Lotte Gretzler in one of her seven disciplines (Photo: KJ Peters)
Thirteen-year-old Rayan Obbad from the Mainz Swimming Club 1901. eV. stands on a 7.5 meter high tower and no longer notices anything in the large, loud swimming pool. His gaze looks towards that of his trainer Mirja Wirth; She stands at the edge of the pool and shows her confidence with gestures. She has been training Rayan since 1st grade. When it comes to new and difficult jumps, Rayan believes in herself when she does them. This was also the case most recently at the southern German championship in artistic and high diving in Freiburg.
Rayan Obbad, diver with great talent (Photo: Martin Rulsch, Wikimedia Com-)
Rayan smiles at Mirja – and jumps: handstand somersault forward. The moment in the air passes quickly, but it is the feeling of flying that Rayan talks about that particularly gives him a lot. “And then diving into the water.” Another sport? Unthinkable for him. Rayan in Mainz currently has to accept that parts of the Taubertsbergbad are closed and the renovation of the university pool is also taking a long time. The Mainz swimming club is committed to offering alternative solutions, but Mirja and Rayan are still impatient about the situation. In any case, at the South German championship, Rayan won the gold medal in the open class in the tower competition.
Felipe Morales Weggeman in the jersey
the national team
Baseball
Felipe Morales Weggeman is 12 years old and plays baseball for Mainz Athletics and in the U12 national team. He trains five times a week, once at the performance center in Bad Homburg. This year he won the U12 European Baseball Championship with the national team for the second time in a row. Above all, his appearance at the 2022 European Championship final was film-worthy for baseball connoisseurs: In the last inning, with the German team down 8:9 and with 2 out, he hit a 2RBIDouble on the first pitch. For those unfamiliar, he was in the position where you have to hit the ball with your bat when the final was almost over. Everything was now up to him: one bad hit would seal the national team’s defeat and end the game. An opposing player throws the ball to him with force, speed and an unpredictable arc designed to outdo Felipe. But Felipe scores. And the ball flies far into the field, where no opponent is standing. Two of Felipe’s teammates come “home” thanks to his good shot – and score. The game is over, the final is over, the European Championship is won! Felipe smiles politely at the memory.
athletics
Lotte Gretzler is 16 years old and a track and field athlete at USC Mainz. In May, she and her teammates Emma Kaul and Liv Albertz broke the German record in the U18 heptathlon – a record that had remained untouched for 21 years! Lotte remembers this success late in the conversation: “Right, I forgot!” She trains six times a week and can’t think of anything better. But: “It’s not about the performance,” she explains, “but about the enthusiasm.” In September, Lotte and her colleagues outdid themselves and the trio increased the historic team record once again. What would Lotte do if she no longer had a place to train? Difficult to imagine. “I’m passionate about athletics,” she says. This sport, in which you primarily work on yourself, does not mean that you are alone a lot or that you feel like that. “I share what I love with others who love it just as much.” This is also how Felipe can be understood, who hardly talks about achievements, but actually only about the sport itself – and about wanting to be where baseball is is big. The U12 World Cup in Taiwan was his highlight of the year. And the mother smiles: “He was used there all the time!”
Charlotte Kriebel in her position as “Point Guard” (Photo: Stephan Hahne – Fotohahne.de)
Basketball
Charlotte Kriebel knows well what that means. She plays basketball for ASC Theresianum and for the Rhein-Main Baskets, this year’s German champions of the U18 Bundesliga. The longer she works, the happier she is. In fact, she rarely sits on the bench anymore. “I’m reaping the benefits of the last few years.” She is currently working her way up to being the first development player. At 17, she is now becoming a role model for the younger ones, her father observes. Charlotte would be happy if more young girls took up basketball and is clearing up a prejudice: “You don’t have to be particularly tall!” The ASC definitely offers the perfect training environment, the women’s team is currently playing in the 2nd division. Bundesliga. However, coach Aron Duracak has just resigned and the new coaching solution is still unclear. Charlotte hopes that young players will continue to be supported so well. She finds it incomprehensible when there is a difference between men and women in basketball – this doesn’t happen in the club, but it does in the spectator stands. Even if the women play higher, the men get a bigger audience. In any case, Charlotte’s games determine the family calendar.
Competitive sports are often a family affair
In Felipe’s case, it was his father who already played baseball. “Others go to the park with football, Stevan had gloves and a baseball with him,” remembers Felipe’s mother. Stevan Morales Weggeman is now also Felipe’s coach at Mainz Athletics. Felipe’s mother, Vicky Morales Weggeman, is on the club’s board, Felipe’s brother plays for the Bambinis. Like her, Lotte’s sister Line is already the best pole vaulter in her age group at USC and in Germany. Rayan’s brother is turning 6 and can already somersault. Charlotte, for her part, is the younger sister and was there with her older sister when she found basketball. Her father, Holger Kriebel, is on the board of the ASC and he also drives Charlotte across Germany when necessary. “Without my parents none of this would be possible,” says Charlotte. You immediately believe that the parents are happy to do “all of this”. Especially since the children also stay “on the ball” at school. And: Despite their different situations, what they have in common is being happy and grateful. However, they all want one more thing from their respective sport: more!
Text Felicitas Pommerening
2023-11-06 08:14:25
#enthusiasm #Mainz #young #people #joy #competitive #sports #sensor #Magazine
