I am from a small village in northern Germany between Hamburg and Bremen called Stade. I grew up playing football but not at a very high level (the highest I got to was the German 5th division). Unfortunately, I had to end my career early as I started to get a lot of injuries, but my love for the game never left, so I decided to try coaching. I have had some great experiences in my coaching career so far, and I’ve been fortunate enough to have coached in the U19 Youth Bundesliga for Werder Bremen and Holstein Kiel, two big clubs with lots of history. Now, this is my 11th year working as a coach.
I recently had a bit of a mix up in Germany where I was offered one job and had already left another one, only for the one I had been offered to then be revoked, leaving me stranded. A friend of mine who works in the Russian top division sent me a link to a website that showcases coaching opportunities around the world, and this is where I discovered the FTIFA Cape Town job. I immediately knew this was an opportunity that I wanted to explore, as I have always wanted to live abroad and to be able to do so while pursuing my passion of coaching was something I could not pass on. South Africa is such a beautiful country with breathtaking nature and friendly people. This was the adventure I had been waiting for!
A few months into my time as FTIFA Cape Town Coach, I was offered the HBUFC U18 coaching role too, so now I coach for FTIFA and HBUFC. This enables me to really pay attention to the players on the FTIFA programme and assess whether there are potential pathways for them within the HBUFC academy, while also being able to coach a really competitive HBUFC U18 team with players capable of progressing into the first team and beyond. It is my job to help these players on their journey of development, not only as players, but as people too – this is what makes me happy and is my true passion.
I am excited to try and help these players from Hout Bay that come from very different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds to pursue their goals and have successful careers in football. Most of my coaching career in Germany was spent working with this age group where the objective is to get players from youth levels to senior teams, so I believe I am experienced in this and I’m excited about the opportunity to do this in a new country with different challenges. There are a lot of players in the HBUFC U18 squad who are close to being ready to take the next step into the first team, and my goal is to try and help them close that gap by improving any weaknesses in their games while making them feel confident enough in their ability.
Of course I have had to adjust to life outside of Europe. I actually couldn’t (and still can’t) believe how big the social differences are in South Africa. It really brings me down to earth and makes me appreciate all of the little things I am so fortunate to have in my life. I am very aware that for some players, being able to play football is their only route out of the circumstances that they come from. Some important skills that I think I have already started to develop, but need to continue improving on, are to practise being more calm and patient, especially with my players. I realised that I really don’t know what they might be going through at home or in life, so to try and support them as best as I can and provide them with positive feedback is something I am working on. I find that in Germany, if someone doesn’t say anything bad, then that is considered good feedback, whereas here, people are a lot more active in giving positive feedback and it can really make a big difference to people’s confidence and how much they believe in themselves.
For me, the biggest difference between German and South African players is on the tactical side of the game. Teams here seem to focus more on the offensive and attacking 1v1 areas of the game, utilising players’ natural skill and speed, but not much attention is given to defending, rest defence, and properly marking players. In Germany, players playing in top academies are more likely to have learnt every game phase and know exactly what is important from the style of play the club tries to develop throughout its age groups and in all of its players. Fortunately, it is much easier to help players improve their tactical understanding of the game compared to improving their physicality or technical attributes. As coaches, we just have to make sure they understand what is required of them, and from what I have seen since being here, most players are very happy to be coached and want to learn.
I really like being part of the HBUFC family. Everyone wants to achieve the same goals and it is always inspiring to be involved in something where everyone is pulling in the same direction. It is a great opportunity for me as I enjoy working with the first team head coaches and management and I believe I have a good relationship with them that has lots of open communication and collaboration. The style of play and methods of coaching they utilise are also similar to how I try to coach my teams, so I feel very comfortable working in this environment.
I am excited for what lies ahead on this journey, and hopefully I can play a part in developing some of HBUFC’s next star players.