Thuringia: Train separately, win together: Girls’ football takes off in the Saale-Holzland district

They all play in different football clubs in the Saale-Holzland district – still in mixed boys and girls teams. But soon the physical differences will no longer make this possible – an all-women team is to be formed. The 11 to 14-year-old girls are already being prepared for a district selection.

“Uniques” is written on the white and red jerseys. And that’s what the girls around coach Mike Renke really are. Because they don’t train together. They play and train at different clubs scattered around the district, such as Bad Klosterlausnitz, Bürgel, Ottendorf, Rüdersdorf, Eisenberg and Hermsdorf.

Nevertheless, the girls around goalkeeper Zoe Korn have had some good success, including a 4-1 victory against Erzgebirge Aue – a seasoned girls’ team from Saxony. That was one of the best results, says player Lena Schmeißer.

Playing soccer against boys? No problem!

Lena and eight of her teammates are training together today on the sports field in Ottendorf – a rarity. The distances between the clubs are too far. Hanni, Lilly, Elea, Sunny, Lena, Lilly, Emma, ​​​​Zoe and Lara do not see the fact that the girls normally play football with boys and also against boys as a problem.

Although there are differences of opinion here and there, for the most part it works out, says Sunny Kosch. Elea Putzer said that you just have to put in more physical effort – she is often the smallest on the pitch.

Her teammates confirm that they can tackle properly. Nevertheless, the players agree: everything is twice as much fun in the girls’ team. You can talk about anything, the fun factor is great and the “vibes” are simply better. Elea is also sure that girls can play football so much better than boys.

Girls’ team with strong debut at indoor tournament

Coach Mike Renke from FV Bad Klosterlausnitz keeps the group together, which is scattered throughout the district. A year ago, he had the idea of ​​doing more for girls’ football in the Saale-Holzland district. The idea of ​​a selection team was born – initially only with the neighboring club from Ottendorf.

At an indoor tournament in Pößneck, the mixed girls from Bad Klosterlausnitz and Ottendorf immediately took fourth place out of ten – as the only girls’ team. This naturally made a big impression and other clubs in the district became aware of the selection team.

Interest in girls’ football is growing

The response now extends beyond the district borders. Renke also has girls from Neustadt and Molsdorf in the Greiz district on board. The motley crew does not train together, but meets once a month for a test match against experienced girls’ teams. And the team is doing more than well, say the parents. It is nice to see how well the girls work together, even though they do not train together.

Coach Mike Renke is now planning to be able to really get going in about a year and a half. When the boys from the mixed teams move to the men’s division from the B youth level, the girls’ selection team can then be set up for league play. However, it remains to be seen whether the girl will stay on the ball for the purpose of training or changing schools.

MDR (vle/cfr)