With two German championship titles and one bronze, the walkers from LAV Reichenbach did very well at the national track walking championships over 5000 meters in Düsseldorf in mid-June. Uwe Schröter, winner of the M55 age group, is honorary chairman of the LAV Reichenbach and an IST graduate of the "Sport and Fitness Training" course.
In addition, his wife Brit Schröter won the women's W40 category by over a minute ahead of the runner-up. The juniors also won a medal in the M15 group. In bronze.
Uwe Schröter is not only a successful athlete, but also the honorary chairman of his club. The 55-year-old from Neumark works as a media consultant for a daily newspaper and we spoke to him about "his" club.
IST: Mr. Schröter, you are chairman and head of the athletics department at LAV Reichenbach. What are your responsibilities?
UweSchröter: In 1990, I became head of the athletics department at SG Blau-Weiß Reichenbach, a multi-discipline club. In 2012, the LAV Reichenbach/Vogtland was founded as a pure athletics club from the athletics department and I became its chairman. My work was and is voluntary. As chairman, I have to manage the club, deal with all the administrative work and represent the club on the relevant committees (sports associations, professional association). I'm also one of 15 coaches in the club, leading a training group of 14- to 18-year-olds in the running/walking discipline block.
IST: You do voluntary work and have a job. How do you reconcile both activities?
Uwe Schröter: I don't know exactly how I reconcile my job, voluntary work and performance training. But the most important thing for me is that my family goes along with me. My wife is also a coach and an active athlete in the club, my 15-year-old son trains with me and my 17-year-old son supports the club as an assistant coach and referee.
IST: What do you find so appealing and special about your job at the club?
UweSchröter: Inspiring children and young people to take part in sporting activities in general and the diversity of athletics in particular, organizing target-oriented performance training for the best and being a role model myself as an active, internationally successful senior athlete. And then it is important to me to effectively present the club and its many dedicated volunteers to the public. Our activities in 2015 enabled us to become an advertising ambassador for the Free State of Saxony under the motto "This is how Saxon works!".
IST: What are your club's goals for this season?
UweSchröter: We want to lead three junior athletes to German championships and win medals at the World Championships in Lyon in August with three senior athletes (including myself). We also want to increase the number of members to 200 by the end of the year.
IST: Was the further training you completed helpful for your work as club chairman or athletics department manager?
UweSchröter: More for my work as a coach. I was able to implement some suggestions and in-depth knowledge in my training. I have also already given a lecture on nutrition for athletes.
IST: In your opinion, how important are special training courses for the sports industry, such as those offered by the IST, and what is the significance of distance learning?
UweSchröter: I think this type of knowledge transfer is very efficient, especially the combination of theory and practice. A specialist trainer license cannot provide the important basics of fitness training or the medical context. There are still some areas that I would be very interested in.
IST: You yourself have completed the IST further education course "Sports and Fitness Training". How did you find out about the IST Study Institute and what was the reason for choosing this IST training course?
UweSchröter: I came across the IST and its courses on the Internet by chance. I found the "Sports and Fitness Training" with the acquisition of the four licenses particularly interesting and expected to gain a great deal of knowledge from it. I never seriously considered a career change into the fitness industry. That's probably more for the younger generations. However, I could well imagine working as a personal trainer.
IST: Would you recommend the IST training courses to others?
UweSchröter: Yes, without reservation.
IST: Mr. Schröter, thank you for the interview.
If you would like to find out more about the LAV Reichenbach association, you can do so here. All information on the "Sports and fitness training" course can be found here on our website.
Source: IST
Published on: 24 August 2015