In December last year, the U20 national team secured promotion to the top division at the home World Cup in Füssen. Now the U18 national team played at the 2019 IIHF U18 Ice Hockey World Championship Div. IA in Grenoble the perfect tournament. 15 out of 15 possible points – this meant not only gold for U18 national coach Frank Fischöder’s team, but also promotion to the top division. As a result, all teams in the men's area (national team, U18 and U20) now play first class. After these important sporting successes, we have DEB-Sports director Stefan Schaidnagel spoke…
Stefan Schaidnagel, after the U20, the U18 is again first class. How important are these two milestones in the overall sporting concept of the DEB?
Having first-class young talent national teams is always very important, regardless of the prevailing concept. In our case it shows that the first measures taken by POWERPLAY 26 are having an effect. Nevertheless, it is important to bring consistency and sustainability into all young talent programs. We can only talk about a certain level of establishment when we have a consistently high level in order to be able to compete in the first class.
What measures led to these two important successes being celebrated?
The introduction of competitive sports principles, such as strong competition in national games or the revision of the training system through to the complete revision of the training and competition measures of the young talent national teams were certainly important building blocks. We are also receiving international recognition, especially for these restructuring measures. In the medium and long term, it is precisely this fact about club and talent support that must be maintained and even further optimized and expanded.
What further steps need to be taken now in the young talent area so that success can have a lasting effect?
We certainly need to continue to work and fight for a better future at several points. Starting with further professionalization at the young talent competitive sports level, through to further, in-depth talent promotion, especially in the 14-17 age group, we need to invest massively in both grassroots and competitive sports. Another main focus is then on integrating our talents into the senior squads at the top level, but also in the other senior leagues. If we do not succeed in this, it is highly likely that we will not be able to take the next steps. That is why we are obliged to train the best coaches so that these players can learn and be taught by the best. As has often been mentioned, this is a laborious process.