*TEA BREAK*

The Football Club Social Alliance project in Sri Lanka had started in March 2013. At the end of May, the instructors from FC Basel 1893 and FK Austria Wien together with Scort had undertaken a second long journey to the east coast of the country. Unlike in Batticaloa, where the first part of the Young Coach education took place, the region in Kalmunai in the Ampara district (approximately 40 km from Batticaloa), is Muslim-dominated. An exciting fact about the project in collaboration with the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) is the cooperation of culturally and religiously different districts and villages. The 30 participating Young Coaches represent Tamils and Singhalese, of which some are Muslim, Hinduists, Buddhists and Christians.

*TEA BREAK*

 A football game of two local teams draw a big crowd of male spectators to the pitch

Besides wanting to be good coaches and role models to the children they work with, the Young Coaches also aim to contribute to a future orientated and multiethnic society. During module 2, especially the 7 female participants showed their willingness to strive towards this goal. As far as the eye could see, they were the only women on the pitch. Nonetheless, they radiated joy and confidently conducted a football training together with their male Young Coach colleagues and under the eyes of numerous male spectators. Because of the local cultural conditions only boys were permitted to participate at the training session. For sure, it was new and quite impressive for them to be trained by a woman. All Young Coaches as well as participating and observing children had experienced an exceptional fun day.

The club instructors were impressed by the Young Coaches’ progress. Especially the self-confidence of female participants struck them. “Other than in Batticaloa, where the first module took place, the region here is Muslim-dominated and we haven’t seen any girls on the football pitch. This is why I highly esteem the female Young Coaches’ participation on the field. They confidently stood in front and trained the 100 boys. In doing so, they also gave a strong image to the local population who were watching our activities”, resumed Patrick Haidbauer (instructor FK Austria Wien) his impressions.

*TEA BREAK*

Strong leaders and role models on and off the pitch: female Young Coaches leading training units

The emphasis of the four intensive education days in May lay in running trainings appropriate for children and in elaborating children’s rights. The Young Coaches learned that the set up of a training for 6 to 12 year old children should focus on learning through playing. “The children need to play, play and again play, to move a lot and to learn while having fun” stressed Willy Schmid, FC Basel 1893 instructor. Thus, techniques like passing, shooting etc. should be taught for example through fun games. With these reminders the Young Coaches had prepared the  training for local kids which they successfully ran later in the day.

Martin Bernhard (FK Austria Wien) was astonished how the education mobilised local people: “I am amazed by the number of spectators – adults, children, regardless of age – watching our work each day. And more particularly, how many children were bustling around us from morning till night. There is definitely a need for well-trained, competent Young Coaches here!

*TEA BREAK*

 Theory with the FK Austria Wien instructor Bernhard

*TEA BREAK : Anyone who is about to plan a whole day education in Sri Lanka, should definitely include tea breaks both, in the morning and in the afternoon. To the Scort team and the instructors from Basel and Vienna it was well worth it to interrupt  the education programme for a short while when they were served the presumably best tea in the world.

More pictures from the Education in Batticaloa and Kalmunai!

The seminar was managed by the British Council and the Premier League in co-operation with the Scort Foundation and was funded by the European “Youth in Action” programme. It offered the Alliance member clubs the opportunity to share best practices and to exchange ideas for future joint projects with other participating clubs like NAC Breda, Everton FC, Dunfermline Athletic FC, Aberdeen FC, Motherwell FC, Anorthosis Famagusta FC.

“This seminar offered me for the first time the opportunity to learn about the CSR management of professional football clubs outside Germany and gave valuable inputs for new own projects. I personally realised during the workshop that CSR in professional football is also of significant value in other countries.” (Maximilian Roeren – community outreach worker SV Werder Bremen)

The seminar addressed community outreach workers as well as policy makers. While the community outreach workers are mainly involved in running the clubs’ social programmes in the field, the policy makers were especially interested in working out new strategies to increase the impact of their community outreach programmes.

“A super interesting seminar! Especially the exchange with other European clubs was very enriching and made me come up with new ideas for our own club.” (Anja Kelterborn, policy worker SV Werder Bremen)

“I enjoyed three inspiring, intense and interesting days in Liverpool. Many best practice shares between clubs from all over Europe from which the FC Basel 1893 definitely can learn from. I would like to thank the British Council, the Premier League and host Everton FC.” (Joël Fux, policy maker FC Basel 1893)

The seminar, hosted by Everton FC, also offered theparticipants the opportunity to gain insight into the club’s extensive range of outstanding social programmes (e.g. Safe Hands, Everton Free School, Disability Programme).

“The visit at Everton Free School was a very special moment and I was fascinated by the sustainable work realised in this institution.” (Jan-Philipp Heine, community outreach worker SV Werder Bremen)

“Apart from meeting great people and participating in excellent workshops the field visit to Everton’s community programme “Safe Hands” was very inspiring.” (Johannes Jäger, community outreach worker Bayer 04 Leverkusen).

During interactive workshops the participants from different European countries realised that social reality may be somewhat different in their communities. Nevertheless, they could still learn from each other by exchanging project, fundraising and partnership ideas. After all club representatives had the chance of getting to know each other and exchanging about the clubs’ different community outreach programmes the Scort Foundation conducted a workshop on the question “Why should I go international – benefits and challenges”. Then, the following day the participants worked out various ideas about how to set up new co-operations on European level and were trained in applying for Youth in Action funds to realise their ideas.

