There are seasons when it's not about trophies. Not about medals. Not about who stands at the top in the end. But about who has grown. Who has changed. Who has turned a bunch of kids in oversized jerseys into a real team. The U11 of Ahrweiler BC – the older year of the E-juniors – has achieved exactly that.
In the fall, they stormed through the qualifying group like little dervishes with big hearts: nine wins, one loss, sheer joy of playing. They seemed less like a team chasing results and more like boys who had just discovered how much beauty can be found in a diagonal pass. Technique? Thriving. Cognition? Maturing. Coordination? Becoming a dance on the pitch.
Head coach André Wenigmann, something like the philosophical mind behind the project, talks about individual development – but one senses he means more: character building through lost balls, team spirit through shared locker room silence after defeats. Ralf Lauterbach and Gerd Treffer, his congenial co-architects, build bridges to the D-youth, not highways. All with patience. All with an eye for detail.
That they finished behind Andernach in the league and the district cup? Forget it. The up-and-coming talents of the "Bäckerjungen" (Bakers' Boys) simply bake with fine flour. Nevertheless, the ABC put up a fight, only narrowly losing the cup final. And they won something that isn't listed in the standings: character.
Felix Sahl (Photo), the quiet goalscorer, netted 30 times. Not a loudmouth, but always there when it counts. But the star was the collective. Eleven or seven friends, perhaps not always on the field, but always in the heart.
What remains is a squad ready for greater things. Bring on the D-Youth – with almost the same team and coaching trio. No disruptions. No airs. Just the longing to keep playing. And the quiet feeling: This was just the beginning.