Deafening cheers rang out in the sports hall of the Dieter Forte Comprehensive School in Eller. 150 second graders gave free rein to their enthusiasm about the first day of the “Talentiade”. Shortly before, the kids had been asked whether they enjoyed the “Talentiade”. A child said: “It’s nicer here than in Phantasialand.”
The “Talentiade” is a sports festival at which elementary school students with physical talents are presented with eleven Olympic sports to try out, an element of “Check’D”, the Düsseldorf model of exercise, sport and talent promotion. In 2002, the city’s sports department developed sports motor tests for second graders in order to identify their movement abilities, weaknesses and deficiencies in the interests of health promotion and to convey fun in exercise and sport. The aim is to record and evaluate the current state of sports motor performance and to derive possible support measures from this. Since the beginning, several 10,000 children have been tested and supported.
“This year we tested 4,636 children in the second grades of Düsseldorf primary schools, 422 of whom were classified as physically talented and invited to the Talentiade,” says the competitive sports coordinator in the municipal sports department, Tobias Scherbarth. “314 children were registered for the Talentiade, which corresponds to a quota of 75 percent.” Eleven Olympic sports that have a good club and support structure in Düsseldorf were introduced to this 75 percent. Experienced youth trainers keep a close eye on the movements that the kids showed in the 25-minute training sequences for each sport.
Every child was evaluated in every sport and those who were classified as talented in the sport received an invitation to a longer trial training session at the clubs or bases. “We have many top clubs in Düsseldorf and through the Talentiade we try to discover talents at the best motor learning age for the sports,” says Scherbarth. “However, we avoid entering into sport-related specializations too early.”
This works because some of the current top athletes, who have even caused a sensation internationally, were Talentiade kids. For example, Bo Kanda Lita Baehre, 5.90 meter pole vaulter and European runner-up, or Jessie Maduka, former U20 triple jump runner-up and two-time German champion, were discovered at the Talentiade. And hurdle sprinter Gregory Minoue (German U20 champion) also “gymnized” around in the sports hall of the Dieter Forte comprehensive school as a child wearing a white “Talentiade” T-shirt. “Gregory is in a training camp with the squad from the German Athletics Association. Otherwise he would have come to the Talentiade 2024 and helped us with the athletics station,” reveals athletics coach Klaus Kirberg. Minoue seems to be very aware of his competitive sports roots, as the Düsseldorf native has been part of the Talentiade athletics test team for the past two years.
In addition to athletics, table tennis, hockey, judo, basketball, tennis, swimming, water polo, taekwondo, handball and football were also on offer. “It makes sense for children of this age to try out a variety of sports, because this is the only way they can find out what they enjoy most,” says Scherbarth.
The kids had fun, as evidenced by the deafening cheers at the end of the event.
2024-04-14 13:14:40
#Enthusiastic #children #Talentiade