“I think it was an outstanding atmosphere offering lots of room to get to know others and to exchange among each other. It was very interesting to understand how different community outreach work is designed in the different clubs but also how different private and public funding opportunities are in the different countries.” (Jan-Philipp Heine, community outreach worker SV Werder Bremen)

“The seminar offered four outstanding days. I especially enjoyed to think about possible closer co-operations with other clubs and new joint projects in the future.” (Johannes Jäger, community outreach worker Bayer 04 Leverkusen).

“It was very interesting to learn how many different community outreach schemes are realised in whole Europe and how many-sided the projects are.” (Charlotte Schumacher, policy maker SV Werder Bremen)

The community workers and policy makers of the participating Alliance clubs enjoyed the rich exchange with likeminded football clubs which may bring up new, inspiring actions, initiatives and cooperations between European clubs.

Read about the 1st Community Outreach Workers Seminar in 2012

According to the Ministry of Health, malaria prevention is a key priority of its activities and they try to provide nets for every household in Uganda, empowering communities to be involved in the roll-out and community sensitization activities for families. The use of insecticides for indoor-residual spraying and larviciding are also key priorities of the Ugandan MoH and are part of its strategy to eventually eradicate malaria from the country. However, the MoH’s access to rural populations is limited and the training of the Young Coaches as active leaders in their communities can help expand the reach of key health related messages. “Working with the Young Coaches opens up more non-formal opportunities for the Ministry of Health to access people”, stressed Richard Okwii (Ministry of Health, Behaviour Change Communication) after the workshop.

The Novartis Malaria Initiative provided all the Young Coaches with malaria educational books to help communicate key messages about malaria prevention, common symptoms, the importance of diagnosis, the need to seek treatment early from a health facility, and to complete one’s full treatment course. These key messages are delivered in an easy to understand story that tells the story of the young girl, named Tatu, fighting malaria. In addition, it educates about the disease and how to control and prevent malaria cases within their families and communities. The Novartis Malaria Initiative, which developed the Tatu booklet, donated 3,000 copies of this educational material. Kileken ole-MoiYoi (Novartis Malaria Initiative) believes that the Tatu book will facilitate Young Coaches community-based social work: “Although the Young Coaches are very eager and committed to engage with their communities, in the past they perhaps lacked the materials to support their activities. Capacity building is one of the 4 pillars of the Novartis Malaria Initiative’s strategy and I believe that equipping the Young Coaches with the Tatu booklet will help empower them to teach people in their communities about malaria. We are pleased that we can collaborate with the Scort Foundation and the Young Coaches to help reduce the significant burden of malaria in Uganda.”

During the workshop the Young Coaches were equipped with the Tatu booklet

The Young Coaches highly appreciated the workshop and booklet which equipped them with new knowledge and enthusiasm to sensitize people. “I am going to start sensitization programmes by telling the community how to stop the spread of malaria. People should remove standing water around the places where they sleep. People should learn to know about the importance of mosquito nets, they should use the nets when they are provided and they should sleep inside the nets”, explained Paul Mudong.

Geofrey Kulla Okello, from the above mentioned district of Amolatar, shared his future plans against malaria: “Amolatar has a very high rate of spread of malaria – but, I didn’t know it was the highest biting rate in the world. This I learned in the seminar. The main thing is to try to empower the community by giving them the necessary basic information about how they can prevent further spread and how they can treat malaria once someone is infected.”

Steve Tharakan, Scort’s project manager for the initiative in Uganda, highlighted that the workshop met the Young Coaches’ needs and interests to communicate key messages about malaria prevention to the children they work with. “It also made a significant contribution to one of our project goal of conveying local relevant life skills which complement the football know-how of our Young Coaches”, he added. In the name of Scort and The Football Club Social Alliance he thanks the Ministry of Health Uganda and the Novartis Malaria Initiative for their valuable contribution to the Young Coaches education!

The Tatu booklet is a helpful tool to teach key messages about malaria prevention

(Text in Deutsch siehe unten)

The atmosphere was festive – a little bit like at the Champions League – when the two handicap football teams entered the pitch to play the final of the 100% Werder Cup in Bremen, Germany. To the thunderous applause of the spectators the teams lined up next to referee Mica from Basel. “I think this was the best Werder-Cup for handicap-teams we have organised so far”, resumed Tim Juraschek, head of the CSR Department of SV Werder Bremen. “I am overwhelmed by the smooth running of the Cup for special needs schools and associations. The Young Coaches did a great job.”

Lining up next to Young Coach & referee Mica / Finalmannschaften reihen sich neben Young Coach & Schiedrichter Mica auf

6 handicap teams competed at the 100% Werder Cup

The challenging Werder Cup organisation was in charge of the 11 Young Coaches, who from May 22-26, 2013, completed their 2^nd training module to become coaches in disability football. The Young Coach education programme is a joint project of The Football Club Social Alliance members FC Basel 1893, SV Werder Bremen and Bayer 04 Leverkusen. The clubs educate young people with and without physical or mental disabilities to become Young Coaches in disability football. A unique feature of the programme is that the Young Coaches work in “Tandems”- one with a disability, and one without – to graduate from the training course as a pair. Thus, they mutually support and learn from each other.

