TSGDoku - Deniz Solmaz - Simply Different

Episode 3: The beginnings in Wieseck

TSGMedia: In 2006 you moved to TSG Wieseck in December. Tell us something about that.

Deniz: I was allowed to take over the U14 at the winter break and it was a great feeling. The tempo was much higher than with my last team, and also the surrounding was more elaborate and heavier. More appointments, more pressure and also more influence from the parents, I had to get used to that. The boys were great, but they also challenged me completely. The parents were very strong in their opinions, so there were always problems. For me, the player was always the focus, I wanted personal responsibility and independence, they should learn to make their own decisions. The boys wanted that too, some parents were happy with that, they saw their child in the focus. Others, who rather took themselves too important, were not happy and the stress then accompanied me for some time.

TSGMedia: In your early days, you still lived in Eschenburg and went to school in Siegen. That was hard, wasn't it?

Deniz: Yes, the effort was very high. At the beginning, I was a trainer for the regional and Hesse selections, soccer filled my entire life. In 2007 I moved to Giessen and for 3-4 months I commuted to school in Siegen. The work with the players was the hammer, I could not catch up then the Abitur. Then the thoughts matured in me to put all my eggs in one basket.

TSGMedia: After a year at Wieseck, you took over as athletic director and more or less got yourself your full-time job. How did that come about?

Deniz: At that time, the club was already the flagship in Hesse and I wanted to help take the next step. I worked out a sporting concept and presented it to my boss, and he simply let me do it, for which I am still very grateful today. At the same time, I explained to him how a position could be created for me, he liked the idea and then I started working. Talks with sponsors and the expansion of the soccer school then led to the point where I could just about make ends meet. Fortunately, I still had financial reserves from my self-employment. But those were used up pretty quickly, so I lived the first few years on a mix of my salary, my savings, and then a loan at the end. Those years were rough, but I didn't care.

TSGMedia: In 2010, you had a break with your boss and probably the most upsetting time you experienced. What was it like?

Deniz: I was very polarizing with my direct manner. For the most part, the players loved the fact that I put them completely in the spotlight and was always honest. Many parents and then my leadership didn't think it was so great. Nevertheless, the club developed mega and we were swimming on a wave of success. The promotion of the U15 and the year was sporting the greatest thing I was allowed to experience. The trench warfare between a small group of parents and the boss then escalated completely. That time took a lot out of me, but I was convinced of what I had achieved and could still achieve. So it came to a big bang. Some parents deregistered their children and I inherited my former youth leader. I was 25 years old and led the youth department. None of this was supposed to happen that quickly.

TSGMedia: A year later, you briefly moved to SC Waldgirmes. How did that happen?

Deniz: The years at Wieseck were really hard. As much as I enjoyed working with the coaches and players. I wanted to see something new and was tired of being told what to do by the rest of the people above me on the board. So then came the change to the senior area to the SC Waldgirmes, there I should build up parallel also the youth. I summarize it times in such a way: Actually, I didn't fit in there. The exchange with the players was great, but not much else fit. But I learned a lot for my life and I am very grateful to the people I met there. After only eight months, I was drawn back to TSG. I just missed youth soccer and my coaches, and the board really wanted me back. So I ended up back where I feel most comfortable.

TSGMedia: It was precisely during your time at SC Waldgirmes that you developed Talent Promotion Mittelhessen. What is that and what were your motives?

Deniz: At the end of my time at Wieseck, I was massively annoyed by a Bundesliga club that had signed a ten-year-old from Central Hesse, who had to travel 160 kilometers to train. When I told the people in charge what I thought about it, the desire to change something grew in me. During a vacation in New York I visited a game of two college basketball teams and 20,000 spectators were there. I couldn't get over the fact that there were so many people at a game between schools. Exactly on that day I worked out the concept of TFM and when I landed back in Germany, the work started. In short, I didn't want the kids to have to travel such long distances anymore and I wanted to bring top trainers to the clubs.