BVB Youth Etiquette - Our Code of Conduct

The youth sector at Borussia Dortmund places great importance on living out humanistic values and moral standards. These contribute to practicing respectful interaction within the black and yellow club family. We aim to be a role model in respecting all individuals, regardless of their origin, appearance, or religion. Fair play in football, respect for opponents on and off the pitch, and a clear stance against racism and all forms of discrimination are fundamental to our interactions in football and society. Based on these principles, we invest heavily in the positive personal development of our players.

From a sporting perspective, we desire boys full of joy for the game, creativity, enthusiasm, and a winning mentality. We aim to cultivate positive player personalities who can be role models for their team and Borussia Dortmund. We embody professionalism with self-criticism and openness, a drive for performance, and discipline. On and off the pitch, we work daily with our players to enhance their personal, social, and emotional resources. This applies from the U9s to the U23s.

We aim for our players to possess a high level of everyday competence, enabling them to develop a life perspective beyond football. This includes confident and exemplary behavior, internalized social values, and a solid education both academically and professionally. It's important to talk about these aspects, but what's crucial is to act upon them. And we do! Across teams, we ensure that the younger players learn from the older ones, with the seniors being aware of their role models.

• We shake hands when greeting each other!
• We let others finish speaking and expect the same courtesy!
• We confidently express our opinions and are willing to accept other positions self-critically!
• We follow the coach's instructions and treat our teammates fairly!
• New players or guests should not feel like outsiders. To facilitate their integration, they are assigned a mentor within the team who supports them with advice and action, especially during their initial period.

Within our coaches and staff, we see the personalities who serve as role models for our players, set rules for them, and ensure their adherence. Our coaches guide their players and provide them with feedback on their behavior regularly. We expect our staff to critically reflect on themselves and be ready to continually develop. Only those who consistently expose themselves to new learning situations and prove themselves in them are capable of creating such situations for their players.

Our coaches not only focus on the athletic development of the talents but also foster each player holistically. To meet this requirement, every coach must engage with a broad profile of expectations. We expect our coaches to:

• Deliver technically and linguistically convincing performances in front of their own team, based on appreciation and honesty toward each individual player.
• Handle successes and defeats in a sportsmanlike and fair manner.
• Possess appropriate conflict resolution skills for every situation.
• Ensure the equal treatment of all players.

Moreover, a coach in the Borussia Dortmund youth sector must always be aware of their role model function. Our coaches are constantly in the public eye, representing Borussia Dortmund both internally and externally. This requires appropriate behavior towards individuals outside the group, including handling their own mistakes.

In a positive light, parents provide assistance and serve as an organizational pillar when it comes to shaping the dynamic processes of a team. From arranging transportation to training and games, organizing birthdays and celebrations, to ensuring healthy, performance-enhancing nutrition during tournaments, these are the everyday tasks of parents of football-playing children and adolescents. The collaboration between coaches and parents at the BVB Youth Performance Center is fundamentally based on the pillars of "cooperation," "acceptance," and "appreciation" of each other's activities. Our coaches and officials place great emphasis on positive interaction with parents as well as a clear acknowledgment of their respective areas of responsibility. However, there is no parental involvement in the sporting aspects.

We expect fairness from our parents towards every child and every team, verbal restraint towards every referee and player, and a motivating atmosphere to support their own team.

But more importantly, we see our parents as a significant social resource that requires continuous work. Therefore, an important task of the coach is to actively engage with parents to align the educational processes chosen by him with them.

Against this backdrop, we have designed the BVB Parent School for the U9 to U13 teams. In workshops and short seminars, we work together on the following topics and goals:

• Self- and other-perception as an active parent
• Emotional de-escalation and building trust
• Developing components for a BVB parent concept
• Adoption of a code of conduct on a participatory basis

We firmly believe that the best possible personal development of each player can only be ensured through continuous constructive exchange based on great trust between the coach and parents.