Based on the 1^st education in Leverkusen in April 2013, training and coaching skills were further developed during the 2^nd module in Bremen. The disability football experts and instructors from the three Alliance clubs were extremely satisfied with the personal progress of their students. “The Young Coaches properly applied their newly acquired skills, and above all, they opened up and showed much more confidence”, said FC Basel instructor Joachim Eble.

FCB instructor Joachim Eble teaching the Young Coaches

During the education module, the Young Coaches unexpectedly received prominent support from the former professional player Tim Borowski who contributed his knowledge to the course. Young Coach Jannik, player of the Werder handicap-team was thrilled: “It’s incredible that such a football player is joining us, this is fantastic. He advised us and gave us support.” Also the Borowski enjoyed being with the Young Coaches at the Weserstadium: “The two days here were extraordinary. I’ve learned and absorbed so much”, he explained.

Instructors, Young Coaches & Tim Borowski at the Weserstadium in Bremen

With many memories and new training experience under their belt, the Young Coaches from Bremen and Leverkusen will join their fellows in Basel in July to attend the Special Youth Camp. “In Basel we will be able to show and use what we have learned in Leverkusen and Bremen”, said Claas, who plays in a handicap-team in Leverkusen. At the Special Youth Camp, the football and summer camp for youth with disabilities, the Young Coaches will support the club instructors and autonomously conduct a training as well as organise the closing tournament. Both, the instructors and Young Coaches are looking forward to the Special Youth Camp and feel confident that it will be a successful event with a terrific atmosphere – a little bit like at the Champions League.

Tournament management / Turnierleitung Claas & Samuel

Young Coaches sind bereit fürs Special Youth Camp

Ein bisschen Champions League Atmosphäre kam letzten Samstag beim Werder-Cup in Bremen, Deutschland, auf, als die zwei Handicap-Mannschaften unter dem tosenden Applaus der Zuschauer zum Final einliefen und sich neben Schiedsrichter Mica aus Basel für das Spiel aufreihten. „Ich glaube das war der beste Werder-Cup für Handicap-Mannschaften, den wir bisher durchgeführt haben“ fasste Tim Juraschek, Leiter der CSR-Abteilung des SV Werder Bremen, zusammen. „Ich bin überwältigt vom reibungslosen Ablauf und der Organisation des Cups für Fördervereine durch die Young Coaches aus Basel, Bremen und Leverkusen.“

Die Organisation des Cups lag komplett in den Händen der 11 Young Coaches, die vom 22.-26. Mai 2013 im Weserstadion in Bremen ihr 2. Ausbildungsmodul zum Trainer im Behindertenfussball absolvierten. Die Ausbildung ist ein gemeinsames Projekt des FC Basel 1893, SV Werder Bremen und Bayer 04 Leverkusen und wird im Rahmen der Mitgliedschaft zur Football Club Social Alliance durchgeführt. Ziel ist es, junge Menschen sowohl mit als auch ohne körperliche oder geistige Behinderung gemeinsam zu Young Coaches im Behindertenfussball auszubilden. Sie werden befähigt, selbstständig oder in Tandems (ein Young Coach mit und einer ohne Behinderung) Trainingseinheiten von Handicap-Mannschaften zu leiten. Diese Trainingsleitung ist auch für Teilnehmer ohne Behinderung eine Herausforderung. Micha, Sportstudent, stellte nach dem Training eines Handicap-Teams fest, „dass der „Schritt rückwärts oft schwieriger ist, als der Schritt vorwärts“, d.h. die Übungen einfacher zu gestalten, als einen Schwierigkeitsgrad hinzuzufügen.“

Max, Sportstudent in Basel, fand, dass alle Young Coaches durch die vielen praktischen Übungen einen riesen Fortschritt verzeichnen konnten. Besonders stolz war er aber über die Leistung von Mica, Spieler des Old Boys Dream Teams in Basel, während des Werder-Cups. „Mica, mein Tandempartner, konnte sich über die Dauer des Turniers in seiner Schiedsrichterleistung profilieren und pfiff am Ende sogar das Finalspiel mit souveräner Leistung.“

Tandem Schiedrichter / Referees Tandem : Mica & Max – Micha & Jannik

Nach dem 1. Ausbildungsmodul im April in Leverkusen wurden die Lerninhalte im Trainerbereich nun in Bremen vertieft. FCB-Nachwuchstrainer Joachim Eble leitete zusammen mit Werder und Bayer 04 verschiedene Einheiten und war mit dem Lernprozess der Young Coaches sehr zufrieden. „Für mich als Instruktor war es sensationell zu sehen, wie sich die Young Coaches seit Leverkusen entwickelt haben. Nicht nur, dass sie in dieser Zeit fachlich vieles verinnerlichten, sondern vor allem sich auch menschlich nach aussen geöffnet haben.“

Während der Ausbildung im Weserstadion in Bremen erhielten die Young Coaches zudem unerwartet prominente Unterstützung durch Ex-Profi-Fussballer Tim Borowski, der die Gruppe zwei Tage lang begleitete. Das war für viele ein absolutes Highlight. „Er ist einer meiner Lieblingsspieler. Dass so ein Fussballer, so ein Profi dasitzt, ist schon cool. Und er hat auch viel geholfen, als wir nicht weiterwussten“, berichtete Young Coach Jannik, Spieler bei Werder Handicap-Team, und strahlte über das ganze Gesicht. „Auch ich hab mich sehr gefreut“, sagte Browski, „ich konnte viel lernen und aufsaugen. Wir hatten hier im Weserstadion zwei wundervolle Tage mit den Ausbildern und den Young Coaches und ich freue mich, dass ich dabei sein konnte.“

