September 12, 2021

#237 Professor Mathias Lochmann on Reinventing German Youth Soccer, Funino and the Focus on Developing Game Intelligence at the Same Time as Technique

1 hour 8 minutes

Matthias Lochmann is a sport scientist in the field of training and coaching, a sports physician and a UEFA A licensed coach. Since 2008, he has been working as a professor at the Department of Sports Science and Sport at the Friedrich-Alexander-University of Nuremberg. There, he is the head of the Division of Sport and Exercise Medicine. His current project is the reinvention of German youth soccer through introducing Funino as the games model for 9 and under kids. Funino is the brainchild of the late Horst Wein, an dis played 3v3 with 4 goals to encourage creativity, attacking play, and spacing by changing the structure of the game.

Lochmann played football at SV Darmstadt 98. As a coach, he worked in various positions at the professional youth academy of FSV Mainz 05 under Jurgen Klopp. His 2018 speech to German pro license coaches on game intelligence led to his current project and has led to his worldwide travels to speak upon making youth soccer more child-centric. In our conversation today we discuss Horst Wein, Funino, game intelligence as a model for development, and why Germany is staying ahead of the crowd by reimagining their youth soccer programming.

Links: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/matthias.lochmann.9

https://www.facebook.com/FUNino4.0

Keynote Speech ITK 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpd1ws2ohTs (In German) English online article: https://www.dw.com/en/the-future-of-youth-football-in-germany/a-49231568

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By John O'Sullivan

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