Awarded by the Süddeutsche Zeitung / Botthof: “I have gained strength of character”
While her teammates met in Füssen for the ice training course, young talent national player Tabea Botthof was on stage at the Süddeutsche Zeitung's "Talentiade" in Munich last Wednesday and had to answer the questions from sports reporters and team leaders "a little nervously", as she admitted Sport of the SZ Johannes Schnitzler. She then received the award from national player and NHL crack Korbinian Holzer.
Tabea Botthoff (ice hockey); Korbinian Holzer
© Johannes Simon
The 17-year-old is considered a modest, reliable and quiet teammate in her ranks, although she has every reason to be the exact opposite: in 2016, Botthof took part in the Youth Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer together with Eric Betzold. Her discipline there? The so-called Skills Challenge, which is about technique and speed on the ice. In the end, Tabea came eighth. She learned to skate at TSV Erding, which in this case was also the beneficiary of the 1.500 Euro grant. Since 2015, Tabea Botthof has been playing for ESC Planegg in an all-women team, because "from a certain age you should choose an all-women team because you can play more efficiently there than in a mixed team."
In January 2017, the Erdinger native and her national team achieved the long-awaited promotion back to the top eight teams in the world at the U18 Women's Ice Hockey World Championship in Hungary. And that wasn't enough, the then 16-year-old crowned her successful season in addition to the German championship by taking part in the A World Championship in Plymouth. Last April, Botthof was not only the youngest player in the squad of women's national coach Benjamin Hinterstocker, she was also able to hold her own in the games and make a good impression. "She is very advanced for her age," says Hinterstocker. She is considered a good all-rounder. She is also good on the skates, has a hard shot, is solid in building up play and has technical finesse, according to her coaching team. But above all, the experiences at the Youth Olympic Games and the World Championship games have left their mark. "I think I have gained strength of character," she says.
It's no wonder that, given her qualifications and her CV, American colleges have already come knocking. But Botthof hasn't decided yet and will start next season at the Kent School, a kind of preparatory school for American universities, in Connecticut in the USA. She has a scholarship there and can study and play ice hockey at the same time. That has been her wish for a long time. "The USA has ideal conditions for ice hockey," she says. But she will still keep her place in the U18 national team and be with her team as often as possible. At the latest, when the U18 World Championships come around in January, she should be able to play for her colors again.