Werder Bremen Instruktor Michi Arends zeigt Bewegungs- und Koordinationspiele / Agility and Coordination with Werder instructor Michi Arends

Mit vielen tollen Erinnerungen und neuem Trainer Know-how im Gepäck werden die Young Coaches aus Leverkusen und Bremen im Juli zu ihren Kollegen nach Basel zum Special Youth Camp reisen. „In Basel können wir zeigen, was wir in Bremen und Leverkusen gelernt haben“, freut sich Young Coach Claas aus Leverkusen schon heute. Die Young Coaches werden ein Training sowie das Abschlussturnier des Fussball- und Sommercamps für Jugendliche mit einer körperlichen und/oder geistigen Behinderung leiten und die Club Instruktoren während der restlichen Zeit der Woche unterstützen. Die fest zusammengewachsene Gruppe der Young Coaches und Ausbilder freut sich auf das Special Youth Camp, das ihrer Meinung nach nur „ein grosser Erfolg“ werden kann. Und sicherlich wird auch in Basel wieder ein bisschen Champions League Stimmung aufkommen.

Ice-Breaker & Fun Games

SV Werder Bremen and Bayer 04 Leverkusen instructors with some of the Ugandan Young Coaches

Uganda, a landlocked country in East Africa, has in recent years made headlines with civil war, deportations and abuse of children as child soldiers. According to the Ministry of Health 320 people die every day from malaria, making the disease, which mainly affects children, the #1 cause for death in the county. However, Uganda is also famous for its great variety of colourful traditions across the country, its rich fauna and especially its gorillas in the mountains bordering Congo and Ruanda.

When in May 2012 the instructors of SV Werder Bremen and Bayer 04 Leverkusen arrived for the first time in Uganda to start The Football Club Social Alliance educational project, they felt excited and uncertain at the same time – and so did the Young Coaches. Would the mixed group of social workers, teachers and footballers coming from various Ugandan regions fit together? How were the participants from this crisis-hit country going to behave and cooperate and would the German instructors be able to teach them their knowledge?

The German instructors conveyed once more their expert knowledge to the Young Coaches

All these questions and uncertainties quickly faded. Soon close ties between the instructors and the 29 Young Coaches started to developed and grew stronger over the course of the year. The young Ugandans learned a lot about the responsibilities of a coach on and off the pitch as well as about age-appropriate activities and communication with children from 6 to 12 years. Also the German instructors learned much about the Ugandan cultures, customs and dances.

“In any event, the project in Uganda was well worth our efforts. We’ve learned a great deal about the culture and the people and have also managed to make a lasting impact. The Young Coaches were extremely motivated and eager to learn”, said Werder instructor Ingo Goetze. His colleague, Tobias Süveger, agreed. “One realises that the Young Coaches are very proud to participate in the Alliance project. They are taking a lot out of it.”

The Young Coaches not only learned to organise football trainings with the kids, but also to act as role models and multipliers of health messages

Being a Young Coach includs being a coach, a role model, a leader, a motivater … and a caretaker

The one-year training programme aimed to educate young women and men to become grassroots football coaches for disadvantaged children. It was also a priority to teach the Young Coaches how to act as role models and to support their society through their professional work. Besides learning how to organise age-appropriate football trainings, tournaments and festivals, the participants also acquired soft and life skills. Welthungerhilfe for example has conducted workshops on sanitation, hygiene and the correct use of drinking water. All local partner organisations have – in cooperation with the Ugandan Red Cross Society – organised first aid courses for the Young Coaches. Malaria was another key topic that was discussed in a workshop conducted by the Ugandan Ministry of Health with materials and support from the Novartis Malaria Initiative.

SOS Children’s Villages has acted as the main national project partner. Other local partners have also participated like Welthungerhilfe, the Ministry of Education and Sport, the Kids League and NACMU (Noah’s Ark Children’s Minsitry Uganda). They have nominated a total of 32 Young Coaches from varies regions of the country. 29 Young Coaches have fully completed the one-year education programme and have solemnly received their certificate last week.

Ingo Goetz is confidently looking into the future: “Without doubts, the Young Coaches will use their new experience and convey their skills to others.” Jörg Kappenhagen from Bayer 04 Leverkusen adds: “I think they will continue to network in their country. I believe we are going to hear a lot from them.”

Handing over the certificate and celebrating the successful completion of the training programme

Congratulations to all Ugandan Young Coaches, for your eagerness to learn and for your great efforts to support the children in need, your communities and your county Uganda.

Willy Schmid with the kids participating in the practical football session at the Youth Leadership Camp

Together with Scort, the FC Basel instructors Willy Schmid and Joachim Eble conducted an education day on “football and social development”. Even though the two instructors spent only a day with the camp participants, they were confident, that their training provided the camp participants with much more than just some insights into grassroots football. „Our purpose was to convey knowledge which can easily be put into practice. Today, we certainly equipped the participants with appropriate skills that will be useful for their work back in their communities.” explained Joachim Eble.

