It seemed like a trip back to old times when Max Hauser welcomed the sponsors on Thursday in the local bar on Ammersee, gave information about the renaming of the arcade as well as the team’s fitness level and finally, together with the hall spokesman, the team presentation of the Herrschinger first division volleyball players moderated. For a long time, the 39-year-old was the sole entertainer in the public image of the WWK Volleys. After his first year as managing director, in which hardly any stone remained unturned behind the scenes, things should finally have calmed down. “The opposite is happening at the moment,” he admitted, “and to be honest it’s a bit much.”
The good news: It was actually a trip and not a permanent solution. The fact that coach Thomas Ranner was missing from newly promoted Karlsruhe a month before the league opener was because he was part of the coaching staff of the German volleyball players in Brazil and was playing for the Olympic ticket. “The national team comes first,” said Hauser. Enabling individual development is still part of the Herrschinger overall package. The club has also established itself in the top half of the table among competitors with significantly greater financial resources because it gives ambitious coaches and players with potential a certain amount of freedom. As professional as Herrschinger’s structures are in their tenth year in the first division compared to the beginning, the basic idea of getting as much as possible out of a manageable budget for everyone has changed little.
None of Herrsching’s volleyball players will hitchhike to the away game anymore
Nobody will hitchhike to the away game anymore, but the boundaries of professionalism on Ammersee are still stretchable in both directions. Partner and diagonal attacker Jonas Kaminski, for example, recently opened his own chiropractic practice and only trains four times a week, middle blocker Norbert Engemann works for the police. The squad, which has been enlarged to 15 players, also reflects the development-oriented concept in other areas. According to Hauser, it is not significantly more expensive than last year because “there was the opportunity to bring in young German players.” Diagonal attacker Filip John and setter Eric Burggräf came from the second row in Düren. “They are given a new role and responsibility here,” said Hauser. “My experience is that this is very good for young players.” Relatively stable proof of this thesis is the current setter duo of the German champions Berlin: Johannes Tille and Leon Dervisaj once played in exactly this constellation in Herrsching.
For the outside attack, Herrsching brought in Theo Timmermann from Königs Wusterhausen, who is one of the best serve players in the league and who trusts Hauser to play a leadership role. The latter still needs to be filled after libero Ferdinand Tille’s career ends; one candidate is his successor Leonard Graven, who has long since outgrown his status as a super talent. Nevertheless, as an internationally experienced professional, Tille exuded a natural authority that cannot be learned quickly.
Maybe that’s why Hauser’s sporting goals sounded almost defensive. One could speak of a good season “if we get into the top six,” he said, but for a “very good” season it would have to be the semi-finals in order to qualify for the international competition again. Assistant coach Michael Mattes is not yet sure how realistic that is, but he estimates his own performance to be higher than last season. “The difference between potential and outcome has never been as big as last year,” he said: “I don’t expect this ups and downs from the current team because many people have a more stable basic level.”
The goal remains unchanged: to achieve an average audience of 2,000 in Munich’s Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle, which is now called BMW Park. The chances of this have increased because the club has negotiated with the Volleyball Bundesliga (VBL) to be allowed to return to its too small Nikolaushalle for three less prestigious home games against promoted teams. “You can focus more on the highlight games and promote them better, that is also a financial question and actually only has advantages,” said Hauser. Hauser can see the fact that the VBL saw it the same way as a success for Herrsching’s model of flexible boundaries.
