On Friday the annual EBCA Convention started in Mulhouse, France. Day one of the baseball clinic of the European Baseball Coaches Association also revealed the EBCA Coach of the Year. 2016 winner became Sven Hendrickx from Belgium, who led the Belgian national team into the top six at the European Championships in Hoofddorp, Netherlands. It was the first time since 1999 that Belgium again advanced that far. A panel of the EBCA had shortlisted a list of candidates and then coaches and fans throughout the baseball community were asked to cast their vote.