Cheikh, one of the 30 participants, who all come from French-speaking African countries and the Middle East, highly appreciated the lessons learned from the FCB coaches. “They warmly welcomed us and taught us how to use sport for the development of children. It was awesome how fast we connected and cooperated as a group, it was really cool.”

FC Basel instructors Willy Schmid and Joachim Eble conducting the grassroots football training

“In fact”, said Willy Schmid, “besides football techniques we focussed on teaching the key concept of linking and combining social skills with football on the pitch.” This idea of using football to teach social competences was first discussed in interactive workshops and practically demonstrated by the instructors. Then, in the afternoon, the participants were asked to lead themselves a football session for a group of local children, which had been a fantastic experience for both sides. The camp organiser and project responsible from UNOSDP Maren Kröger was satisfied with the outcome: “I am observing the work of FC Basel and I am quite impressed that they have no fear to get in touch with our participants. They bring them into action and convince them to get involved and to teach others. Especially now, the participants use what they learned with the FC Basel and teach kids from Switzerland various sports exercises.”

UN officials as well as the United Nations Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace, Mr. Wilfried Lemke visited and followed with great interest parts of the education day. The project manager from Right To Play, Jacob Murray, underlined, that it was interesting to learn how professional football clubs of The Football Club Social Alliance jointly engage to promote social development, and was grateful for the support provided at the camp. “I’d like to thank FC Basel for spending the day with us today and teaching us about not only grassroots football in the community but practical, technical skills that the youth can use in their communities. I want to thank them for taking their time to come here and spend the day with the youth. It’s a big thrill for theses leaders to get a chance to have first rate coaches and also have a team from Scort to come and really see coalition between teams from different leagues coming together to promote grassroots football.”

The Youth Leadership Camp participants and the kids had fun at the Alliance education day

In January 2013, Doha, Qatar, had hosted the 4th camp where two Alliance Young Coaches from Uganda, Sarah and Noreen were selected to participate. Also for the next camp in Stockholm, Sweden, the Ugandan Young Coach Teddy was chosen by the UNOSDP to participate. Gwangju, South Korea, will host the last camp in 2013 and continue the success story of the Youth Leadership Programme: the project was initiated in 2012 and had been conceived to support youth working on grassroots sport for development projects by giving them access to education which can improve both their own professional progress as well as their projects.

Unsere Tandem Young Coaches aus Basel, Bremen und Leverkusen posieren in der BayArena

Die erste Aufgabe der Clubs war es, aus ihrem Umfeld je zwei Tandems, bestehend aus einem Teilnehmer ohne Behinderung und einem Teilnehmer mit körperlicher oder/und Lernbehinderung,  für die „Tandem Young Coach-Ausbildung“ zu nominieren. Rojah, Mica, Beni, Marcel, Claas und Jannik sind leidenschaftliche Kicker und trainieren in ihren Handicap-Mannschaften in Basel, Bremen und Leverkusen. Auch Micha, Jenny, Max, Jo, Samuel und Simon sind Fussball-Fans. Während die einen als Sonderpädagogen arbeiten oder dies studieren, bringen andere noch gar keine Erfahrung im Umgang mit Sportlern mit einer Behinderung mit. Was aber alle Ausbildungsteilnehmer verbindet, ist ihr Interesse, bald selbst Behindertenfussball-Trainings zu leiten.

Was heisst es, Young Coach im Behindertenfussball zu sein? Welche Aufgaben übernimmt ein Young Coach? Wie wird ein Behindertenfussball-Training aufgebaut? Und was muss ich Spezifisches beachten? Diese und ähnliche Themen wurden den Teilnehmern in praktischen und theoretischen Lektionen vermittelt. Die Ausbilder – Fussballinstruktoren, Behindertenfussball-Experten, Sonderpädagogen und Mitarbeitern der Sozialabteilungen der teilnehmenden Alliance-Clubs – gestalteten ein vielfältiges Programm mit viel Raum für Fragen, Spiele und Spass. Drei Teambuilding-Spiele mit Lachgarantie am ersten Morgen und schon waren die Berührungsängste wie verflogen. „Es war wieder einmal schön zu sehen, wie fast völlig Fremde in so kurzer Zeit durch den Fussball zu einer eingeschworenen Gemeinschaft werden“ freute sich Tim Müller, Bayer 04-Ausbilder und Sonderpädagoge an einer Partnerschule des Clubs.

Die Gruppe hatte sich schnell gefunden

Während der Ausbildung stand die Zusammenarbeit im Tandem im Mittelpunkt. Nicht nur theoretische Aufgaben wurden zu zweit gelöst. Auch bei der Umsetzung von Übungen auf dem Platz besprachen und unterstützen sich die Teilnehmer gegenseitig – eine fortwährende Möglichkeit, um voneinander zu lernen: „Marcel hat mir beim Einstieg mit der Arbeit mit Menschen mit Behinderung sehr geholfen. Die wichtigste Erfahrung nach den ersten Tagen ist das beidseitige Geben und Nehmen. Man bekommt von den Young Coaches mit Behinderung sehr viel zurück und über ihr Verhalten eine sofortige Rückmeldung über die eigenen Fähigkeiten, Dinge zu vermitteln“, resümierte Jo seine Eindrücke aus dem ersten Teil der Young Coach-Ausbildung. Simon erhielt neue Blickwinkel in die Trainingsgestaltung: „Ich habe von Claas viel dazugelernt. Wie er es mit der Handicap-Fussballgruppe gemacht hat, fand ich ganz beeindruckend“. Claas entgegnete: „Mit Simon habe ich viel Spass, wir beide lernen. Er lernt von mir. Ich lerne von ihm das Erklären. Von mir lernt er meine Art, wie ich mit Kindern trainiere.“

