Elite Schools of Football, certified by the German Football Association (DFB), play a vital role in Germany’s talent development system. TWIN supports the Hannover model in optimising its dual career structures for young student athletes.
Through collaborations between professional clubs, educational institutions, and the DFB, Elite Schools of Football offer aspiring players the opportunity to pursue dual careers, balancing competitive football with secondary education. One such programme, a partnership between 2. Bundesliga club Hannover 96 and KGS Hemmingen comprehensive school, has been running successfully for 15 years.
Since 2021, TWIN has been working with this Elite School of Football to further refine its organizational and operational framework. Their joint initiative is called “Plan A.”
Evaluating programme potential
To enhance their system performance oversight, TWIN recently crafted a digital self-assessment tool for the school. This tool facilitates the timely identification of obstacles in four key developmental areas and enables effective remedies to the dual career programme.
By integrating system assessments into the programme, TWIN was able to help the institution better understand its strengths and areas for improvement, offering strategic guidance to optimize the overall athlete support structure. The review process aims to empower KGS Hemmingen to continually evolve, ensuring their environment supports the full potential of their student athletes.
Following the system assessment, we conducted a TWIN Master Class aiming at educators, school counsellors, and sports coordinators as part of KGS Hemmingen’s professional development initiative. Alongside the analysis of the assessment findings, the workshop explored the topic of dual career pathways in professional football in the context of sustainable talent cultivation and systemic health.
“Youth football programmes have experienced new recent dynamics. Optimising the coordination, communication and cooperation in their associated dual career development environments, as well as upskilling both athletes and staff are key to systemic health and performance.”
Wolfgang Stockinger
Founder & CEO, TWIN
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🚩 TWIN aims to help raise standards in athlete support. Our Master Classes are staff training sessions tailored to your institutional needs. If you are interested in having one of our experts deliver a customized workshop, please submit a request.