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From club kid to Ski instructor

A story about 15 years of Ahrntal, two children, a club from Worms and the conviction that a family business should give something back where people come together.

Author: Carsten Tesch, graduate business economist Reading time approx. 6 minutes. As of June 12, 2026
Ski instructor accompanies children on a bright alpine ski slope
Clubs give children more than one sport. They give them trust, team spirit and people who accompany them.

There are decisions in life whose value you only realize years later. For me, one of them was driving the same road with my children every winter: over the Brenner Pass and into the Ahrntal in South Tyrol. For over fifteen years.

It started small: two children, a club, a drag lift. Today both have their ski instructor license. The children who once stood timidly in the snow have become people who teach others to ski. When I think about where it started, I always end up with the same name: the Trappenberg Ski & Snowboard Club from Worms.

The beginningWhere skiing began

Both children learned to ski at Trappenberg. Not in an anonymous large school, but in an association where people volunteer. People who get up early, pack the bus, accompany the little ones up the slope and drive back exhausted but satisfied in the evening.

Logo Ski & Snowboard Club Trappenberg e.V.

Ski & Snowboard Club Trappenberg e.V.

A non-profit sports club from Worms with offers in winter, summer and on the water. What starts as a ski club becomes an integral part of the year for many families.

Trappenbergers are blue and yellow
trappenberg.com →

A club like this doesn't live on big budgets. It lives from people who give time and from partners who ensure in the background that the wheels keep turning. That's exactly why Ihne + Tesch has been on the Trappenberg sponsor list for years. Not for visibility, but because we know what a club like this does for families.

The knowledgeWhy regional clubs matter

You can talk a lot about youth development. But the best way to understand its value is to experience it yourself. I've seen what a club does with children: it gives them more than one sport. He gives them a team where everyone matters.

He teaches them that after a fall, you get back up. And he shows them that skill doesn't just fall from heaven, but comes from practice, patience and the courage to try again.

The children who were taught to ski by the club have become ski instructors. No marketing could have invented this arc.

This is the reason why regional clubs deserve support that goes beyond financial. They are the places where children become self-confident young people: supported on a voluntary basis, often short of money, but priceless in what they achieve.

The attitudeWhat connects sport and family business

It may sound surprising, but what sustains a club also sustains a family business like ours. They are the same values, just in different terrain.

Team spirit

Together instead of alone

On the slopes and in production, what matters is that everyone does their part and can rely on each other.

Persevere

Get up after falling

Anyone who learns to ski learns how to get up again. The same goes for anyone who runs a company for generations.

Responsibility

Be responsible for the whole thing

Volunteers have responsibility for the youngest children. A manufacturer wears them for every component that leaves his premises.

As a family business, we don't think in quarters, but in generations. We know that what you build today needs care to survive. For us, commitment is not a logo on a jersey. It's an attitude.

My children learned to ski at Trappenberg and are now ski instructors themselves. If I took anything away from it, it was this: you support the places that give young people a path.

Carsten Tesch

The viewA thought that was still missing in Austria

At Keller, Ihne & Tesch we have been active and deeply rooted in Austria for a long time. We move a lot there. This makes it all the more honest to say: we simply haven't thought about regional club sponsorship, as we have been doing in Worms for years, at the Austrian location. Not out of disinterest, but because it never made the list in day-to-day business. We want to change that.

The connection is actually obvious. Our own skiing history has long since shifted: today we are regularly on the slopes in Austria, in the Zillertal Arena around Gerlos. Unfortunately, we haven't visited South Tyrol, once our winter home, since then. Austria has become not only a company location for us, but also a part of our winter sports home.

One moment in particular stays with me: When our eldest daughter passed her high school diploma, we went to the Hotel Quelle in Königsleiten as a gift. That's exactly where she stood on a snowboard for the first time. First learned to ski at Trappenberg, then years later learned to snowboard in Austria. Sometimes things come full circle in a place you didn't expect.

This personal closeness is the reason to now consciously approach the topic in Austria: to be present where people get involved, where associations empower children and young people, where community is created.

There is also a personal reason why this attitude finds fertile ground in Austria: Mr. Öfferlbauer is in charge of our Austrian location. He is a sports and winter sports enthusiast himself and knows from his own experience what clubs and shared sports mean for a region. Commitment arises where people actually live what they support.

We are therefore also looking for regional associations and initiatives in Austria that we can support. We consciously do not commit ourselves to this. Whether winter sports, summer sports, water sports or completely different fields: what matters is not the type of sport, but rather that people with passion do something for their region. This is exactly where we want to be a reliable partner in the background.

Are you committed to your region?

If you represent an association or initiative and are looking for a reliable partner, we would be happy to talk to you.

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Author: Carsten Tesch, graduate business economist

In short

For Keller, Ihne & Tesch, club sponsorship is not an advertising format, but part of an attitude: family businesses support places where young people learn responsibility, team spirit and perseverance.

What we are looking for
  • regional clubs with real youth work
  • Initiatives in Austria with long-term commitment
  • People who take responsibility on site
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