Conservative approach to talent
©MLES Academy
Formerly a Schalke young footballer, today a talent promoter in Los Angeles with a focus on traditional German virtues: Marcel Lowitsch experienced the greatest possible honor as a teenager when he was allowed to put on his team’s training suit as a youngster. When the limit seemed to have been reached in the men’s area with stations at the traditional clubs Germania Gladbeck, Westfalia Herne, DSC Wanne-Eickel, SV Zweckel and SpVgg Herten, he joined the Bundeswehr and became a paratrooper and foreign legionnaire. In 2020, Lowitsch moved to the USA, returned to football and opened his own academy, which is intended to make it easier for young kickers to take the distant step to professional clubs. “In football, anything is possible. I am firmly convinced that it has something to do with timing. If you are in the right place at the right time, things can happen that some people from the outside cannot understand,” said the Gladbeck native as he told his story to Transfermarkt.
Is he someone who would reveal to a 22-year-old that the train has left for him? “No, not at all. I came here with nothing and am now living the American dream. It’s never too late and there is no biological age limit for me.” Lowitsch remembers World Cup record goalscorer Miroslav Klose, whose star only rose late. “I knew that this football world was completely crazy and unpredictable.” How does someone like him, who has a bachelor’s degree in sport and performance from the Cologne Sports University, come up with the idea of starting his own football academy?
“I didn’t really want to do anything in football, I ended up in the fitness sector.” A chance encounter with the father of a teenage footballer, who caught Lowitsch making a phone call in German in the supermarket, set everything in motion. Lowitsch revealed his football background and then gave his son training sessions at his father’s request. “At some point I said to him: I think he could also play in Germany.” So he recommended auditioning for Rot-Weiss Essen and U19 coach Vincent Wagner, who now successfully coaches the second division team SV Elversberg. According to Lowitsch, this story about the tryout has gotten around in Los Angeles.
That’s why he expanded his training program and ultimately founded the MLES Academy. As he himself says, he is essentially “America’s blacksmith.” “I always found it interesting that Norbert Elgert said that football is considered the school of life. Players who go through the academy not only receive football-specific content, but also develop an elbow mentality and learn to assert themselves in working life if they don’t succeed in football.” Lowitsch, who describes himself as “rather conservative,” relies on absolute will and German values. “Punctuality, discipline, structure, reliability and willingness to perform. Words have weight for me when I promise something. I don’t just want to convey football.”
What did he notice in his analysis of the Major League Soccer clubs’ youth centers and what he considered to be in need of improvement? “If you don’t train intensively, you can’t demand that you play intensively. It starts with the number of repetitions in training. I think that it is not always entirely clear or intensive enough what is required of the player.” This also relates to the game idea, which is not always clearly defined. A phenomenon that Lowitsch also observes in Germany.
Lowitsch on the MLS academy and its principles: “I’m typically German”
His academy’s portfolio now includes U13, U15, U17 and U23 teams with around 120 footballers from Los Angeles and the surrounding area – one is even flown in from as far away as Las Vegas. Some of his kickers are already represented in a club, and training under Lowitsch is then seen as a useful addition. With his UEFA A license in his luggage, he ultimately stands out from many other European coaches active locally. “So you’re a bit like the Mercedes of cars here.” It’s not just interested footballers and their parents who come to his academy – he also looks out for them himself and invites them to tryout training.
Marcel Lowitsch wants to open the door to the professional business for young kickers: “If you are in the right place at the right time, things can happen that some people from the outside cannot understand.” (Photo source: MLES Academy)
In terms of football, Lowitsch, who only works with a goalkeeping coach at his side, bases his academy on the Red Bull philosophy. “There are very clear principles. Against the ball, but also with the ball. You cannot deviate from these principles.” The 34-year-old sees himself not only as a coach, but also as an assistant, supervisor, groundskeeper and sports director – “all in one”. His talents would be provided with training clothes, always fresh and clean in the locker room. The training ground was set up one hour before the sessions. “These are quality standards. As a player in this academy, you should feel that this is a highly professional structure that is structured down to the smallest detail.” Lowitsch, father of a son, demands of his protégés, he himself exemplifies. “I’m typically German,” he confirms. “This is coaching made in Germany.” Every now and then Lowitsch exchanges ideas with renowned trainers and invites them as project or guest trainers; he points to the examples of Peter Hyballa, Markus Plant and Thorsten Schmugge as well as the former Brazilian national team coach Tite.
The top players are often those from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. For them, this is All or Nothing.
The MLES Academy model is financed primarily through monthly contributions from the players. Scholarships do the rest: financial support for those in need that does not have to be repaid. “There are cases where it doesn’t work, with players from very weak social backgrounds but who have very good skills.” The strong help the weak, no one should be left behind. “The top players are often those from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. For them, this is all or nothing.” Lowitsch continues to expand his own horizons by actively approaching clubs and meeting well-known compatriots. Marco Reus (LA Galaxy), who “almost lives on his doorstep,” was also there. “He thought it was really funny that a Schalke player was running around here, bringing in a bit of the Ruhr area.”
Lowitsch and his teams challenge the U23 or youth teams of the top Major League Soccer clubs – including LA Galaxy, New York Red Bulls and Philadelphia Union – in friendly games and achieve surprising successes. The term friendly game doesn’t actually fit him at all, after all, his teams from the independent academy without an institutional support would throw everything into the balance against the young players from established performance centers. “We take these games extremely seriously. For my players, they really determine where we stand.”
Coupled with this is the desire to get my foot in the door to professional football. Lowitsch’s principle: “If you give me performance, I will give you opportunities.” What has become reality several times in recent years: young kickers with potential have been allowed to take part in training at cooperation clubs such as Philadelphia Union, LA Galaxy, LAFC, Charlotte FC, FC Dallas, Seattle Sounders or the New York Red Bulls or have even made it into the academies or second representatives, emphasizes Lowitsch. A first, perhaps important step on the way up. So that he isn’t the only one who gets to live the American dream.
Text and interview: Philipp Marquardt
