Strengthening mental resilience, digital coaching & inclusion in sport
An Erasmus+ project promoting personal growth, digital innovation, and social inclusion through baseball and softball across Europe.
Explore the Project
BEST (Beyond the Sport) equips young athletes, coaches, and parents with tools for resilience, focus, and inclusion. It combines workshops, digital coaching, and international tournaments to create a more connected and inclusive baseball community in Europe.
Workshops to build confidence, stress management and focus among players and coaches.
Introducing video analysis and performance-tracking tools to modernize coaching methods.
Training sessions encouraging participation of underprivileged youth and more female athletes.
The BEST Erasmus Sport project combines sport, education, digital innovation, mental well-being, and social inclusion. Through a series of workshops, training sessions, and international baseball activities, young athletes and coaches gain practical knowledge and experiences that support both sporting and personal development.
The mental skills programme helps young athletes understand the importance of their mindset in sport. Across three interactive workshops, participants explore practical techniques for managing pressure, dealing with stress, improving concentration, building confidence, and maintaining motivation.
Through discussions, exercises, and real-life sporting examples, athletes learn how to handle challenging situations, set realistic goals, respond positively to mistakes, and stay focused during competition. The goal is to provide young athletes with mental tools they can use both on the field and in everyday life.
Digital technology is becoming an increasingly important part of modern sports training. These hands-on sessions introduce athletes and coaches to digital tools that can make training more structured, engaging, and effective.
Participants learn how training applications and video analysis can be used to monitor progress, review performances, identify strengths and weaknesses, and set new development goals. Video analysis also allows athletes to look at their technique from a different perspective and understand how small improvements can make a difference.
Inclusion is an important part of creating a positive sporting environment. These workshops focus on how sport can provide equal opportunities and bring young people together regardless of their background, experience, or abilities.
Coaches and participants explore topics such as diversity, respect, equality, teamwork, communication, and social inclusion. The sessions encourage participants to recognize barriers to participation and discover practical ways to make sport more welcoming and accessible to everyone.
Through sport and shared experiences, participants learn how cooperation and mutual respect can help create stronger teams and more connected communities.
The Winter Baseball Interleague brings together young baseball players from different countries through three international tournaments. The events give participants the opportunity to compete in a friendly and challenging environment while gaining valuable match experience.
Beyond competition, the tournaments encourage teamwork, fair play, communication, and cultural exchange. Players have the chance to meet athletes from other countries, share their experiences, and build friendships through sport.
The interleague forms an important part of the project by connecting the educational activities with real sporting experiences and creating a foundation for continued international cooperation in youth baseball.
Explore our open resources - manuals, tutorials, and best practices for lifelong learning in sport.
Video analysis of batting. This workshop focuses on practical video analysis of batting, helping players and coaches break down swings with precision and purpose.
Watch the livestream here: Watch the workshop
Varaždin hosted the fifth WBI tournament, bringing young athletes together to sharpen their skills, enjoy
the competition, and create lasting memories.View
Photos
Watch the tournament's LIVE VOD replay here
Sport as a tool for social inclusion workshop is coming up. This interactive workshop explores practical strategies for creating a more inclusive and equitable sports environment for all children.
Watch the livestream here: Watch the workshop
Novi Sad hosted the fourth WBI tournament, bringing young athletes together to sharpen their skills, enjoy
the competition, and create lasting memories.View
Photos
Watch the tournament's LIVE VOD replay here
Karlovac welcomed the third WBI tournament, creating a space for young athletes to develop their skills
while having fun. View Photos
Watch the tournament's LIVE VOD replay here
Leadership and mental skills workshop is coming up. In this workshop we will talk about the role of parents in youth sports and how parents, through their attitudes, expectations and communication, shape the way children experience sport.
Watch the livestream here: Watch the workshop
The second WBI tournament took place in Zagreb, where young athletes came together to play, learn, and have
fun. View Photos
Watch the tournament's LIVE VOD replay here
The second WBI workshop is coming up, bringing coaches together for an engaging and practical learning experience. The programme will focus on Leadership & Mental Skills for Coaches, exploring effective leadership, communication, motivation, and the mental side of coaching. The workshop will also include a Video Analysis Workshop, giving coaches valuable tools and insights to better analyse performance, identify key areas for improvement, and use video effectively in their coaching process.
Watch the Mental Skills Workshop live VOD here: Watch the workshop
Watch the Video Analysis Workshop live VOD here: Watch the workshop
The inaugural WBI tournament took place in Ljubljana, bringing young athletes together for exciting games
and skill-building workshops. See all the action: View Photos
Watch the mental workshop LIVE VOD here
Grant agreement #101243385 signed under Erasmus+ ERASMUS-SPORT-2025. The project officially begins!
Winter Baseball Interleague (WBI) was established within the Erasmus+ Sport project BEST – Beyond the Sport to strengthen international cooperation, support the development of youth baseball, and provide structured competitive opportunities during the winter season.
WBI connects clubs from different European countries, offering young players meaningful international experience outside the regular season, while promoting fair play, inclusion, and long-term athlete development.
20. 12. 2025
24. 1. 2026
21. 2. 2026
Official competition format, scoring system, and rules of play are defined in the WBI regulation document.
Download WBI Regulations (PDF)Complete statistics for all players throughout the WBI tournament are available at the link below.
View player statistics