Lothar Potthoff Led the Steinmühlen Women’s Soccer Team to a Bronze Medal at the State Championship

Will women’s soccer finally gain more recognition thanks to this year’s European Championship and the German team’s strong debut? At Steinmühle, at any rate, they’re already a step ahead on this front. There was a huge success here—and everyone is celebrating it! After winning the district and regional competitions, the Steinmühle girls in Competition Class IV (born in 2010 and 2011) took a surprising but well-deserved third place at the state competition in Grünberg (as we reported). — Bronze, then, at the Hesse finals of “Youth Trains for the Olympics”!

In addition to the girls, whose skill and total dedication contributed to this success, one man also played a key role: Lothar Potthoff. He is the athletic director of MSG Marburg/Weimar; he accompanied the Steinmühlen girls to all their competitions and prepared them exceptionally well for this tournament. He was supported by Carlotta Weber from 6th grade and Julian Arnold from the MSG coaching staff. “This is a huge success! Of course, the girls wanted to go to Berlin for the national finals. But after some initial disappointment, the joy of finishing in third place now prevails,” the coach summed up. His team was ultimately on the verge of reaching the final when, in the semifinals, they were unfortunately defeated in a penalty shootout by the eventual champions from Gymnasium Oberursel.

“Next year, we’ll be competing in Competition Class III with this team and we’ll see how we do,” says Lothar Potthoff, already looking forward to the upcoming competitions. He is a coach through and through and has previously coached a school team at Steinmühle—“the ones who are graduating this year.”

He began his career in soccer at an early age, starting out in his native Sauerland and then continuing in Marburg’s Waldtal and with the veterans’ team in Niederweimar. In 1988, he began working with youth.

The trend of more and more girls playing soccer has developed over the years. Female players brought their friends along, and the association promoted soccer for women. Due to a lack of all-girls teams, female players often play on boys’ teams. This is possible up through the B-Youth division.

“There are very strong women’s teams in the United Kingdom, France, and Spain that play in front of crowds of 80,000 to 90,000 spectators.” Lothar Potthoff criticizes the DFB’s policies, under which “old white men have long belittled women’s soccer with little respect.”

The former principal of the Ebsdorfergrund Comprehensive School in Heskem can neither understand nor condone this. He sees how much fun the girls in their Steinmühlen jerseys have playing soccer and is glad that there are always opportunities to practice locally. For him, life as a soccer coach five days a week has become an integral part of his life; it helps him unwind: “When I’m on the field, everything else fades away.” Social connections are important to him.

But the retired history and politics teacher cares deeply about other things as well, which he sees being put into practice through his work as a soccer coach: “Team sports counteract the trend toward individualism, foster a sense of community, and encourage the assumption of responsibility. You help your opponent back up, and you’re there when extra hands are needed. After all, you can’t carry a goal all by yourself.”