Get out of the hamster wheel (nd-aktuell.de)

The season has recently ended for your Schweriner SC? Did you go on holiday straight away or are you already working on the squad for next season?

I don’t have vacation yet. In fact, the squad is already 90 percent complete. I am currently still looking for a player. Otherwise we have extended some contracts. I’m otherwise busy with the analysis of last season. And then I can finally just be a dad at home.

After all, this will be the first summer in which you no longer travel the world as national coach.

Yes, exactly. I find time to take the kids to daycare and school. It’s also nice to experience their everyday life.

They are forced to reschedule because four players will leave Schwerin. Three of them end their careers, including the American Symone Speech at 24 and the German national team player Denise Imoudu, who is two years older than her. Both are part of a trend, because talents like Valbona Ismaili (at 18) and Emma Cyris (20) recently stopped, as did established national players like Imoudu and on Wednesday also Germany’s multiple volleyball player of the year, Louisa Lippmann (27). Do you think the pandemic is playing a role in this?

That’s a good question, and one that we’re also working on intensively. But I think everyone in society has noticed that the pandemic has slowed us down a bit. Everyone was reflecting on themselves, making time for things they normally didn’t have. I too have had this experience and haven’t been the national coach for six months. Competitive athletes have also asked themselves the question of why, and for some personal time to themselves has become more important.

So the many resignations are no coincidence.

Of course, the pandemic is not the main reason in every single case. I know all the players mentioned very well, so I know that you have to differentiate. With Ismaili there were cultural, family backgrounds. Emma Cyris had already asked herself the question of the meaning of competitive sport before moving to Dresden. Of course, when she hardly got a chance as a reservist, that didn’t increase her motivation. Symone Speech is planning her wedding back home and wants to spend time with her husband. Denise Imoudu also thinks in the direction of family. They are also all very smart women who are studying. And in Germany they don’t need sport to climb up the social ladder like maybe in other countries. They all have a lot of options that they could do and are not dependent on necessarily making it as a volleyball pro. After all, you have to sacrifice a lot of time with family or friends for this. The pandemic has made this clear to many.

What lessons can you learn from this at the club?

We need to find ways to keep people with us longer. We should also think about what we do in the youth field. Are the players perhaps already overloaded, so that they are full when they arrive at the professional level? Do you have any prospects in the Bundesliga at all? In the championship final between Potsdam and Stuttgart, only two German players are constantly playing, and only one of them is part of the national team. The other regular places are occupied by foreign players. The whole system needs to be questioned. We can’t just dismiss this as a stupid coincidence.

The women’s Bundesliga has actually developed quite well. In contrast to the men, there is a TV contract with regular transmissions on free TV. Is there still not enough money involved to make it worthwhile for young volleyball players to sacrifice their free time and work their bodies for many years?

Of course, the more money involved, the greater the motivation, even if nobody wants to say so because everyone started the sport for different reasons. They wanted to play in the Bundesliga or the Olympics, and initially it wasn’t primarily about a lot of money. But sooner or later that will of course become an issue. The Bundesliga has actually developed very well, salaries have become much higher. But our players can also earn good money in normal life. Of course, this is also an issue in many families when parents question whether competitive sport is really the right thing to do.

Can the players live on the salary in the volleyball league?

Yes.

Nevertheless, many study on the side. Because it’s not enough for life afterwards?

I agree. For some it would take a little longer. Especially if they use the Bundesliga as a stepping stone to even bigger leagues and if they manage their money wisely.

How much do you earn in the Bundesliga and in the top leagues?

Of course, there are wide spans everywhere. Without knowing the exact figures, a Krystal Rivers in Stuttgart should earn a six-digit net salary per season, i.e. at least 10,000 euros a month. For a young player who is just starting, it should be 1500 to 2000 euros. In addition, an apartment and a car are usually provided. In Italy it’s already going up to half a million a season. And in Turkey, one or two top athletes have now broken the million mark. As a Bundesliga team, we have to fight this competition.

Louisa Lippmann was the top German player in recent years. She played in Russia, China and Italy. Now she stops and says that the last few years have been “extremely demanding physically and mentally”. Has she overreached herself, or has professional volleyball become a hamster wheel with no time for physical and mental regeneration?

I think a bit of both. Volleyball has become a hamster wheel, especially for national players. The programs are pumped full with international tournaments in the summer. The Nations League lasts up to eight weeks. Qualifying tournaments follow, and the World Cup lasts until mid-October. Two weeks later the national leagues start again. That’s awesome. The money is then earned in the clubs. And of course the temptation is great. The period in which professionals earn a lot of money is very limited. It takes a lot of investment in the youth field and at the beginning of the professional career. Then you have a very short time in which you can benefit from it before your body stops cooperating. So you want to take what you can with you. I think that with Louisa, less would sometimes have been more. For example the season in which she went from Shanghai to Kaliningrad and then also played the Olympic qualification. You have to have very good people around you who will help you not to overload yourself.

Back to SSC: what does the loss of Denise Imoudu mean for the club?

Of course we are sad that she is ending her career because she has made great progress as a player and as a person in the last two years. On the other hand, she indicated to us very early on that this step could come. She has a physiotherapy practice and is continuing her education in coaching jobs. And now she wants more time for that. So I’m happy for her that she can now do that.

And how big are the gaps left by Imoudu and Lippmann in the national team? Is the goal of qualifying for the Olympics in 2024 in jeopardy without a player and main attacker?

It’s definitely a difficult moment. I have to say that very clearly. Denise and Louisa also spoke to the new national coach Vital Heynen early on, so that he could already think about the situation. But of course: Louisa in particular was the flagship of the team, also in the media, not just in sport. It’s not that easy to compensate, no national team could do that. I think there is a good foundation to build on. Many young players bring with them certain experience from the last Olympic qualification. They have also made it into the top leagues in the world. Still, it’s going to hurt. Nobody will be able to take over Louisa’s role in the important diagonal position. But now others have to step into the breach and take on more responsibility. That can also be an opportunity.