainer type, who wants to teach. That trainer, who uses the team to represent his trademark, of course also has the above mentioned problems.

Whether you are the first or the second type it does not have the great importance - just you are a trainer for a team with the same attitude.

For most trainers with ambitions on behalf of the team, it is important to win and move upwards, but it must not be the only reason. It is wonderful to win, but it must also be funny to loose. You can learn from lost fight, and used correctly such a match can make the team better. 

The training you do 1 or several times a week must be tested in the Sunday-match. Training and match must not be considered as 2 different things. Training exercises is a unit, which must be transferred to the match. Naturally you cannot expect the things to work at once, but be patient and keep on encouraging your players to try. One day you will succeed and hopefully to great joy for both trainer and players. When the things work in a tournament, the team and the players have developed, which means that you now can continue working from this new starting point. 

A good trainer is a person, who makes results and only through results draw others attention to himself and his qualities as a trainer.

When the team develops, the trainer also develops.