December member spotlight

Meet Dietmar Bruck, who has been an SCL member based at Worsley Leisure Centre since 2016. Dietmar was also a former professional footballer who played in the Football League for Coventry City, where he spent the majority of his career.  Dietmar, 80 tells us all about his exciting football career and his passion for keeping fit in his retirement.

How long have you been a member and why did you join?

Joining SCL was one of the best things I did, it gave me opportunity to continue to keep fit rather than just go running which I find boring. Coming here, you get to meet people. I enjoy a good workout, at one stage I used to do 64 lengths of the pool but it gets a bit boring and half the time I forget how many lengths I’m up to!

I enjoy the aqua aerobics, the fitness element is unbelievable, it’s such a popular class. My usual routine looks like this, I tend to come Monday – to Friday, five days a week, for a 9 o clock start. I’ll do a session in the gym until 10 o clock, and then have a sauna and a swim. I’ll then come to the café afterwards and enjoy a coffee. The commitment is a bit like having a part time job!

Dietmar, tell us a bit about your career as a professional footballer?

I was originally born in Danzig, Germany, and moved to Coventry, with my mother aged 4.  It was at school I got involved with football and played for Coventry boys under 13s – under 15s and was spotted and later signed by Coventry City FC at 12 years old on a 3 year apprenticeship.

I made my debut for Coventry City age just 17 and played for 10 years with them. I played 189 league games for the club and was part of the Coventry team that won the Second Division title in 1967. Following that, I moved to Charlton Athletic in October 1970 on a 3 year contact then later joined Northampton Town.

What about life outside of football?

I qualified as an FA coach with many opportunities abroad, but due to my family commitments they weren’t right for me at the time. After my football career came to an end, I worked as a financial consultant for the Coop for 25 years. Then after retirement I worked as a “community champion” with Tesco in Coventry for many years.

What do you love about SCL?

The thing I really enjoy is the company you meet, I’ve made a lot of friends here, as well as keeping myself fit. The staff here are excellent and the facilities are top class. At Christmas I always bring a little something in as a thank you to show my appreciation for how friendly and welcoming this place really is.

I’m so grateful to have such a nice place to come to as I spend a lot of hours here.

We love having you as part of the SCL family Dietmar, have a very merry Christmas!