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Children kick with ex-national player Christian Pander

Christina Schulze Föcking und Cristian Pander beim Training.

Member of the Landtag Christina Schulze Föcking organizes training session

Wettringen/Rheine. cpr. Dribbling, aiming and shooting at the goal – on the sports field at Campus St. Josef in Wettringen, everything revolved around soccer. More than 40 children and young people from the Caritas children’s and youth home experienced a special kind of training session. Christian Pander, a former German national team player, was on hand to support them on the pitch.

Not only the weather was right, but also the atmosphere in the group was simply great. This was the experience of Christina Schulze Föcking (CDU), the member of the state parliament from home, who had organized the afternoon. “Even when they came onto the course, you could see the children and young people’s huge anticipation. This positive energy and the great sunshine carried us through the afternoon.” After the warm-up, Christian Pander and his supporter Stefan Woischner held various exercises for the enthusiastic young footballers. During the varied competitions and games, such as the hat course or goalkeeper training, both ambition and team spirit were awakened, he said. The aim was to boost the children’s self-confidence and grow together as a team, in addition to letting off steam athletically.

“I am totally grateful that Christian Pander immediately accepted my idea and passed on his pure enthusiasm for soccer to all the participants,” the MP was pleased to see many beaming faces. The fact that Stefan Woischner and he take the time for the children and young people is anything but a matter of course. But the response of the children to the training speaks for itself and shows that the trip to Wettringen was worthwhile. Mayor Berthold Bültgerds also visited the guests during the training session on the sports field.

Pander, who as a former national player can look back on a successful soccer career, was enthusiastic about the motivation and talent of the young soccer players. He was delighted to have the opportunity to share his experience and love for the sport of soccer with the children and young people. “It was huge fun, the time flew by and we will definitely remember the beautiful afternoon for a long time.”

The Children’s and Young People’s Home is happy to have special activities like this, which open up new perspectives for the children and young people and provide them with unforgettable moments. “The positive effect of the soccer training on the sense of community and the individual development of the participants is clearly noticeable.” The sporting session under the professional guidance of Christian Pander was a complete success, he said.

At the barbecue afterwards, all participants agreed that the event would remain in their memories for a long time to come. It had been an afternoon with great togetherness, full of fun and beautiful moments. “We would do it again like this any time.”

Caritas Children’s and Youth Home

The Caritas Children’s and Youth Home is a curative educational as well as inclusive youth welfare facility for the outpatient, day-care and inpatient care of children, adolescents and young adults with comprehensive support needs. A differentiated spectrum of outpatient and inpatient assistance for families as well as diagnostic/therapeutic services round out the overall offering. The curative education activities are concretized in specific concepts for the differentiated care and support of young people and their relatives, regardless of their socio-cultural background and religious orientation.