All individuals follow her rhythm. - Eleven-year-old Loreley is the youngest female soccer referee in Germany.
Loreley plans to regain her presence on the field: as a referee!
She was too young for the training
"During our youth team games, we often had no referees or questionable ones," Loreley recalls. She wanted to do better.
However, starting out wasn't easy: the candidate course required a minimum age of twelve. Her father found a solution: "Since I'm a year too young, the requirement was that my father took the course." As he is also the coach of the E-youth team in Rädel (population 462), he quickly agreed.
Loreley successfully completed the final exam, consisting of a theory test and an endurance test, with a score of 82%.
Trial by Fire with the Referee's Whistle
In early March, the excitement soared at the indoor tournament at home, as the young referee herself has high hopes for female referees. "She needs self-confidence, control, assertiveness, courage, and a good sense of proportion."
Referee Steffi Schick from FSV Eintracht Glindow was there to guide Loreley, offering advice and showing that there are other female referees. The eleven-year-old: "Steffi is my role model."
Loreley was now allowed to referee her first match on a large field and even managed to succeed against the B-junior girls, who are two heads taller. Mentor referee Schick: "We were brave, large pitches are not a given at that age and with such little experience. I'm really proud!"
And Loreley can be proud as well: "I've gained a lot of respect, and I'm now only called a female referee on the sports field." Her goal: "To referee in the 1st Bundesliga one day."
KiKA followed the young referee during her journey to her first match for the program "Look into my world!".
Read also:
- Officer halts intoxicated motorist aged 61.
- Leipzig battles for top attacker Sesko.
- Suspect drove his car back home after leaving the victim's body on a bus.
- Torrential downpours inundate Saarland once more.
Source: symclub.org
