Mareike Köhler looks after the health of the players at Kickers Emden. What hardly anyone in the team knows: The 25-year-old was a feared judoka in northern Germany.
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Emden – She revives tired muscles: Mareike Köhler has been part of the BSV Kickers Emden functional team as a physiotherapist for two years and takes care of players’ injuries, shows them how to avoid injuries and supports convalescents in returning to the football field. But what no one on the team knows: The 25-year-old from Emden is an outstanding athlete herself – and has a black belt in judo.
Sent to the mat
A few years ago in the youth age groups, Köhler sent her opponents to the mat in rows and won big tournaments. She was often at the top of the podium. When the Kickers players have their muscles worked on by Köhler on the lounger, they may feel a little honored. Because here a multiple North German champion, national champion and team third place at the German championships lends a hand.
Time for the dog
Now, in adulthood, judo has faded into the background. Mareike Köhler’s job as a physiotherapist at the Leer Clinic and her involvement at Kickers Emden, where she forms the physio department together with Hendrik Peters, take up too much space. “There’s not much time left. And I also have a dog who wants to spend a little time with me,” says Köhler and laughs.
The woman from Emden misses the tingling feeling before judo competitions a little, as becomes clear in conversation with the editorial team. But the path to fights with equal opponents in the adult area would simply be too long. But the job with the regional soccer team is a lot of fun. The physiotherapist attends training two or three times a week. Occasionally her dog – a mix of Australian Shepherd and Münsterländer – also comes along. Logically, Köhler has little free time on the weekends – especially when there are away games in Lübeck or Flensburg.
But the effort is worth it. “The work is completely different than in the hospital or in the practice,” says Köhler. “For example, after an operation, a patient wants to be able to walk again.
Performance and load
For athletes, the goal is completely different. The demands on the body, the performance it has to perform and the stress it has to withstand are different,” she says. She learns a lot from her work on and off the football field. And: “It’s a great team that works well as a team. There is a good climate.” Accordingly, she believes Kickers will have a strong season. “Getting into the top 5 would be really cool,” says the 25-year-old.
Of course, a certain amount of tension before games is part of it for her – “you get excited and I have to be careful and be ready if something happens” – but the holder of the first master’s degree (1st Dan) thinks: “Judo is quite a bit “More extreme.” In football you would have at least two 45 minutes to correct any mistakes. “In judo, you can’t pay attention for one second and the fight is over.”
