For several weeks now, Andreas Becherer has been part of the national coaching team at the Deutscher Eishockey-Bund (DEB) and takes over responsibility for the young talent area in his new role as U18 national coach. In this interview, the 46-year-old talks about his first impressions, the differences to coaching work at the club, dealing with young players and preparing for the upcoming events. In August, the U18 selection of the DEB at the traditional Hlinka Gretzky Cup, in which the best talents of the nations compete against each other.
How did you get started at DEBHow did you experience the first few weeks?
Andreas Becherer: “First of all, I got to know all the people I work closely with and I quickly realized that it is really pleasant to be at the DEB to work. Everyone is open and helpful, which made it easy for me to settle into my new position. Some processes are slightly different in the association than in the club. I had to get used to them first. Things are already working well now."
Take us a little bit into your everyday life over the last few weeks…
Andreas Becherer: "A lot of things have revolved around preparation – both organizational and athletic. Club visits have been sporadic so far, as many teams are currently in summer training. Personal contact with the players was particularly important to me. After the squad for the Hlinka Gretzky Cup was nominated internally, I personally called all the players who were on call. I think it makes a difference whether you just get a piece of paper with the note "on call" or whether you talk to each other. That gives the players a bit of a better feeling, even if it probably doesn't make up for the fact that they won't be there for now. I'm currently conducting one-on-one video conversations with the nominated players. I want to get to know them, and I want them to have seen me before. We're already discussing the first important points so that we don't start from scratch at the tournament in Slovakia."
“They shouldn’t forget about playing hockey just because they have to think too much.”
You recently worked as a coach at a club. What are the biggest differences compared to working for an association?
Andreas Becherer: "The biggest difference is definitely the time you spend with your team. At a club, you see each other practically every day throughout the entire season and can work intensively on individual topics for weeks. Here at the association, it's often about targeted preparation for a tournament – before the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, we only have four training sessions before our first game. You have to get the whole thing sorted out in your head first, so that all the content has to be condensed and laid out for a short period of time. Here, it's much more important to set priorities. At the same time, we as a coaching staff don't want to overload the players with information. We don't want them to forget about playing hockey just because they have to think too much. I think that's one of the challenges in the short period of our collaboration."
Who do you work particularly closely with in the association, and who do you ask for advice?
Andreas Becherer"That depends on the question. When it comes to general planning and implementation, Tobias Abstreiter is obviously an important contact – he has the most experience as a Young Talent national coach. Therefore, we exchange information very regularly. The discussions with U16 national coach Robin Beckers are also very valuable to me, as he obviously already knows many of the players well."
“I have the advantage of having already been there as an assistant coach in 2023.”
Is the job as national coach what you imagined it would be?
Andreas Becherer: "There are some administrative tasks to be completed, some of which I hadn't anticipated beforehand. Overall, there were no surprises for me. However, I also have the advantage of having already been involved as an assistant coach in a Young Talent program in 2023. So, I knew roughly how the processes and planning work before and during a major tournament."
Your last coaching job was with senior players, and now you're working with young players again. What are the differences?
Andreas Becherer"Both have their appeal. With the pros, many things are well-established – processes, structures, habits. That brings with it a certain routine. In the Young Talents division, it's different: The players are still at the beginning of their journey, many are still in school. You have to take other things into account. With the pros, it's clear that when training starts at 8 a.m., everyone is there. In the youth division, that's not always possible due to other commitments. But the players in the U18 national team all have a clear goal – they want to become professionals. And that's exactly what makes it exciting for me. Accompanying them on this path, showing them what it takes to become a professional. Structures, training behavior, appearance – teaching all of that is what makes working with the Young Talents division special for me."
“We can’t play with 23 players in the majority”
How difficult is it for young players to find their roles when they move from their home club to the U18 national team?
Andreas Becherer: "That's one hundred percent one of our biggest tasks. For example, when it comes to the issue of power play—I'm almost convinced that everyone on our squad plays power play for the club. But we can't play power play with 23 players, so we have to make a selection. The best German players of their age will also hold responsible roles at their clubs. They'll have to find their feet and adapt to the national team a bit. But that's what makes it so exciting for us, teaching the ability to slip into other roles. This is also true in league play. A player who, for example, receives a lot of ice time and a lot of responsibility in the U20 league will not take on the usual role in his first steps in the professional arena. And then it's important to be able to deal with it mentally and accept the new challenge. The sooner the players adopt the appropriate mindset and are open to change, the less likely they are to fail later on."
Your first official assignment as head coach will be the prestigious Hlinka Gretzky Cup. How are you handling it?
Andreas Becherer: "Both the coaching staff and the players are already looking forward to the tournament. Everyone involved made this clear to me independently in our individual meetings. While this is my first official assignment, I'm not alone; I have a good and experienced coaching staff with whom I share the tasks. Given the short preparation time, we have to get the best out of ourselves. The Hlinka Gretzky Cup will mark the start of our first season together, which will culminate in our participation in this year's World Championship. Not everything has to be perfect and running smoothly in August. What's important is that we act as a tight unit and play a good tournament, regardless of the result. Above all, we want to continue to develop throughout the entire season and ultimately deliver our best possible performance at the World Championship."