Young Coach Tandem Marcel und Jo leiten zusammen eine Trainingseinheit beim Freitagstraining des Bayer 04 Handicap-Teams

Simon und Claas setzen ihr bisher erlerntes Wissen um und unterstützen sich gegenseitig bei der Trainingsleitung

Vor der Gruppe zu stehen und etwas zu erklären war für Claas, Jannik und Joshi nicht selbstverständlich und auch nicht einfach. Als sie beim Freitagstraining des Bayer 04 Handicap-Teams eine Übung erklären mussten, sagten sie abschliessend, dass Vorzeigen doch einfacher sei als Sprechen. Und trotzdem meinte Class mit einem Augenzwinkern, dass seine Logopädin heute beim Training ziemlich stolz auf ihn gewesen wäre. Er wollte es ihr gleich nächste Woche erzählen. Ganz nebenbei fühlten sich die Young Coaches sicherer mit ihrem Tandem-Partner an ihrer Seite. „Jenny hat mir geholfen. Sie hat es mir gezeigt und dann habe ich das den Kindern vorgemacht. Es war leichter zu zweit“, sagte Joshi stolz über seinen ersten Einsatz als Young Coach. Auch Jannik war vom gemeinsamen Einsatz mit seinem Tandem-Partner begeistert: „Es war richtig cool mit Micha. Wenn ich nicht mehr weiter wusste, als wir mit den Kleinen trainiert haben, hat er mir geholfen.“

Das Werder Tandem Jenny und Joshi

Von der Mischung aus Unterricht und autonomem Lernen im Tandem profitierten beide Seiten. Die Teilnehmer ohne Behinderung konnten viel Gespür für ihr Gegenüber und die Arbeit im Behindertenfussball entwickeln. Als Mentoren förderten sie gleichzeitig die Selbstständigkeit und das Vertrauen der Young Coaches mit Behinderung. Genau das brauchen sie, um nicht mehr als Spieler einer Mannschaft sondern als Trainer oder Assistenztrainer auf dem Platz zu stehen. Ein Team zusammenzubringen, vor vielen zu sprechen, die Spieler anzuleiten und zum Üben zu begeistern – das alles gehört jetzt zu ihren Aufgaben. Mit der Unterstützung ihres Partners und der Ausbilder lernen sie, diesen Schritt auf die andere Seite der Fussballmannschaft zu machen und allmählich die Verantwortung als Trainer zu übernehmen.

Mica bespricht mit Max den gemeinsamen Einsatz

Micael verlässt das erste Ausbildungsmodul top motiviert und freut sich schon auf den nächsten Abschnitt Ende Mai in Bremen und seine neue Rolle als Young Coach. „Am liebsten würde ich schon am Freitag unser nächstes Training in Basel leiten.“

Die Young Coaches in der hinteren Reihe, das Ausbilderteam in der vorderen Reihe

In the morning the staff gathered in the meeting room of the Novartis Hüningen sports campus. The instructor from FC Basel 1893, which is a member of the Football Club Social Alliance, was ready to teach them some of the fundamentals of coaching and grassroots football. The enthusiasm of the new coaches was evident, and they completed their theory lessons well ahead of schedule, skipping their break and heading straight for the pitch. The weather couldn’t have been better either, as not a single cloud could be seen in the bright blue sky.

Knowing that the new coaches did not want to waste any time, Willy Schmid from FC Basel 1893/Scort and Steve Tharakan from Scort threw them into the deep end of the coaching and training programme. There wasn’t a moment when a football wasn’t being passed, kicked or dribbled. Willy only had praise for the effort they were putting in, saying that “they picked up everything quickly even though they had no knowledge of football training before today”.

It wasn’t long before the kids had arrived and had changed into their football gear. Evidently they shared the employee’s enthusiasm for the football, and wanted to make the most of the beautiful weather, as both schools made their arrival well before schedule. This was of course no cause for concern for Willy, who was keen to remind everyone of his number one rule of coaching: “Always be flexible!”

After plenty of handshakes and high-fives, it was time for the Scort staff and Willy to take a step back. It was now up to the new coaches to take charge. Within moments the peaceful green pitch became a hive of activity, as all four corners were being used for different warm-up games. André, one of the new coaches, summed up the excitement of the kids “The kids are totally motivated, they just want to play football so much and are constantly chasing us around the pitch, it’s a really great challenge!”

Just before lunch at the extremely welcoming Novartis sports field restaurant, there was time for the first short football matches, which would get the kids prepared for the tournament at the end of the day. The children chased every pass, celebrated each goal as if it was a world cup winner, and cheered the goalkeepers with every brilliant save. Although the call for lunch was a welcome one, it was hard to keep the kids in the seats for long. Not even dessert could keep them from jumping from their chairs and running back to the pitch.

