“I stumbled a bit”: Schmid is about to experience his baptism of fire as national coach

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At first glance you might think that Andy Schmid is an old hand in the coaching world: the announcements in the training room in Gümligen BE are short and precise. But inside it looks completely different. “I stumbled a bit in the preparation and during the first three training days,” says Schmid, who this week is leading a team of national handball teams for the first time as a coach.

“I underestimated the psychological demands of a coach,” admits the 218-time national player. “And as a national coach you have very little time. It is therefore my biggest goal that my concept gets under the skin of the players. So that at the next national team meeting they already know which attacking triggers we play and how we act in coverage.

Excluded from the WhatsApp group

Schmid’s transition from player to coach is very natural outside of training: he now sits at the table with the staff at dinner and his former teammates have already kicked him out of the WhatsApp group. “There’s definitely a lot of profanity going on there right now,” he grins.

Schmid wants to be the kind of coach he wanted to be when he was in business. This means that the players are given a degree of personal responsibility, with clear boundaries. ‘They’re all adults. Off the field they enjoy a lot of freedom. It wouldn’t be authentic if I checked the exit in the hotel lobby at night. But during competitions and training I demand full focus and commitment.”

Due to the premature divorce from his predecessor Michael Suter, Schmid will make his coaching debut four months earlier than originally planned. «After the analysis and the decision of the association with Michi, it was clear to me that this was the only solution. That doesn’t make me feel unprepared. I feel like I’m ready for this task.”

The home European Championship is still a long way away

Do his fingers still itch sometimes during training? “Not really,” says Schmid. «Even though I’m a control freak and I get irritated inside when a move doesn’t go as planned. This will be a learning process for me.”

Schmid’s contract runs until the European Championship at home in 2028. “That is still a long way away in terms of ideas,” he says. “What is important to me is what happens during each training and between training sessions, so that we get closer to our goals step by step.” The first small goal is the test match on Saturday against world champion Denmark. There Schmid meets a real old hand in the coaching profession in the person of his ex-coach Nikolaj Jacobsen (52).

Source : Blick