How the Erdinger Realschule student manages the balancing act between school and competitive sport is remarkable.
Erding/Hohenlinden – Home from school, straight to my homework, and then on to Abensberg by car for more than an hour for training. This is what the everyday life of judoka Christina Fischer looks like at the moment.
The girl from Hohenlinden, who goes to the girls’ secondary school in Erding, was active at TSV Isen from 2011 to 2019 before she was drawn to the successful judo club in Abensberg. “I started judo when I was four years old,” says the 15-year-old.
She had come to the sport through the sons of a family friend. “But at the first training session, everyone said that I was still much too small and dainty. I then worked on my dad for a whole week so that I could still go there again. Since then I haven’t been able to get away from the sport,” says Fischer with a smile.
“I then made it into the Oberbayern squad at TSV Isen, but soon noticed the training advantage the opponents from clubs like Abensberg or Großhadern have. TSV Isen is a great club for mass sport and entry into the competitive arena,” she says. However, as a small club with volunteer trainers, the TSV can logically not offer comparably complex competition training as in the large clubs. “But I’m still in contact with my old coaches and keep sending them photos and videos of competitions,” says the judoka, who just got the brown belt.
For the training, the student is particularly reliant on her parents being willing to drive: “Of course it wouldn’t work without mum and dad, they’re really supportive.” But Dad Harald knows how to use the time during the training in Abensberg. “Meanwhile, he usually goes to the weight room or the sauna because the facilities in the hall are there,” says Fischer. The former TSV Erding weightlifter says with a grin: “I’m not going there for nothing.”
However, the time required should not be underestimated. Overall, the Fischers are usually on the road for between five and six hours on a training day. Four times a week we go to Abensberg with this schedule, and we train once in Großhadern. In case she doesn’t finish her homework on time at home, she even has a small mobile table for the car.
In addition to Abensberg and Großhadern, the judoka also trains at training camps in the Olympic and Paralympic training center in Kienbaum near Berlin. “I’ve been there three times this year. One is still pending, but the tender for that is not yet out,” says Fischer. The athletes are viewed and supported by national coach Sandra Klinger.
The training effort paid off in the competitions. In the U 18 to 48 kilograms she was Bavarian Champion and South German Vice Champion. At the German championship, she was seventh after missing a win in the prelims to advance to the small final. Fischer was also able to impress with third place at the strong Sparkasse Adler Cup in Frankfurt, only in the semi-finals did she have to admit defeat to the eventual winner and U18 world champion Vera Wandel from the Netherlands.
For the training camps and competitions, Christina Fischer is also dependent on the cooperation of her school in Erding, as she repeatedly needs time off for teaching days. “It works very well with the girls’ secondary school, with the exemptions there is actually never a problem,” says the student. However, reworking the material is exhausting. She can rely on the support of her classmates: “Some entries are made available online by teachers, but most of them are sent to me by friends.”
The next goals of the judoka are the national tournament in Holzwickede near Dortmund and a training camp as part of the European Cup in Hungary. Fischer is motivated: “It would be very nice to deliver well again in front of the national coaches.” She also already has a plan for the time after graduating from secondary school. So she wants to either go to the FOS or make the transition to high school. “It will definitely be one of the two, but I’m not quite sure yet,” says the student.
Judo should remain a central part of her life. “I find the independence and the 1:1 situation particularly appealing in this sport. At the moment of the competition, only you and your opponent are on the mat, and no matter whether it works or not, it is always 100 percent your own performance and responsibility.” And in the future? “I hope to stay injury-free and keep improving. Of course, an international assignment would be nice in 2023. Let’s see – step by step.”
Lukas Christopher
