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La Cantera coaching

Disease-orientated training courses for young clinicians and researchers, inspired by a world-renowned football academy model.

What is La Cantera?

In the world of football, 'La Cantera' is an academy model that helps young players to develop their skills. A famous example is F.C. Barcelona's cantera, which has produced players such as Lionel Messi.

In 2012, inspired by this approach, Prof Massimo Federico of the Fondazione Italiana sui Linfomi (FIL) developed a disease-oriented coaching event for young hematologists. The aim of this event was to:

• Train small groups of young clinicians and researchers on clinical research
• Create networks of young scientists in the field of lymphomas
• Generate fruitful collaborations that further clinical research on these specific hematologic conditions

In the years that followed, the La Cantera hematology course expanded its reach beyond Italy. Since 2018, the course has been co-sponsored by FIL and the EHA Lymphoma Group. In 2019, EHA provided direct financial support for the first time and helped to obtain unrestricted grants from industry.

Now, alongside the EHA Cantera on Lymphoma, EHA would like to hold a further 'pilot' La Cantera course with another SWG. This additional course will take place between September and November 2025. You can find out more about it in our call for interest.

The La Cantera coaching model

Overview

In line with the La Cantera model used in football training, a 'team' of up to 20 young clinicians and researchers from European centers receives 2.5 days of disease-oriented special coaching in clinical research. The 'coach' here is a world-class leader in the field, sometimes assisted by another expert—for example, one clinician, one pathologist/biologist.

At the end of the coaching, the teams develop and present research proposals for clinical trials. These are then evaluated by a faculty.

The winning project(s) is followed up by the SWG network and the trainees, and further developed over the following year. During this period, EHA also encourages trainees to apply for CRTH/TRTH mentoring programs, to help them gain more knowledge of the research environment.

Course format

Introduction

The event opens with an informal meeting that's held the day before the start of the scientific sessions (day zero).

The opening is usually held around 18:00 and includes dinner and the introduction of the coach to the 'players,' and vice versa. This allows the players to break the ice with the coach, and to lay the foundation for a fruitful interaction from the beginning of the course.

Indeed, La Cantera is not intended to be a mere series of formal lessons. Instead, the entire format is based on a very interactive exchange between coach and trainees.

Part one

The first part of the course starts the following day (day one) and continues until the morning/early afternoon of the day after (day two).

During these sessions, the coach will give a 30–40-minute talk but leave most of the time free for discussion and questions.

Spending almost all the time together, having dinners together, and having a restricted number of participants allows the creation of an informal, friendly atmosphere. This helps the young hematologists to get the most out of this unique experience.

Part two

The second part of the event starts in the afternoon session of day two of the training and is devoted to the trainees.

In small groups, the trainees draft investigation proposals that focus on an issue they would like to investigate if they could access a research excellence center. These presentations can be in the form of a talk, a slide-based presentation, etc.

During the morning session of day three, each group of trainees has 7–10 minutes to present their proposals to the:

• Assembly
• Coach
• Faculty

The coach and other faculty members then evaluate the proposals. At the end of the event, the coach announces the winner.

What happens after a La Cantera event

EHA will commit to facilitating post-training activities for one year after La Cantera. This might include any of the following items.

Collaborative group meeting for trainees at the EHA Congress

EHA can support by:

• Reserving a meeting room
• Arranging audio-visual equipment
• Supplying coffee and tea
• Arranging complimentary EHA Congress registration for the trainees who are EHA members
• Issuing invitations for the Young EHA reception and the Young EHA Research meeting

SWG activity

EHA will:

• Encouraging trainees to join an SWG
• Follow up on the research proposals
• Support the presentation of proposals/results at SWG meetings and EHA Congress

Collaborative research projects and research training

EHA will help by:

• Facilitating networking and inclusion in EHA collaborative research projects
• Encouraging trainees to apply for research training—for example, CRTH/TRTH, etc.

Faculty of La Cantera

For each proposal, EHA will allocate one mentor who will:

• Adjust it based on the faculty comments made during the evaluation
• Help to develop it further