Snapshot – may 2011, the longtime table tennis district youth director gerhard hahn (TSG sommerhausen) and his deputy oliver sponsel (TV etwashausen) do not stand for election at the district convention, as announced a long time ago. Successors are not in sight. Like in school, when quizzed, everyone pulls in their heads. Reinhard pfenning (SV kurnach), district chairman, sees himself in the responsibility for the new generation, limited his provisional work as district youth director until the 30th birthday of his son. June 2012. After all, it's about the playing future of around 300 young people, over a quarter of the total number of players in the district.
Pfenning has now hung on for more than a quarter of a year and held the district individual youth championship in ochsenfurt in mid-october. "I once again made an urgent appeal to the numerous players, parents and guardians and described the situation." He had already done the same at the adult district championships: "i took the opportunity to again emphasize the seriousness of the situation and to inform the people directly." Because he was not sure whether the information is passed on by the department heads. – all this is only the end of long efforts and many discussions, in order to find successors for this important office.
"Since may 2011, I and my colleagues approached a great many sports friends who had been qualified – without result", reinhard pfenning shrugs his shoulders. In april 2012, he wrote again to all clubs and showed the scenario of the discontinuation of the single game operation of the youth – zero response.
"Nobody said anything to me – the only question was: do you already have a district youth director??" And he adds: "the youth leaders in the clubs are interested that there is one, but so far they have not been able to contribute anything to the solution." How far this problem is mentioned in the departmental meetings, he does not know. "Probably only as a marginal note", suspects pfenning. Up to now it is only a marginal problem for the clubs, which becomes acute only if the youth single game operation does not take place any more. "Due to the lack of a district youth warden, the latter is unfortunately the case as of now", the district chairman gives a clear and unmistakable message.
No more youth circle tournaments
He defines the consequences: "the single game operation of the youth will be shortened. The three district ranking tournaments and the school team championship are canceled. The players can not qualify for the next level, because there are neither district tournaments nor a further report to the district is made. Because until further notice there is no district youth director." Only in the team could the table tennis junior now still league competitions play out.
Reinhard pfenning is not a man who will let the youth singles sport go down the drain lightly. The sport of table tennis, and especially young talent, is close to his heart. He himself has led the training of the kids at SV kurnach for almost 20 years.
Nevertheless, he now takes this step, because the clubs and the district council decided – they did not find a candidate – that there is no district youth director: "since the district council in 2011, I have approached all department heads, written to all departments. Information to the clubs emailed and put on the homepage, which tasks a district youth director has to perform – absolutely zero response."
He has an explanation for the fact that no one has come forward so far: "those who already do a lot of youth work say that this is too much for us." Most of the time, these people spend more than two hours a week in the hall, supervising games and tournaments. With the others it is simply disinterest. "They argue in a totally nonsensical way: we don't have and don't do any youth work, so we are not meant at all when it comes to the position of a district youth director."
Strongly involved in clubs
And the rough clubs that have many young people in their ranks – TV etwashausen, TV ochsenfurt, TG heidingsfeld, SC heuchelhof? "I got in touch with TV etwashausen through oliver sponsel". Sponsel himself is very intensively involved in the TVE's youth work and cannot take on any more tasks. Within the department is also no one.
As pfenning emphasized, the tg heidingsfeld is "an almost one-man-show" in youth coaching, with a 76-year-old dieter spickermann at the helm." He does a lot in heidingsfeld, but is usually alone there himself.
With the TV ochsenfurt there had been some intensive discussion against: "wait and see, think about it, but in the end there was a no." Heuchelhof's youth director rainer ziegler is also in the hall three times a week. "He really could not do it."
What is it about the office of the district youth director that makes everyone shy away from it: "on five sundays a year, the district youth director, together with the organizing club, conducts a district individual championship, three ranking tournaments and a school team championship", according to pfenning. He estimates the time needed for each tournament at around eight hours for preparation and follow-up plus the duration of the tournament. Acceptance of the registrations and further registration of the qualified were in his area of responsibility. The district youth director had hardly anything to do for about eight months of the year. Only october (district individual championship) and the late winter to early spring were the focus of its work. "The office is age-independent. An interested 20-year-old can hold it like a 70-year-old." You don't even have to be an active player yourself, parents and supporters could also take on this task, says the 50-year-old official. Also the tasks can be distributed on several shoulders. The new one or ones were trained by pfenning himself or former district youth director gerhard hahn, he offers.
The district chairman hopes that the clubs will understand the situation. If not, he sees black for the table tennis sport in the district of kitzingen: "if you look at the age structure (note the age of the players), you will see that there are no more young people. D. Red. Average of 42 years for adults) and imagines what will happen if no more young people come along. Then you can calculate that in 20 years someone will close off the last halls." He hasn't given up hope yet – but it's already less than five to twelve – snapshot november 2012.
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