Thomas Schädler has been the women's national coach since the end of May, succeeding Franziska Busch, who had held the post on an interim basis but is now back in her traditional position as Young Talent women's national coach. The 53-year-old has an exciting challenge ahead of him at the start of his new role. In August, the women's national team will compete in the World Cup in Canada, which was postponed from the spring. After Halifax and Truro were initially planned as the host cities, Calgary is now the venue for the championships from August 20 to 31. In an interview with deb-online.de, Schädler talks about his new role and looks ahead to the weeks leading up to the World Cup.
deb-online.de: “How much positive energy do you get from your new job after the first few weeks?”
Thomas Schädler (53/women’s national coach): “I’m still full of joy and now that I’m on the ice after the dry training course in Frankfurt and the organizational things, that’s what you live for as a coach and the sweet spot is the games.”
deb-online.de: “What impressions did you gain from the five-day course in Füssen?”
Schädler: “I have very positive impressions. We've completed long sessions here, I know that, but it's also a long road. We really used it like a kind of training camp and we focused on it in a variety of ways: offense, defense, forecheck, build-up, we went through all the points. We also solve a lot of things through playful forms of training. There is a lot to do, the girls did very well, so I can draw a very positive conclusion. My ideas don’t differ significantly from those that Franziska Busch had or that Christian Künast had, but it’s just that you lay down basic things and can build on them.”
deb-online.de: “What type of coach would you see yourself as?”
Schädler: “I have definitely changed over time since I started coaching. The authoritarian approach of the past - it no longer works today if you follow a style like that. I'm not a loudspeaker either, but of course there has to be communication with the girls and also with the staff. I'm also open to suggestions and that we can discuss them and change things from time to time. The style of play should be what I imagine, but it's not a straight line, you can deviate a little bit left and right. The basic direction simply has to be right.”
deb-online.de: “Are major adjustments necessary in coaching if you come from the young talent area?”
Schädler: “When it comes to video, there is sometimes a kind of frontal teaching, but generally a lot happens in dialogue. At the U16 level, the players were in the UXNUMX for the first time DEBarea, you work on basic things, because the end product is the national team with Toni Söderholm. With women there is already a lot, of course things have to be sharpened or readjusted, but with adults communication is particularly important because they already have experience. It makes a huge difference for the boys when they play against Slovakia or Finland or Switzerland for the first time, as they are just starting to gain their experience.”
deb-online.de: “Is it complicated to approach a World Cup from summer training?”
Schädler: “I don't have a comparison, but a lot was done in the spring, the same players were there, so not much has changed. The difference is that otherwise they come out of the season and go to the World Cup. But the other nations feel the same way, they won't have any experience either. And I assume that it will be important to gain this experience because it will probably be the same next year and I think that in September the IIHF will decide that there will be another World Championship in August 2022. Then this time we’ll have a kind of dress rehearsal.”
deb-online.de: “How much of the experience from the spring can be saved into this World Cup preparation?”
Schädler: “All the processes with the bubble are of course still present and even if it is difficult when restrictions are being relaxed around us, we have to stick to our hygiene concepts. We don't want to have an outbreak, otherwise we would have to cancel measures and those affected would not be able to go to the World Cup. Some of the tactical and playful aspects were lost, but we are not starting from scratch, which is a good thing. It is important to me that we train well and we have another ten days in July, so we can do a lot tactically so that we are well prepared for August."
deb-online.de: “What do you already know about the organization of the World Cup tournament? What is the status of your planning?”
Schädler: “There will be a test match on site in Calgary and nothing more will probably happen. Every nation has different plans and even with the bubble before the tournament it is not possible to organize an additional game. We have the information that there are currently five days in quarantine on site, here in Füssen there will be three PCR tests before departure this week and over there you will also be tested again on the fifth day before you are allowed to go out. And then it will remain the case that we commute between the hotel and the ice rink and are not allowed to go out. Otherwise there are still questions unanswered. For example, we don’t yet have exact information about how many players we can take with us.”
deb-online.de: “Do you have to approach the issue of squad composition differently because you don’t have the game impressions that you would otherwise collect during the season?”
Schädler: “I got feedback from Christian and Franzi, they also know the players and so they have experience for the selection. The impressions from the season are missing, that's not the case this time, the last impression was from April, before the World Cup was postponed. On the other hand, something is happening over the summer and unfortunately it is already clear that three players will not be at the World Cup, so something will change in the squad anyway. They are Franziska Feldmeier and Celina Haider, who are both unable to work - and Daria Gleißner has an inflammation of the myocardium and has to take a break for three months. This is really bitter for them and hurts us too.”
deb-online.de: “How do you compensate for the loss of such a leading player?”
Schädler: “We want to strengthen the team anyway and we clearly have the leading players who hold everything together. But everyone has to get involved and there are different characters and we see which role suits someone and how. But it's going well, the girls are well organized themselves. This is a very good group and I have to say that the atmosphere is also very good, even though the training was strenuous.”
deb-online.de: “What are your overall goals with the women’s national team?”
Schädler: “In terms of sport, nothing will change compared to spring, we want to get to the World Cup quarter-finals. Then we want to qualify for the Olympics, that’s clear too. Then there will probably be a big change after this season and it will be important to find young players who can fill the gaps. Then we will also see how we can continue to work structurally, in the league, in training, in the Bundeswehr. Overall, we want to ensure that women's ice hockey becomes even more respected and professional. It’s difficult because there’s comparatively little money involved, but we work with the regional associations and try, for example, to ensure that the girls in the young talent area are treated the same as the boys.”
deb-online.de: “How important will the coming season be for German women’s ice hockey in particular?”
Schädler: “Every season is of course important and sporting success counts, especially with so many highlights like this time. We may have four major events in the next twelve months with the World Cup, the Olympic qualification, then hopefully the Olympics and another World Cup, it's never been like this, we've never experienced it in this form. Nevertheless, the other seasons are just as important. We always have to keep working and see that we find the next Julia Zorn or the next Andrea Lanzl or the next Tanja Eisenschmid, just as among men there is a Tim Stützle, a Lukas Reichel, a JJ Peterka, a Moritz Seider. We already have good approaches and some in the field of vision, which we then have to promote accordingly.”