The BVB Evonik Football Academy turns ten this year, so we've decided to do something special and embark on a journey back in time with you and our coaches. We're reporting on special experiences that will never fade from memory. We sat down for a chat with our head coach Patrick Kulinski, who is a real expert when it comes to all things football academy and youth football. 

Hello Patrick, please introduce yourself briefly. 

My name is Patrick Kulinski, I was born in 1990 and have been working at the football academy since July 2013. I took over as head coach at the BVB Evonik Football Academy in October 2020. I have been a coach for 13 years now and during my time at BVB I have acquired the UEFA A-licence, the Life Kinetic team training licence and undertaken various training courses related to the Heidelberger Ballschule. I also played football to state league level and finished as a runner-up twice in the German Futsal Championship. 

How did you end up at BVB?

In my early years as a coach, in addition to my activities at my hometown club, I worked odd jobs at various football schools. Then, in 2013, I first became aware of the BVB Evonik Football School, as it was known back then. My cousin, who was a physiotherapist on the support staff for the team led by academy coach Hannes Wolf, put me in touch with Jan-Frederik Luig, who was the sporting director of the football school at the time.

After a job interview and a training session at a holiday course, a trial of sorts, everything went very quickly and I became a member of the coaching community at the football school. In April 2014, I was even able to sign my first permanent contract as a coach. 

Can you give us an insight into which courses we offered when you first started and what has changed since then?

In the early years of the football school, (we have been around since 2011) we started out with the well-known holiday courses both in Dortmund and across Germany. We also had the matchday courses as well as the Sunday development courses, which focused on different footballing skills. We also supported the occasional sponsor-run event both at home and abroad, helped out with the season opening, ran events with our Kids Club, assisted the club foundation ''leuchte auf'' with their activities and were active in Japan through a collaboration with a football school we were partnered with. 

Looking back on it all now, an awful lot has changed. So much has happened both in the general sports area (birthday courses, ball game courses for four to six-year-olds, walking football for the over-60s) and the performance sports area (development courses, performance courses, partner club training, collaboration with the Youth Performance Centre). The topic of school and nursery is also very close to our hearts. It goes without saying that we at Borussia Dortmund have a sense of social responsibility that we want to live up to. That's why we support lots of schools and nurseries in the local area. 

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

I have to say that there are two massive experiences that really stand out. First of all, I think back to February 2016, when a total of eight BVB employees went to Brazil and spent nine days taking part in various activities co-organised by Evonik. From training development courses for Brazilian coaches in local stadiums to training sessions at what felt like 45-degree heat for children in the Favelas with former BVB player Dédé, we had an absolutely unbelievable time over there. I also have to mention what happened a year later, when we went to Mexico in February 2017.

This time, however, I was the only BVB employee that went on the trip. I was there to have a closer look at the fan club ''BVB09MEX'' and their associated football school ''Academia Borussia''. An incredible project, which, as I found out, continues to be supported by our foundation ''leuchte auf''. The fan club is now the biggest in Mexico and is ''on the ball'' in every possible way. 

The two founders, Humberto Morales Münstermann and Kevin Morales Münstermann, support social projects, organise football tournaments, work with different schools and institutions and have also established a small football academy with various locations. They are the living embodiment of the club motto ''Echte Liebe'' (true love) and sacrifice themselves for the cause on a daily basis, if you can say that. I was able to participate in and help with everything they do, which gives me a great sense of pride when I look back on it.

What are your hopes for the year ahead?

I hope that in such a challenging time, people ''come together'' to support each other and show solidarity. I think that we must all dial down our self-centredness - which can come out from time to time, for some more than others - in order to think of the good health of all people. 

Along with this, I of course wish for good health and happiness for everyone in my private circle. As far as my job at BVB is concerned, I would of course like to make the most of my new position as head coach to bring life and exciting content to the football academy to help it develop even further in the years ahead and continue to make strides in the area of youth football. I want to continue to try to always have an open ear, to think outside the box and to appropriately address the concerns of a wide range of people, be they colleagues or participants in our courses.

Many thanks for your personal look back! Now you can look forward to exciting contributions from our coaching team.