About your mentor, Steffen BINKE

In 1978 when the World Cup was held in Argentina and I've seen a young boy juggling on TV every evening. It fascinated me so much that I’ve started at the age of six chasing the ball more intense than ever on the street with my dad and friends. A local coach, an ex-professional, asked my dad to send me to him to train up to 2-3 a week down the road on a beautiful clay pitch. And here is where it starts, in 1978, when someone with experience started working on my new passion and simply added the needed amount of training to it .
From there I’ve trained until the age of 12 around 3 times a week in my first club and the other days with my friends on the street. These first years experiencing a team feeling, winning and losing together, building robustness and learning independence in my growth was the base for my developing dream. As a young state player who won multiple state championships, I've started liking the rewards who came with the many training sessions I've put in. My dream started to become more reality at the age of 12 when my life changed and I’ve got selected for the biggest club in town, Dynamo Dresden. It was the first deciding road of many other roads as a young player, learning about myself and the hidden qualities I might have.
In the next following five years or more than 1800 training sessions later throughout my youth, I’ve learned everything about Fussball. In that time I've become a 4x German Champion including the Indoor Championship. At the age of 14 in 1986, I’ve listened for the first time to my national anthem in my first international match for my country and experienced it for 45th times including in the Under 16 European Championship Final and World Cup Quarter Final in 1989. These were without a doubt the titles I most treasure and are most proud of. Years of endless training sessions, injuries, losses, and wins I’ve signed my first professional Contract with 1.FC Nürnberg in the German Bundesliga when I was 18. Injuries prevented me to finish my promising career in the age of 27.
I've lived my dream for a short time and know what it takes to get there. The years as a young player are the most exciting, most innocent and happiest time as a player and I loved every minute of it. Giving back those moments to our young players and teach them what they individual need to unlock their potential is my way of continuing living my dream.

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