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In autumn 2021, I received a three-month scholarship to live, train and attend public school in Ochtrup, Germany from K&G SportAcademy in partnership with Sportwerk, a state of the art training campus offering exclusive Soccer Bot and agility training technologies, contemporary indoor and outdoor playing fields, dormitories (modular chalets), recreation, and transportation amenities. Desired candidates for this program must demonstrate high standards of personal character and deportment and possess excellent soccer talent and proficiency. While on student visa, players are registered and licensed to play by the German Football Federation in official league and cup matches as a member of the SV Borussia Emsdetten (A-Junioren), as well as friendly games against German professional youth academies (e.g., FC Schalke 04, SV Meppen, SC Prussen, Munster, and SV Heide Paderborn). Participants attend the local Ochtrup public school to engage in a German immersion class where they develop an appreciation and proficiency in language, history, and culture while exchanging similar American influences with the German students.
Daily Life
Daily Life
When me and my teammates were not playing soccer, we did one of three things: Travel, Eat, and Sleep. On a really good day, we got to do all three at once! We were all given bikes so that we could navigate the small town of Ochtrup and in no time we became local celebrities and had multiple "hangout" spots and favorite restaurants we would visit. We also tried to see as much of the neighboring cities that we could, so as a group we would buy train tickets to Münster, Germany(40min) or Enschede, Netherlands(20min) and had our teacher Frau Gomez give us tours.
Language Barriers
Language Barriers
I personally did not know German before I arrived on sight. This meant I needed to learn...fast. Most people will tell you Germans are very good at English and they wouldn't be wrong if you are discussing a larger city, but when you are discussing the very small town of Ochtrup, English speakers were very rare. Luckily, we would attend school on Tuesday and Thursdays and took German language classes and after about a month and a half, I had developed a solid comprehension of German. I will say the best part about school was Frau Gomez's dog Bimba who could cure any ounce of homesickness with a single paw. Before that, however, I relied on technology to communicate mostly through the use of Google Translate.
SV Borussia Emsdetten
SV Borussia Emsdetten
Whilst living in Germany, I played for SV Borussia Emsdettens U19 youth Academy. We played in the third tier of Bundesliga soccer and we would train as a team on Tuesday, Thursday, and Fridays. With home and away games usually being on Saturday and on the rare occasion Sunday, playing on a team where your mates don't share the same language is very challenging. In a sport such as soccer, communication is key to having success and with two different languages being used on the field one side needed to budge. Seeing that we had traveled to their country, I and the other Americans sat down with our teacher, Frau Gomez, and make Quizlet flashcards with all of the words we would need to know for soccer. This use of technology was a massive success as less than a week later, every time we stepped on the pitch, we only spoke German as a team.
Sportwerk, Ochtrup
Sportwerk, Ochtrup
Sportwerk was our home away from home. As I mentioned above, we lived in small modular chalets but we really were only in them when we slept. Inside Sportwerk, we were provided with a locker room where we showered after trainings and stored all of our soccer equipment including jerseys, cleats, shin guards, etc. We also were provided with meals three times a day, usually coming before our various trainings and were provided by our wonderful cooks Elka and Anna who were our hero's after a long session, especially when they'd bring us dessert. Speaking of training, that brings me to the most important part of Sportwerk. In our normal schedule we would train three times a day on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and only once on Tuesdays and Thursdays, due to school taking up most of the day. Our trainings on Monday and Wednesday would start with a gym session and then after we lifted weights for roughly 45 minutes, we would move upstairs to currently one of the most technologically advanced set of training equipment in the world of soccer: The Speed Lab.
The Speed Lab
The Speed Lab
The speed lab is where we were able to not only enhance our skills with the newest technology available, but the speed court also allowed us to hone in on our specific weaknesses and improve these parts of our game. If you look carefully in the videos below you will notice that I am wearing a black wristband. This band would track your vitals while you used a machine and you also would have to scan it on the respective machine's computer so that it knew you were participating. The speed lab consists of 5 machines listed below. This technology allowed our coaches to evaluate our performances quantitatively as well as qualitatively.
IMG_0707.MOVLarge Speed Court
The Large Speed Court was used to help change direction and also allowed you to compete against your teammates. The white squares you can see on the ground are each linked with a censor that reacts when you touch it and then the court will give you a different tile that you must run to.
SportWerk..MP4Small Speed Court
Similar to the Large Speed Court, The Small Speed Court was made to increase the time it takes you to change direction. This speed court also uses those white tiles and censors to help dictate where you need to go next, based on the screen in front of you.
IMG_0714.MOVSpeed Bouncer
The Speed Bouncer was a 360-degree circle that you would have to see what the screen ahead of you prompted, and you would have to react by hitting the yellow pressure sensors that corelated with the screen.
7d04e7c3-79df-41c9-ba8f-c8ef44b032bb.MP4Sprint Track
The Sprint Track uses laser guided times and pressure sensors to help adjust your running form and also help improves your explosiveness and overall speed.
IMG_0709.MOVSoccer Bot 360
Soccer Bot 360
The Soccer Bot 360 in Sportwerk, Ochtrup was one of only two in the world at the time. You would walk into a 360-degree room and there would be projections on the wall for various prompts. The Soccer Bot had a total of 52 different drills that could be activated for training. The coolest part about the Soccer Bot in my opinion, is that it can tell what foot you use, how hard you are hitting the ball, and your accuracy when striking the ball. The Soccer Bot is easily the most complex piece of technology in the soccer world as for training and many professional teams are trying to add it to their training facilities.
What does this all lead to?
What does this all lead to?
For soccer training, the technology I was able to use in Germany absolutely changed the way I not only perceived the game, but also the way I train and play. This corresponds with my reliance on technology through tools such as Google Translate and Quizlet until I was able to speak and understand German. So the question you are probably left wondering is "Where does this all lead too?" Feel free to click the button and find out.
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