Today we're introducing you to our employee and coach Vanessa Heim. She has been at BVB for almost five years and is happy to give you a little insight into her role at the club and plans for new courses at the BVB Evonik Football Academy.

Introduce yourself briefly!

Answer: My name is Vanessa Heim, I am 29 years old and come from Dortmund. I was born and raised here. I've also been playing football myself for almost 16 years and have therefore found my dream job here at BVB Besides my passion for football, I spend a lot of time with my dog and I love nature. 

How long have you been at TSG and how did you get the job?

Answer: I started working for Borussia Dortmund in August 2016. I started here with an internship in event management. Since I had already completed a commercial apprenticeship beforehand, I was able to complete my training within two years. During those two years, I took care of BVB Kids Club affairs, such as events for KidsClub members, appearances by mascot EMMA and general marketing tasks. A few months after completing my training, I had the opportunity to change departments and moved to what was then the "BVB Evonik Football School".

What are your daily activities and what do you enjoy most about your job?

Answer: I have many different areas of responsibility. In general, I belong to the Sales, Marketing and Partners department. In addition to tasks such as branding, communications and social media, I am also a coach. Thanks to my football background, I was given the opportunity to get the Trainer C license. Now hopefully the B license will follow before long.

I'm also involved with all social issues at the BVB Evonik Football Academy. I also oversee all social issues in the BVB Evonik football academy. This includes, for example, the project "Große Klasse!'' (great class!), in which we help primary schools and teachers with sports lessons and offer further training for teachers and sports clubs in the after-school sector in Dortmund. Unfortunately this hasn't been taking place recently, but I can't wait for it to finally get going again!

In addition, there are other social projects that we organise together with our foundation "leuchte auf. What is more, I started and continue to oversee the conceptual focus on "Sexualised Violence in Sport". Children's welfare is very important to us at BVB.

Can you give us a quick insight into the planned courses for girls?

Answer: Of course! Fortunately, the women's football department was founded this year. I remember in my childhood it was always a big dream to be able to play for BVB one day. At that time, unfortunately, the football academy and the associated courses for girls and boys did not yet exist. Of course, every girl is welcome to take part in all our courses! At the moment, a lot of boys are participating in our courses, but we have already welcomed one or two girls to the football academy. Three very talented girls even train weekly in our advanced and performance courses - I am very happy about that! In future, we would like to reach our Black & Yellow girls through our communications and we of course hope that the number of participants will increase. So girls - lace up your boots and join us on the pitch!

Do you have a moment or a story that you can't get out of your head and that you really want to share with us?

Answer: I have to say that I have had so many great moments over the last five years. First of all, my time at KidsClub, where I was able to spend a lot of time with our big bee EMMA and put a smile on lots of faces, both young and old alike (actually, it was mainly EMMA who was doing it and not me :) ).

For me personally, one moment in October 2019 at the ball games course was very special. First of all, I worked with several colleagues to launch a new course model for children aged four to five. To add to that, we had a visit from Jörg Heinrich and Jan Koller one day. As a little girl, Jan Koller was my absolute idol. I was a striker myself back then and loved scoring goals and winning games. Jan was always my number-one role model. It was a very special moment to have him stood in front of me.

What are your hopes for the year ahead?

Answer: Professionally, I hope that things can start up again soon and that we can welcome happy children here again. Personally, I hope that we stay healthy and that "normal" everyday life can soon return. After all, I'd love to get my boots on and go play football again.