U18 women’s national coach praises commitment: “Everyone pulled together really well”
Franziska Busch is not deterred by the adversities of the corona pandemic. “We are giving it our all and preparing ourselves so that everything works,” she says U18 women’s national coach with a view to the four and a half months until the U18 World Cup in Sweden in January 2021. Part one of this preparation is behind her and her team. Between August 5th and 9th, the 34-year-old gathered the team for the first training course of the new season at the federal base in Füssen. “Everyone got along really well. They know what it’s about, they know that there isn’t much time until the World Cup,” summarizes Busch.
At the Season highlight in Linköping The selection of the Deutscher Eishockey-Bund eV is competing as a promoted team after successfully making the jump to the top division in January of this year. But in an outsider role in the group Sweden, Czech Republic and Switzerland Busch still doesn't see her team as compelling. “One of the first two places is the goal in order to reach the games with the top group. “That’s absolutely realistic,” says the former national player and Olympic participant in Turin (2006) and Sochi (2014): “We know what we can do.”
She has around half of the squad from the year of promotion available again, which makes the start much easier and does not mean Busch has to start from scratch. "We started at a good level and were able to retain many of the basics from last season," reports the coach. And the players, including defender Ronja Hark, also adhered to the usual behavioral measures in a disciplined manner.
However, Busch has already learned that the art of improvisation is required in a situation that no one has ever experienced before. Actually, a tournament in Slovakia at the end of August should have served as a performance comparison, but the current situation does not allow this and therefore she will most likely only see her team again in November, when an international match against Austria is planned in Füssen. “We hope that all courses will take place. The plan for how we structure ourselves worked well last year,” says Busch. In December, in the run-up to the immediate preparations for the World Cup, there would be a four-nation tournament (“A good assessment of the situation.”).
In the meantime, Busch is keeping in touch with her players through video meetings and would like to regularly observe them in competition when play in the Young Talent and the women's Bundesliga begins regularly. In general, Busch believes it is important that female athletes “play where they get enough ice time.” Whether in the women’s Bundesliga (“very good level for young talented players”) or the DNL (“in a boys’ team you have to be a girl fully proven every time”) is then of secondary importance. “The overall package has to be right,” says Busch – especially in relation to key situations such as being outnumbered and outnumbered. The U18 national team ultimately benefits from this.
Photo: Julian Kröhl