After the chance to cool down and gather their energy, it was time for the Novartis employees to get back into the fray. First they were to lead the football exercises they had prepared in the morning session with Willy, to then getting the tournament started for the excited children. After the four teams were chosen and the coaches joined their sides, tactics were discussed and motivational talks prepared the players for victory. With two games being played simultaneously, it was hard to keep up with the fast-paced action. Goals were scored, feints and skills shown off, and the kids often put their coaches, who were joining in the action, through their paces on the field.

The 11 coaches were all in agreement about how great the kids were, and how much fun they themselves were having with the training sessions. Susanne, one of the coaches, said that “I’ve found it extremely interesting, as I have never done anything like this before. […] The children are having so much fun, they are full of life and are always happy to participate. I’m going to enjoy the rest of the day, it really is something special!”
Coach Denise shared Susanne’s enthusiasm: “We have absolutely beautiful weather, lots of great kids and the whole thing is just so much fun.”

Brigitte, who works at the TSM Schule in Münchenstein, also thought the day was a success, and emphasised the positive partnership between the two schools. “This year another school has joined in, which is really great because our kids rarely get a chance to make any contact with other children, especially in sporting events. We are now looking to foster this new relationship with the other school, and are looking to work together on similar events in future.”

Manuel, one of the children taking part, was also very excited with how the day went and how the end of the day tournament was going: “Today has been brilliant! I had so much fun, I set up a goal! Now I hope that we can win our last game and bring the win home with us!”

It’s safe to say that Manuel and everyone else was able to take a win home, as Willy ended the day with the announcement that all teams had done enough to take first place! With that closing announcement, and some much needed ice cream, it was time to say goodbye. Hopefully we will all see each other again next year!

To see more photos from the Novartis Community Partnership day check out our Flickr page.

After the fantastic results of the previous project of 2010/2011 in Sri Lanka, and the great attitudes of all Young Coaches and local partners involved, the Alliance partners were eager to get started with another Young Coach education programme in the country. The main local partner, the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) suggested holding the project on the remote east of the island in tropical Batticaloa and Kalmunai.

Even though they were faced with soaring temperatures and humid weather, the European football instructors quickly took to getting the most out of the Young Coaches through the vigorous training and education sessions. Patrick Haidbauer, instructor from FK Austria Wien, could tell that the Young Coaches were putting in a huge amount of effort, and were achieving positive results within a short amount of time. “During the first module, the Young Coaches displayed great developments in different areas on and off the pitch.” Willy Schmid, the instructor from FC Basel 1893, reaffirmed the Young Coaches’ willingness to learn, saying that “The Young coaches are very interested, positive and yet very surprised at the variety of training methods such as planning, organizing, monitoring, corrections and necessary technical and social skills.”

The FFSL has chosen this project location for specific reasons. The people of Batticaloa and Ampara, the two focus districts of the Sri Lanka project, have faced many struggles in the past years. In 2004 the coastline of the two districts was severely damaged by the South Asian tsunami, and the enduring civil war only ended recently, after nearly 26 years, in 2009. “So because of this reason the football had gone down. With the resumption of normality in 2009 we have been developing football over here”, states the president of the Batticaloa Football Association N.T. Farook. With the influence of the Young Coaches, now equipped with football and social knowledge and skills after completing the first module, training and football activities can now take place in these areas.” Farook believes that their new abilities will help with the development of football in the region and “spread everywhere in the Batticaloa and Ampara district.”

One part of the Young Coaches’ education involved understanding how to prepare and carry out Fun Games events and Football Festivals. By teaching the Young Coaches how to organise events of their own, they can ensure that the children frequently share opportunities to interact with others of their own age. Most importantly, they have a chance to play games and have fun. After two days of studying the planning process, the Young Coaches’ new skills were put to a test. First they had to organise a Fun Games event for 60 local girls and boys. A day later, they had to plan and carry out a Football Festival for an even greater number of children. This also gave them their first experience of arranging football activities of this scale, and they will now know what to expect in future. Patrick Haidbauer was delighted with the result: “Especially noteworthy were the extremely well organised two football events, in which a total of 140 kids took part. The thematic areas, which were edited by the instructors, were implemented excellently and over 100 laughing kids proved that the Young Coaches have a great potential to promote grassroots-football in their region.”

Young Coach Gowvury, who studied physical education in Jaffna and works for the Red Cross in Batticaloa, is fully motivated by the programme and shares Mr Farook’s expectations. “We have this great opportunity with Scort and the clubs. We are really surprised that foreigners come to teach […]and promote our training and coaching attitude[…]We will never forget what they taught. And we will do our best in the future in football coaching.”

Fasloon, an English teacher from the city of Kalmunai, also believes that his Young Coach education and the Alliance project will have a positive impact in the area and supports the football federations’ efforts. He explained how there had been no opportunities to train as a grassroots coach before the start of the project: “Before we have arrived here (in the programme) we didn’t know how to treat, how to teach the children and kids. After we have arrived here in the Scort programme we got many information through practical and theoretical sessions. Now we have got a clear idea how to start our grassroots level activities.” Fasloon is looking forward to using all the new skills and to setting an example for the underprivileged children in his community. “Being a role model for children is very important. They are in the learning position. So,[…]Whatever the teacher says, they will follow, even if it is wrong. So we have to be clear and improve our skills and knowledge and behaviour. The kids will follow us and we will be a good role model. I like to be a role model, this is why we are here.”

