The tour involved a one day workshop on coaching skills with sportscoachUK prior to departure. Upon arrival in Serbia they observed a training session of Euroleague club Partizan Belgrade under coach Dusko Vujosevic.
The group also observed games from the Euroleague junior tournament which involved the best U18 teams from Serbia, Croatia, France, Italy, Germany and the Czech Republic.
A series of meetings were also organised with Serbian Youth team technical director Dejan Mijatovic and a series of workshops were organised to capitalize on the learning with the intention of bringing it back to England.
Lee Davie, coach of the U15 girls national development squad and former RPC coach commented: "As a group we found the trip an invaluable learning experience. The attention to detail and understanding within what we consider the basic fundamental technical and tactical skills from the junior to senior levels was truly something else.
"Ultimately the success of our trip will not be what we have learned, but what we do with what we have learned."
Head of Performance Warwick Cann also proclaimed the learning initiative as a success: "The most important concept of the tour is the need for coach development and the need to share information more for the benefit of the England talent pathway. I am pleased we have been able to establish such an activity which we hope to be annual.
"The fact we had ten coaches working and learning collaboratively was ideal for coach education and development. Obviously this is a part of our overall strategy to improve coaching and player development."
As part of their involvment in the tour, the coaches are required to provide reports and share information with fellow coaches. Look out for future coaching newsletters and other events where this information will be distributed.
