PAOK educating children and parents together
A non-negotiable constant of the PAOK Academy is the all-round development of each athlete, in cooperation with their family. In the context of educating children and especially parents, PAOK organized the interdisciplinary day “The Athlete in Developmental Football”, with the aim of “psychologically educating” the parents of the young athletes based on UEFA’s Grassroots charter and the Hellenic Football Federation’s (EPO) principles governing its Child Protection Policy.
Topics such as the daily life of a young athlete playing sports, the stress they experience, the way this stress can be managed by parents, how mental health is affected in cases of injury, and how decisive the fear of re-injury can be, dominated the discussion.
The initiative was aimed at strengthening the psychology of parents, which has a direct impact on athletes, how to build a climate of trust towards the team, but also creating a sense of essential support for the athlete and their family. The PAOK B doctor Argyris Karavelis, the PAOK Academy doctor Iraklis Giannaros, academy psychologist Irini Rera, and psychiatrist Evangelos Douros (Scientific Head of the Early Intervention Unit in Psychosis, «PNOES SKG» EPAPSY) all shared their knowledge with the attendees, as well as the manager of the Academy House, Dora Karaolani. The guest of honor was the president of the Hellenic Psychiatric Association, Vassilis Panteleimon Bozikas.
The day, which was held at the «Mikis Theodorakis» Multifunctional Building of the Kordelios Evosmos municipality, was a first-class occasion to meet our coaches, parents, and athletes, but also some of our first-team players who have come up through the academies, from the … ‘guts’ of the club. Lefteris Lyratzis, Haris Tsingaras, Yiannis Michailidis, Ioannis Konstantelias, Konstantinos Koulierakis, Christos Talichmanidis, Konstantinos Balomenos, George Vrakas, Dimitris Monastirlis, and Stefanos Tzimas, as well as Kyriakos Giaxis, and Ermis Selimaj, accompanied by the team’s general manager Christos Karipidis, were all in attendance.
Of course, the general director of PAOK Academy Vangelis Pourliotopoulos, the technical director Giorgos Georgiadis, the coach of PAOK B Alexandros Alexiadis, and the operational manager of the B team Dimitris Saraidaris were also present.
The meeting of the past and present PAOK youngsters was also an occasion to dust off our archives and create a video-collage of moments from their lives at PAOK. When you consider that the PAOK Academy has developed into a fine-tuned machine for producing talented footballers, we have been forced to focus on the … current crop, our first-team ‘kids’, who have made at least one appearance for the senior side, who belong to us – although on loan, such as Marios Tsaousis-, but also to two players who grew up here and spread their wings abroad, such as Christos Tzolis and Giorgos Koutsias. We are sure, moreover, that we will be «forced» to make many similar videos in the future.
