Winter is almost over. Many football clubs are training again. This is also the case at FC Ottobrunn, where girls from F to B youth and boys from F to C youth come to play football every week. The SZ spoke to Thomas Nölle, 51, who trains a C-youth team there, about how his boys are doing physically and whether the corona-related training breaks are still lagging behind.
SZ: How fit are the children after this winter?
Thomas Nölle: The state of fitness is okay. We trained regularly on the artificial turf twice a week during the winter. Now we have more failures because someone is always in quarantine. It’s noticeable when someone hasn’t been there for two or three weeks.
Thomas Nölle trains a junior team at FC Ottobrunn.
(Photo: private)
Do you still notice the breaks in endurance and strength of the boys because of the lockdowns last year?
Yes, you definitely notice that. You can see that the fitness was missing. Some have also gained weight. There’s no point in just looking at performance. Sometimes I had to adjust the training. It was also about making nonsense together. As a coach, you also have a social responsibility.
And now it’s gone again?
Yes, that has settled down again. Actually since the spring of last year. We didn’t have any game failures. For children who had gained weight, I also spoke to the parents. For example, that they shouldn’t drink a Spezi, but rather a spritzer. Some also trained during the summer holidays.
How could the children support their fitness with the right nutrition?
That depends on the age. 13-, 14-year-olds like in the C youth tend to have to eat a lot because they grow a lot. Special diets are not yet for young people. I think it’s important that the children look at the drinks and drink water and spritzers instead of Spezi. You should ensure that your food is normal and varied, with vegetables, fruit and little fat and sugar.
Do you have any tips on how the children can train at home and in everyday life?
Social media is a blessing. You can find many exercises on Youtube. The Bavarian Football Association also has many training videos suitable for every age group. I do strength exercises with my boys, which I have also printed out for them to do at home. For the 13-, 14-year-olds that should still be without weights. You should only train with your own body weight. So such exercises as push-ups, side planks and forearm planks.
Because there are kids in quarantine every week, do you always line everyone up for the squad for games now?
At the moment I’m not playing friendlies. I avoid this because of the risk of infection and I don’t want to take any unnecessary risks. We also play on the full field, so with substitutes I would need 13 or 14 players. I wouldn’t be able to get them together at the moment because of the quarantine cases.
What do you want most for this season?
That it takes place without any problems and that no games are canceled. I’m not aware of a single case where a child got infected during training or a game. I wish that we can play really good football. For the children, the training is an anchor during this time where they can let off steam.