THE PASS METHOD: CHILD-CENTRED COACHING IN KORFBALL
Guest Article written by Bandor Nagy · VSD Korfball Dunakeszi
PASS is a player-centred coaching framework developed in Dutch korfball by Jaap Tilkema (KV Drachten) and refined in Hungary by VSD Dunakeszi, prioritising children’s enjoyment and long-term development.
Why PASS Exists
Coaches often struggle to balance making youth sport enjoyable with teaching skills and structure. Many environments lean too far toward control, results, or adult expectations, reducing children’s motivation and ownership of learning.
PASS responds to this tension by reframing how we think about playing, training, and learning.
What Is PASS?
PASS is a player-centred coaching framework that answers three practical questions for child-centred learning: how to play, how to run training, and how children should learn.
It translates research-backed principles into simple, actionable rules for everyday practice.
The Four PASS Pillars
Plezier (Fun)
Plezier is treated as foundational. Sessions are designed so every child experiences success, mistakes are reframed as learning opportunities, and feedback focuses on progress rather than correction.
Actie (Action)
Actie means high engagement and minimal waiting. Short explanations, small-sided games, and constant ball involvement increase touches and decisions per minute, which is vital for learning at young ages.
Samenspel (Teamplay)
Samenspel reframes what is valued in training by rewarding cooperation and shared responsibility. Game situations such as 3v2 or 4v3 encourage communication, movement, and collective problem-solving.
Scoren (Scoring)
Scoren encourages risk-taking and creativity. Every player should shoot, variability is embraced, and trying is valued over playing safe, helping children develop confidence and initiative.
The Role of the Coach
In PASS, coaches exist to enable children’s learning and enjoyment, not to showcase their own authority. Authority may create compliance, but a supportive learning environment creates joy, engagement, and long-term development
Why PASS Is Different
PASS’s strength lies in its integrated simplicity and explicit commitment to well-being. It aligns with Self-Determination Theory and game-based learning while remaining easy to remember and apply in daily practice.
Practical Tools
VSD Dunakeszi developed two practical tools to support coaches: a PASS score sheet that evaluates exercises across all four pillars, and a PASS process flow that helps adapt activities to better reflect PASS principles.
Beyond Korfball
Although developed in korfball, PASS is transferable across team sports. Its focus on enjoyment, action, cooperation, and courageous play makes it relevant wherever children learn through games.
PASS offers a practical and humane alternative to result-driven coaching by making fun, action, cooperation, and courageous play the true measures of success.
