Professional Athletes Up Close

It starts with a friendly bow. But after that, the eyes of the eight girls and boys gathered in the gym at the SOS Children’s Village in Germany’s Sauerland region grow wider and wider. Olympian Martyna Trajdos uses an expert move to fling her judo partner Szaundra Diedrich to the mat. “Uh oh, we’re supposed to do that next? That’s got to hurt!” says Diedrich, quoting the children’s first reactions. “So after the warm-up, we started out with a couple of games to allay their fears, then practiced some falling techniques, and finally worked on the first throws.”

Their enthusiasm grows with each new exercise. “With the right technique, I actually threw my opponent to the mat!” one of the young beginners’ course participants enthuses, pointing to a friend who towers a full head above him. In his zeal, he even dares to take on former European Judo Champion Trajdos, who gamely lets herself be tossed.

“The children realize they can achieve something if they have the courage and the right approach. Conveying that self-confidence is one of our main goals,” says Diedrich, who advanced to the top tier worldwide in 2015 by winning the Grand Prix in Tbilisi and gold at the European Open. During the training session, the judoka duo caution the kids never to forget one thing: “Look out for your partner! You have to be fair and make sure nobody gets hurt.” After a two-hour workout, the group enjoys lunch together, and meets again a few weeks later at the Judo Grand Prix in Düsseldorf so the kids can watch the two pros compete.

Martial arts with the elites of women’s judo, swimming with former freestyle world champ Paul Biedermann, paddling with Olympic champion canoeist Sebastian Brendel, throwing the pigskin around with football coach Patrick Esume – the list of activities run by top-ranking athletes as part of the “Wir stärken Kinder” (We support children) initiative goes on and on. Sportdeutschland.TV, ProSiebenSat.1 Group’s digital sports channel, joined with Germany’s SOS Children’s Village organization to launch the program in 2016. “This partnership is very dear to our hearts,” says Zeljko Karajica, CEO of 7Sports, ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE’s sports-related business company, which sparked the idea for the project. “We are thrilled with the fantastic commitment of these top athletes, who bring great enthusiasm to the project from day one.”

“Children whose biological parents can’t care for them need extra support,” says Dr. Kay Vorwerk, CEO and Managing Director of SOS Children’s Village: “Professional athletes, world champions, and Olympic gold medalists are role models when it comes to virtues such as discipline, focus, stamina, and the will to succeed. Sports teach kids to pull together as a team, solve problems together, and not give up when the going gets tough.”

Learning from setbacks

Many of the pros involved in the initiative themselves learned the meaning of motivation, willpower, team spirit, and responsibility through sports. And also how to deal with setbacks. That was the case for soccer player Tobias Strobl of Borussia Mönchengladbach, whose father died early: “That blow made me lose my direction,” he says, recalling the time immediately after his father’s death. But sports helped him get back on his feet. Today, he plays in the German Bundesliga with appearances even at top European level.

Strobl stands on his team’s practice field, takes a running start, and shoots – but the little goalkeeper deftly saves the penalty! After all, this is an aspiring Manuel Neuer. Kitted out in gym clothes and goalkeeper’s gloves, the elementary schooler is one of over 30 boys and girls from nearby SOS Children’s Villages invited by Strobl and his club to join them for soccer practice. After lunch in the VIP area, the midfielder takes them on a tour of the Borussia Park stadium, sits with them on the players’ benches, and shows them the locker room. “The children hung on his every word as Tobias described how the players file out onto the field through the tunnel with their fans cheering in the stands,” TV host Matthias Killing says. “Getting that close to a Bundesliga pro is an amazing experience for them.”

Killing, who hosts SAT.1’s Frühstücksfernsehen and ran sports programs, is also involved with the project as an ambassador. “A child’s laughter is the greatest possible motivation for me – when I see that, I’ve really accomplished something,” says Killing, who grew up in a well-protected environment near a children’s home. “Even when I was very young, it really affected me when children weren’t able to grow up in a happy family. We aim to support them through exercise and sports, give them a love of life and self-confidence.” He is on hand for events featuring Tobias Strobl or German national volleyball player Lenka Dürr, to report on them on ProSiebenSat.1 Group’s channels and websites.

“Our strength is getting the initiative’s message across to the public,” Zeljko Karajica, CEO of 7Sports, says. “Well-known athletes are inundated with requests for social activities every day,” the manager says. “With our initiative, they can be sure that when they join us for local events and donation drives, they’ll be making a positive impact on these children’s lives.” Karajica is also pleased that other media have shown interest in this engagement – such as the German TV channel ZDF, which aired its own report on Strobl’s training activity as part of its UEFA Champions League coverage.

The in-person training sessions and tickets to the competitions score the most points with the kids, who can hardly contain their excitement. “The response to the first activities has been overwhelming,” Dr. Kay Vorwerk, CEO of SOS Children’s Village, reports. Of course, those responsible at 7Sports and SOS Children’s Village hope the collaboration continues as successfully as it began one year ago. Karajica: “We want to go on making children’s dreams come true.”