A group of West Ham United community coaches have taken the term international break to new levels this month with a coaching initiative in Denmark.

A delegation of ten from the club's 'Trainees and Mentors' scheme have travelled to Horsens in the Scandinavian country to work with local youngsters and coaches. After the significant success of summer programmes at home and abroad including the club's China tour, it was another sign of the West Ham United Community Sports Trust helping to shine a light globally on what is being done to give back locally.

The two-week trip has seen the trainees swap their usual work at the club's Beckton base to spend the first part educating young Danish people in their methods and training through school work and practical sessions on the pitch. The second week has then been all about those same youngsters helping the trainees to run half-term holiday coaching courses for the local children in Horsens.

A year in the planning, this scheme came about as a result of a partnership with VIA University College, and football club AC Horsens in Denmark, backed by Youth in Action the EU Programme for young people. The trainees were all overseen by the club's Rashid Abba, who was head coach for the Premier League during the Barclays Asia Trophy in Beijing and is vastly experienced at working with aspiring youngsters.

The ten trainees, each in their second year at the club, are all in their late teens or early 20s and hail from Newham and Tower Hamlets - the Hammers heartland around the Boleyn Ground. After imparting their knowledge and experience gained from the past year to those in Denmark, they will also be put to work on their return to train those just starting out on the 'Trainee and Mentoring' scheme.

Abba said: "This has been an exciting opportunity for the young people from east London to share their skills and experiences with the young coaches from AC Horsens.

"The Youth in Action funding is about encouraging intercultural diagloue between young people from across the European Union, and our work in Denmark is making an important contribution to both international co-operation and social cohesion.

"This type of innovative project shows the true potential of young people from Newham and Tower Hamlets, and provides them with the opportunity to showcase their talents abroad. Everyone at West Ham United is rightly proud of the outstanding job they are doing as international ambassadors for the club."

Pia Hegner from CIRIUS, the External Assessment Agency for EU Programmes, added they were delighted to be supporting the scheme. "I'm amazed to see how the participants are enjoying and interacting in intercultural role play. I'm also impressed and pleased to see so many female trainee coaches from West Ham United are participating in this unique exchange trip."

The exchange part has led to the Danish higher-education students from VIA University coming over to east London to write dissertations on the club's community programme and how it works with impoverished communities in east London. They are working in Mile End and Beckton, having earned the right to travel over through their academic excellence.

Similarly the club's trainees were staying with local families in Horsens to broaden their experiences. Bodil Klausen senior lecture and Intercultural Co-ordinator from VIA University College: "I'm delighted to see the West Ham trainee coaches coming to Denmark, working and living alongside with local Danish host families.

"It is encouraging to see how well the trainees, from such a variety of backgrounds, are integrating with both the Danish coaches and the schoolchildren taking part in the scheme."

Mick King, CEO of the West Ham United Community Sports Trust, said the Danish iniative was yet another step forward for the club. Similar schemes are in the pipeline - including potential programmes in Amsterdam and even as far afield as Trinidad - to show the world the West Ham way and at the same time bring back valuable lessons.

The information gleaned does not just help the trainees themselves but also sees a knock-on effect with them able to pass on their experiences and new knowledge to others. "The trainees get to find out about themselves," King said. "What it is like to live and work in another country is valuable for them to see at first hand.

"Similarly the Danish players and pupils find out what it is like to be coached and educated by people that aren't Scandinavian and aren't what they are used to. We feel we have positive messages to take to others in terms of our coaching and approach.

"The process promotes integration. Our trainees stay with Danish families while they are over there. They are broadening their experience in every way, not just on the pitch. It makes them better rounded invidivuals and this is reciprocated when Danish students come to us in east London.

"The exchange develops new horizons for the Community Scheme by creating the opportunity for young, inner-city talent to be recognised and showcased on a global stage. The trainees are not out there on a holiday, they are being taught how to be in a position of responsbiility and how to use that positively.

"This initiative builds on the success achieved in Beijing, where our young coaches made a significant impact. We are proud of our trainees as they uphold the West Ham United tradition of using sport to educate and inspire."