Fasloon played an important role within the coaching education programme as he is the only participant who speaks English, Tamil and Sinhalese. Most of the participants have only basic English skills and the group is a mix of Tamil and Sinhalese native speakers. So, there was no common language between most of the instructors and Young Coaches, and the group needed to rely on the interpreters Bertie (Tamil) and Kosala (Sinhalese), as well as on the support of participants like Fasloon, to communicate with each other. Although the instructors had to teach at a slower pace, so that the translators could explain the theories to all of the Young Coaches, it allowed everyone to communicate effectively and ensured that no one was at a disadvantage. Bertie and Kosala also translated explanations of the training session activities, which guaranteed that the Young Coaches could complete their tasks and form great inter-team relationships.

At the end of the project a surprise was waiting for the excited Young Coaches. To continue their work after the first module each Young Coach received 10 One World Futbols, which were donated by One World Futbol Project in cooperation with Chevrolet. Like their Young Coach colleagues in Uganda, this group of new Young Coaches in Sri Lanka can now, thanks to these balls, conduct grassroots football activities independently in their communities. It was a great end to a first module that yielded many positive results, in which any initial challenges were quickly dealt with – a big thank you to our local partners who supported us with perfect local coordination during the project’s kick-off. Everyone is excited to get started with the second module in Kalmunai, which is anticipated to take place during the summer…we can’t wait!

You can see more photos from the first module on the Scort Foundation Flickr page.

One of the main problems that the Young Coaches of the Alliance are facing while carrying out football activities is that good, durable footballs are often not available in their country. If they are available, the playing turfs are commonly too rocky for normal footballs, meaning that they often rupture and become unusable. The self-inflating One World Futbol (OWF) balls are designed to resist these naturally occurring hindrances, and are built to be used on every kind of playing surface. Naturally, when The Football Club Social Alliance announced the partnership with One World Futbol Project last November, this was great news. Upon hearing the news, we immediatelly received an email from a Ugandan Young Coach: “Warm greetings from the children. The children were very excited and delighted about the news of the balls that are coming our way.”

The balls from OWF have now been distributed across Uganda to the local partners of the Alliance. Each of the 31 Young Coaches has been given 15 balls they can use for football and social activities in their communities. We have received very positive feedback from the Young Coaches:

Young Coach Badru is school teacher and sport coach with The Kids League in Kampala. Each Saturday and Sunday, when the children are not at school, he organises football activities for them in his community Kyebando Central. He says that, since the recent arrival of the OWF balls, things have become much easier. “I like the balls because they don’t give me a hard time putting in pressure, their colour also attracts the children and again they don’t get spoilt and damaged very fast.” Also, the “number of children per ball has reduced, which gives each child chance getting access to the ball since they like it so much.”

Noreen, Albert and Shabella are Social Workers, working for SOS Children’s Villages Uganda, and active Young Coaches. Using the OWF footballs, they are able to organise weekend activities for the 150 kids in their community in Northern Uganda. The children can now play without worrying about damaging the footballs: “We don’t have to worry about thorns pricking them hence causing damage to the balls. The balls are also attractive in colour and children find this very interesting, especially as they love bright colours.” Thanks to the OWF footballs, the Young Coaches have had a much easier time gaining parents approval for their games and activities: “Whenever we call on community children, their parents are supportive of our programme because we now appear well equipped too”.

Young Coaches Sarah and her friends Wycliff, Bbira and Andrew Bosco, who work for Noah’s Ark Children’s Ministry Uganda, have been able to use the OWF balls for activities with 550 children from their community’s schools. Many more kids from outside of the schools have also had the chance to play with the balls. Sarah greatly appreciated the balls and thanks the OWF Project, The Football Club Social Alliance and Scort for the generous donation. She thinks the balls are especially enjoyable for the younger kids: “They are durable, favourable to the young ones […] and the kids say that they bounce better. They make a difference because they are light to kick and favourable on rainy days.” Like Badru, Sarah observed that the kids love to play with the OWF balls for another reason: “The colour attracts the kids”.

Young Coach Camillus is very grateful for the donation, which has been of great help for his activities. “I now have the materials to use during the training.” Camillus is a teacher and a sport coach and he uses the balls during football training and physical education lessons in the school. He supervises children in classes of a minimum of 70 children and is extremely glad to now have more material. “The balls are very excellent, in good right sizes for the children and I no longer suffer with pumps to inflate them. They have made football more lively to all boys and girls since they are light, smooth and in a very exciting orange colour.” Camillus believes that the balls have positively changed the image of football in the school, as many more children are now involved in the sport.

The OWF balls have not only benefitted the disadvantaged children, but have also been used in other areas where sports are necessary for social rehabilitation. “We gave 5 footballs to the football teams of the Moroto prison.” states Dirk Ullerich from Welthungerhilfe. “They have a pitch inside their compound…a good name for the team might be ‘footballers without borders’.” Welthungerhilfe also distributed many of the balls to primary and secondary schools in the Karamoja region, one of the poorest areas in Uganda where many violent conflicts are still taking place.

A new batch of OWF balls has been sent to Sri Lanka, where The Football Club Social Alliance’s new project will be starting at the end of March 2013. The young women and men, who will be trained as Young Coaches by the instructors of FC Basel 1893 and FK Austria Wien, have not yet been informed about this delivery. We are sure that they will be excited to receive 10 balls each, which they will use to initiate football activities after the 1st education module in Baticaloa and bring joy to kids across the region.