Our

Story

Balz

&

Melanie

Balz (Young Coach): I am Balz from the FC Basel 1893 DreamTeam, where I am active as a Young Coach and play for “Team Blau”. I met Melanie two years ago, when I first joined the DreamTeam. At that time, her son also played for “Team Blau”, so we were on the same team. Before that, I played for FC Plusport Zürisee, an inclusive football team, as I have a disability myself.

Melanie (Tandem Partner): My name is Melanie, and I am also a coach at the FC Basel 1893 DreamTeam for “Team Gelb”. Together with Balz, I provide training sessions for a group of 20 children and adults with disabilities. However, I have to say that Balz does most of the training himself: he prepares the exercises and guides most of the session, while I support him if needed.

In 2024, we both participated in the Special Youth Camp, I as a coach and Balz as a participant. During the Camp, Brigitta from FC Basel 1893 encouraged us to form a tandem and attend the Tandem Young Coach Education together. I immediately said yes.

Balz: Before the Tandem Young Coach Education, I coached some younger players from time to time, but I realised that I felt insecure about what I was doing, or which exercises I could use. Through the education, I learned how to structure a training session into a warm-up, a main part, and a cool-down. Now, our sessions are much more organised, and we are able to introduce new exercises.

Melanie: For me, the Tandem Young Coach Education was a really nice experience, where I gained a lot of new insights. Balz is a very patient person, and he taught me to be more patient as well. From another tandem that participated, I took their spontaneity with me. They were funny, cheerful and open-minded, something I had been lacking. This feeling of “together we can do it!” stayed with me, even after we finished our education.

Balz: In general, what I find special about disability football is the focus on each individual. You have to think carefully about how to tailor exercises to different skill levels, making sure they are not too complicated but still achievable for everyone. No one should feel overwhelmed, and if they do, the exercise should be adapted right away.

Melanie: Here, the STEPS model, which we were taught in the Tandem Young Coach Education, is really helpful. It is a methodological guideline that helps adapt exercises to the team members’ skill levels by adjusting the space used or by changing the pace at which the exercises are done. It is easily memorised and applied on the pitch to make an exercise or a game either harder or easier. Additionally, it gives you more flexibility as a coach, helping you adapt to new settings or environments and to adjust your planned exercises quickly.

Balz: Coming back to the Special Youth Camp as a coaching tandem was a fulfilling experience. It was great to take on responsibility for training sessions and to receive new feedback from the professional club instructors. With the newly gained experience of running training sessions myself, I noticed new ways of doing things. For example, when the instructor explained an exercise differently than I did and more participants understood it, I could adapt my own communication and adjust how I explain exercises to our team members.

Melanie: I also really appreciated that we as tandems had a bigger role in the Special Youth Camp than the tandems in the previous years. Everyone could share their input and was more involved in the way the camp was put together. For example, we organised and ran a tournament in the style of the European Championships, with each team representing a different country.

Balz: For me, that is the beauty of inclusive football, or team sport in general: all kinds of different people come together, each bringing their own perspective with them. Meeting everyone’s needs is one of the biggest challenges in coaching, but I got to know many tandems which succeeded well in doing so. Through their unique approach, they were able to build individual relationships with team members and connect with them on a personal level. Being attuned to every member of the team is something I want to keep in mind for the future.