Performance Centre
Leadership
Manuel Baum
Head of Youth Sports
Date of birth:
30th August 1979
At the club since:
July 2023
Manuel Baum has been responsible for RB Leipzig's youth department as ‘Head of Youth Sport’ since 1 July 2023.
Manuel Baum is an expert in professional and youth football. He was head coach of the Bundesliga teams of FC Augsburg and FC Schalke 04 as well as the U20 and U18 national teams of Germany. Manuel was also head coach of FC Augsburg's entire youth training centre from July 2014 to December 2016.
Other Academy Roles
- Christian Streit: Head of Organisation Youth
- Bartosch Gaul: Head of performance U15 - U19
- Jan Schäfer: Head of performance U8 - U14
- Marcus Darmochwal: Head of Match Operations & Contracts
- Sabine Schiefer: Pedagogical Director & Boarding School Director
Academy administration
- Marcel Wilke: Assistant of youth management
- Lars Krüger: Tournament coordinator for youth teams
- Thomas Penndorf: Administration youth teams
Education
- Sabine Schiefer - Director of education/Boarding school
- Christoph Schiefer - Boarding school management
- Beatrix Garbe - Educational assistant
- Tobias Grune - Educational assistant
- Benjamin Meyer - Educational assistant
- Jasmin Goldack - Educational assistant
Boarding school
Life at the RB Leipzig boarding school is both a special challenge and an enriching experience. In comparison to everyday family life at home, living with a large number of young people is a completely different life experience, which requires consideration and is characterised by diversity. Everyday life at boarding school is varied and brings with it an enormous wealth of experience which can greatly benefit young players in their future career.
School
Football’s elite schools
In November 2014, RB Leipzig’s youth academy and its partner schools were recognised by the German Football Association (DFB) as part of a network of elite football schools. As such, they fulfil all the requirements for providing young players with optimal support to pursue their sporting and academic commitments. This includes additional training sessions in the morning, as well as support in the case of absences due to taking part in sessions with the DFB or other national teams.
Graduation
RB Leipzig’s philosophy is based on the principle that sports and academics are equally important. Based on a comprehensive overview of all educational requirements, the aim is to help support every young player to achieve the highest possible individual qualification upon leaving school. Most common are a secondary school diploma after year 10, as well as A-levels or a vocational diploma after finishing year 12.
Studies
Vocational training
All players receive support in finding a suitable vocational training program based on the results of a comprehensive profile. Our partners strive to accommodate all sporting commitments while meeting the educational requirements.
Higher education
Players who have already completed their A-levels or a vocational diploma have the opportunity to continue their studies at one of our partner universities and can choose to pursue either long-distance or in-person courses. In each case, the study program will accommodate any sporting commitments.
RB Leipzig’s education and vocational training partners:
Sportgymnasium und Sportmittelschule Leipzig, Rahn-Schulen Leipzig
Sports Psychology
Dr. Nils Gatzmaga - Sports Psychologist
Personality development
The overriding goal of our sports psychology work is the comprehensive and sustainable development of our youth players to allow them to be able to deal with the demands of both sports and everyday life in the best possible way.
Training of psychological skills
In training and in school, our youth players have to constantly take on new learning challenges. In competitive situations, they are regularly faced with the challenges of regulating their emotions and managing both successes and failures. In order to be best prepared for this, specific skills are taught and strengthened - both individually and as a team.
Individual and team support
The main focus of our work is the psychological accompaniment and support of our youth players and coaches both on and off the field.
Medical/Physiotherapy
A constant improvement in the quality of our care
RB Leipzig offers its academy players care and treatment of the highest quality. Our physiotherapists take part in a wide range of training and expertise courses in order to meet the highest standards of physiotherapeutic care in competitive sports.
Quick & sensible integration into team training
Despite our commitment to performance, we offer our youth players comprehensive care. The health of our players is of the highest priority for us. In the event of difficult or ambiguous treatment situations, we will always make a decision that is in the best interests of the player.
Extensive communication with coaches and parents
We try to provide support for our players, by involving them in the discussion of sensitive topics and helping them to find the right approach to integrate into training. There is also a clear dialogue between the players, coaches and the physiotherapists. As some of our players’ parents live far away, we notify their guardians immediately in the event of any injuries as well as providing comprehensive updates.
Innovative therapeutic treatment
We are in constant exchange with experts from all areas of sports medicine, in order to offer the latest and most innovative treatment options.
Prevention
A large part of our department is focussed on injury prevention. Players are treated on a weekly basis in order to prevent any injuries as early as possible.
A comprehensive network of medical facilities
We are characterised by our comprehensive network of the best medical facilities. Our network includes specialists in all areas, which, for example, allows us to make MRI or CT scan appointments within the shortest possible time.
Mission & Vision Statement
Performance Centre Mission Statement
Mission
The promotion of young talent forms an important basis for the model of our club and is intended to essentially ensure long-term success.
For a young player, this means following an individual path with us based on our standards and values, and being part of our holistic, innovative and specific promotion of young talent.
In order to be able to follow this path successfully, we assume responsibility for the holistic development of our players and are aware of our position as role models. In doing so, we set our focus on our sporting, social and educational core competencies.
Our goal at RB Leipzig is to introduce our young players to professional football and to develop their conscientious and independent personalities.
Vision
Due to our state-of-the-art infrastructure and our comprehensive training and playing philosophy, we are convinced that we will become a performance centre that meets the highest standards and draws top regional, national and international talents.
We strive to develop personalities who will be leaders and role models, who constantly strive for further development in training, in competition and in school and who also give their best outside of the sport to fulfil their dream of playing professional football.
Holistic training approach
The training of our young players is geared towards supporting and challenging particularly talented players in a manner of holistic development. This is based on the following three fundamental pillars:
- Football
- Education (school and work)
- Personality
In addition to optimal footballing support, our young talents should also receive the best possible school education in order to create a secure and stable starting situation which they can use to shape and be in control of their own future. In this regard, we strive to help each individual achieve the highest possible qualifications upon leaving school.
The teaching of values is hugely important in the development and education of our players. In particular, mentality, discipline, will, honesty and team spirit are fundamental to us and are already taken into account in our selection process, alongside athletic and academic aptitude.
Within the professional framework of our performance centre, we support every talent in their growth into an independent, driven and strong-willed personality, who can make the transition to professional football providing optimal training.
In everything we do, we hold the responsibility of providing our players with skills and competencies that will benefit them as young people throughout their lives in all areas.
Driving force behind our youth development
We strive for continuous further development and optimisation of our youth development. High-quality training, demanding competitions, a professional environment and the individual support of our players are the key driving forces behind this.
The most important basis is our consistent training and playing philosophy. From the lowest level of youth football through to our professional team, we train and teach using innovative methods and highly qualified personnel in an age-appropriate manner. The latest sports science findings and developments in the sport are always taken into account and considered. Both our internal specialists and external experts serve as instructors and contact persons to our coaches.
The further development of football-specific skills and abilities as well as personality-enhancing elements is the focus of our daily work.
Our talents should be characterised by passion, hunger for success, respect, fairness and self-assurance in order to be successful individually and as a team.