Bayer 04 Leverkusen: FCSA – Young Coaches Training in the Border Region to Ukraine

Bayer 04 Leverkusen: FCSA – Young Coaches Training in the Border Region to Ukraine

From 16 to 21 July, this year’s Young Coaches training of the Football Club Social Alliance (FCSA) was concluded in the Polish capital Warsaw. Germany’s neighbour has taken in more than 1.5 million Ukrainians since the beginning of the war, more than any other country. For the third and final module, Thorsten Judt, FCSA instructor from Bayer 04, travelled to train local young coaches on site.

While the first two modules (in Romania and online) focused on age-appropriate and structured training sessions, child protection and learning games, the thematic focus of this third module was on designing inclusive football: FCSA instructors taught the Young Coaches how to adapt practices and games to different ability levels through specific training methods, thereby integrating all children, including children with a disability, in their activities.

“FOOTBALL FESTIVAL” AND WORKSHOPS

The Young Coaches were then able to apply their newly acquired knowledge directly with 20 children with disabilities in a “football festival” and in a tournament for 100 children from Warsaw. In addition to a first aid course, the Young Coaches also received “Psychological First Aid” training in cooperation with the Olympic Refuge Foundation. They learned how to provide psychological first aid to traumatised children and how to use sport to promote their own as well as the children’s mental health.

JUDT: “SUPPORT OVERCOMES ALL BARRIERS”

“We have 34 young coaches from four different countries here. It is impressive how many languages and nationalities come together. Nevertheless, our group has grown together a lot and you can feel a power and mutual support that overcomes all language barriers. I learn more with every project, especially when I hear the moving stories and backgrounds of the Young Coaches – their experiences in Ukraine and other countries, where they sometimes had to leave their families behind. These stories touch me and show me the importance of these projects.”

Thorsten Judt, FCSA instructor of Bayer 04

The third module of the Young Coaches training was conducted by the Scort Foundation and the FCSA clubs in close cooperation with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the local implementing partner, the Legia Foundation as well as it was supported by the Foundation Botnar.