Boris Henry, Felix Magath & Matthias de Zordo

Javelin world champion Matthias de Zordo (sport club: Schlau.com Saar 05) and his coach Boris Henry arrived to the VfL Wolfsburg on Wednesday for a special training exercise. Soccer coach Felix Magath wanted to offer an alternative training to his Bundesliga professionals. The players not only had fun, but also demonstrated an unexpected talent in the javelin.

Before they went to practice, Boris Henry, coach of the national team, shared his training philosophy with the soccer players. Soccer is based on the same fundamentals as track and field. The focus is on speed, coordination, agility and endurance. "These are the basic prerequisite for performance," said Boris Henry.

Felix Magath agreed. "I wanted to point out to my players that there are many similarities between the training work of soccer players and athletes. In addition, it is important to look at how these athletes work successfully. " Then the players also had to try this in practice.

Christian Träsch throws 41 meters

Matthias de Zordo took over the command during warm-up. European Championships silver medalist Christina Obergföll (LG Offenburg) also gave tips, when the soccer players started throwing with the javelins. The sporting ambition arised and it turned into a small competition. Captain Christian Träsch achieved the best result with 41 meters.

Naturally, for Matthias de Zordo, this wasn't a challange. The Diamond League winner threw the javelin easily to 70 meters. But he was impressed by the soccer players. "These guys have understood the new technique quickly and immediately threw far, which surprised me".

Christian Träsch liked the training and returned the compliment. „I've never done this before, it was definitely worth the experience. It is exciting to try a new sport that is usually only seen on TV. Impressive what Matthias does. I will follow his career.

source:leichtathletik.de, photos:VfL Wolfsburg