You have been Swedish headcoach for almost
two years now. How were your first two years? Wolfgang: I had to get to know the the althlets, functionaries and
the whole system. The first year was not so easy, but now the guys showed a big
progress. This season they showed what they really are able to do.
What has changed in the last two years? Wolfgang: We had a big chance with the material. First the guys had
some problems to get used to the new material, but now it is working well.
Besides, the pressure in the Continentalcup was not that high, and the great
results let the motivation come back.
The last season was the most successful one
for the Swedish team for a very long time. How did you experience the season? Wolfgang: It was a very long and very exhausting season. But it was
surely very motivating due to the success we had. The whole season was marked
with adverse weather conditions, but the jury did a great job and nevertheless,
the weather was the same for everyone.
Why have the boys been so successful this
winter? Wolfgang: Well, they were motivated to get top results in the
Continentalcup. And for sure the change of material.
How hard is it to believe in the guys when
the results are not good enough right
away? Wolfgang: I know what the guys are able to do and it was only a
question of time. We took the time and we will take the time we need in the next
season as well.
The team often showed in the training that
they really are good. But they were not able to show it in the competitions that
often. Where is the problem and how do you want to change that in future? Wolfgang: Well, training and competitions are completely different.
The atmosphere at the competitions are different, so the mind was not used to
it. Therefore we have been jumping in the Continentalcup this season, to get
used to the atmosphere at competitions. We will continue to jump at some
Continentalcups now and then, but we will jump more often in the Worldcup again.
Have you been consequent with your structure
or did you change anything before the last season started? Wolfgang: No, we did work consequent on our plan. You can obviously
see that by Andreas (++ Andreas Arén). He did get the qualification for the
Worldchampionships in Japan, but continued jumping in the Continentalcup like
our plan said.
What did the team change, where did they work
hard and where do they have to work for next season? Wolfgang: The whole team did work great and we will continue our way
consequently like it was before. Like I said we did change the material and we
will continue changing the material until we have best fitting one for us. So
all teammembers could get a better technique and jump better with that.
When will the preparation for this season
start and how shall it look like? Wolfgang: We will start with the training in the middle of May with
an efficiency control with the Olympic Committee in Stockholm. We will work on
the material sector as well. We will try to make progress in physical and
psychologic performance parameters through block training.
What do you expect from the team in the
preparation periode? Wolfgang: That everybody is following the training as good as they
can, but they all do that. And I hope we will not have any further injuries this
summer.
What do you expect from the team at the
summer competitions? Wolfgang: I do expect that they continue the summer with the showed
effiencies this winter. I hope we can continue where we ended. I also do expect
a few points at the Summer Grand Prix.
Is there a plan already where you are going
to start this summer? Wolfgang: We will start at nearly all Summer Grand Prix and at the
first Continentalcup competitions.
Last season the junior team did only jump
once at a Continentalcup. Will they get some more Continentalcup experience in
summer or next winter? Wolfgang: We cannot be satisfied with the performance of the junior
team this season. If the Swedish Skifederation aggrees to my budget proposal the
junior team will jump in the Continentalcup more often, but that will be mostly
next winter then.
How is actually the mood in the team after
this successful season? Wolfgang: The mood is really good, but we were all tired in the end.
Now we are all excited for the new season, the expactions for the new season
come back slowly and we are all looking forward to it.
Is the competition higher in the team now and
how do you deal with it? Wolfgang: Sure the competition got more obvious with the good results
and it is good the way it is. The ambitions increased and they are observing
each other better at the training now. That is developing the efficience as
well.
How do you actually motivate your athletes
after a bad jump? Wolfgang: They meanwhile know what they are able to do and they still
have the time to make mistakes. We are working for Vancouver 2010. But I do
expect more stabile jumps this season, too!
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Thanks, Wolfgang!
Vielen Dank an www.swedish-skijumping.com, dass wir dieses Interview hier veröffentlichen dürfen!