There will be a change at the top of the Erdinger ice hackers.
Erding - TSV department head Rainier Sabus and his team will no longer compete in the upcoming elections.
The only question is when these can take place, because the corona pandemic does not (yet) allow public gatherings.
But now a temporary solution has been found: A potential successor team around Michael Westphal and Christian Fragner (see below) has been accepted as an assessor in the department management with immediate effect.
Mr. Sabus, why are you no longer competing with your team?
Rainer Sabus: It has been going on for two years.
When we took over the office six years ago after the disaster of the Oberliga era, the priority was to maintain and renovate the ice hockey in Erding.
At that time, the main association's trust in the department was rather damaged.
For a while there was even discussion about the dissolution of the department.
With the debt reduction, this goal was achieved two years ago, and we extended it again in 2019 only due to the lack of a qualified successor team.
Now that the hall renovation has largely been over and the Corona crisis will hopefully be under control by autumn so that the game can be played properly again, now is the right time to transfer the management of the department into other hands.
What is your personal track record?
Sabus: It is very important to me that the department still exists - in a double sense.
Who would have believed in such a crazy season at this time last year?
We have been plucked financially due to the corona, but the department still exists and we will be able to start a new Bayern League season again in autumn.
At a time like this one becomes humble.
Of course, I could still successfully implement our restructuring concept with the repayment of the major league debts of around 130,000 euros, the hall renovation with the technical basis for a digital future, the engagement of a full-time junior coach or even smaller projects such as refurbishing the weight room, jersey equipment for all teams or formation of a reserve of around 50,000 euros up to the beginning of the Corona season.
But in such a difficult time the only thing that really counts is that we will still have ice hockey in Erding next year.
What was your personal highlight in the past six years?
Sabus: That was clearly the playoff final in our first season against Passau in Erding and the associated promotion from the state to the Bayern league.
I have never seen that atmosphere again in the stadium and, with all the uncertainty, it showed that we are on the right track.
And what was the biggest disappointment?
Sabus: To see how selfish and selfish some are towards the club.
There is a lot of time, work and money from a lot of volunteers, and that includes everyone, from the parents of the young players to the sponsors, into the club.
And then there are always those who see the association as a self-service counter for their own interests.
New elections are not possible so quickly.
How should the transition go?
Sabus: The 2020/21 season is de facto over with the current lockdown.
So you have to concentrate on the new season now, that is, the big decisions that are currently pending are already aimed at the new season.
However, we as department heads cannot simply appoint our successors.
According to the statutes, this is the task of the department meeting.
Due to the corona, we are currently unable to convene, and by the time meetings with more than 100 people are possible again, it may be autumn or even spring 2022.
Until then, we remain fully responsible as the head of department.
But you have found a solution.
Sabus: Yeah.
Since we did not want to give our successors everything and did not want to make a transition abruptly during the season, we decided together with the main club to include a successor team as an assessor in the department and to join them in the next few weeks and months Instruct department work.
This team then of course also represents the recommendation of the old department head to the department meeting for the election of a successor. In this way, the new team can already have a significant influence on important upcoming decisions and the course of the next few years.
There is - as was heard - not only the Westphal / Fragner team that is ready to take over the management of the department.
Why did you choose this team?
Sabus: Two teams applied with a concept, in addition to the Westphal / Fragner team, a team led by Franz Bittel, and we decided by majority vote for the team that best continues our course of recent years, and especially in in the areas of sponsors, new media - and thus also external image - can set new impulses in the direction of realistic further development.
Mr. Westphal, Mr. Fragner, why do you want to take over the management of the department?
Christian Fragner: I was a youth and senior player and have been a sponsor for years.
When I heard that Rainier and his team were no longer competing, I asked around and formed a strong team.
Now, by exercising this office, I would like to show my love and solidarity with the association.
Michael Westphal: I have always been associated with the club, as one of the first stadium announcers in the 80s until now as a sponsor.
I've been friends with Christian since I was a child, and Erdinger ice hockey has always been a topic of conversation between us.
In our mid-fifties we are of the right age and have the necessary experience.
I believe that we can manage Erdinger ice hockey responsibly and develop it further quickly.
Erding should become an ice hockey city again.
Rainier Sabus has praised your concept.
How does it look like?
Westphal: Our main focus is on young talent.
On the other hand, the first team has to be developed further.
As a goal, when Corona is over, we have our sights on promotion to the top division.
With the new stadium, with the new possibilities, there is a lot to do.
First we have to talk to everyone involved, because these things cannot be handled alone.
We need everyone who can support us.
Oberliga is a bold statement.
Should the rise be attacked in the coming season?
Westphal: Yes, provided we have the means.
That will be the result of the next few months of inventory work.
We don't decide that alone.
We have to and we will involve a lot of people in the decision-making process - and above all we have to take the players with us.
They all have to want that - and a longer stay in the top division must be foreseeable.
Isn't there a risk that the offspring will miss out?
Westphal: When asked about our concept, I deliberately named the youngsters first.
Of course, the next generation is the most important thing.
First of all, we really want to try to get more Ice Age for the youngsters.
We also have to stop the loss of young players under all circumstances.
We have suffered a tremendous amount of bloodletting in the past.
That is fatal.
One thing is clear to us: we need young players.
It is also clear to us that there will be large gaps in the senior team in the next two to three years if the established players gradually stop.
We urgently need the next generation to close these gaps.
We can't just close them with bought-in players.
What are you going to do about public relations, social media use, and so on?
There was last criticism from the fans.
Westphal: There is still room for improvement when it comes to communication.
We will greatly intensify online communication.
Homepage, newsletter and social media must be tools of the trade.
We also want to offer more in the stadium.
Live streaming or, later on, stadium TV, two areas of my everyday work.
Thanks to the preparatory work of the current department management, we have a very strong internet connection and TSV's own network in the stadium.
For the on-site spectator, there should be more experience options.
It should be even more fun to go to the stadium.
The goal is a full hut.
Fragner: My life is the organization of events, and ice hockey in Erding should be a pleasure for the whole family.
I claim that 3,000 to 4,000 people in the district are very interested in Erdinger ice hockey.
You saw that in the Landesliga playoffs against Passau, when the stadium was almost sold out with 2500 spectators.
A huge potential.
Mr. Sabus, what exactly is the schedule for the next few weeks?
Sabus: As soon as the lockdown in the direction of sports is relaxed, the gladiators must offer training again in all age groups; training locations, times and trainers must be contractually obliged to do so.
These are the most important steps in the next few weeks.
At the same time, a coach for the first team must be signed again so that a squad can be developed and signed for the new season.
Everything, of course, with a look at the corona situation, as far as it can already be estimated.
How do you see your task in the transition period?
Sabus: Of course, I am still fully in the service of the department until a successor is chosen and then until all business has been handed over to the successors.
But then I'm already looking forward to being able to quit the part-time job of a department manager after six years - if that's enough - and have more time again for my hobbies such as woodworking.
Mr. Westphal, when do you and your team attack?
Westphal: Everything is settled with the main club, and anyway with the department management.
This means that we are now authorized, capable of acting and have already started work.
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Want to take over the management of the ice hockey department at TSV Erding (from left): Michael Westphal, Christian Fragner, Sarah Pham Tich, Christoph Mosbauer and David Whitney.
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The potential new team
The Westphal / Fragner team has thrown their hat in the ring and would like to be the successor to the outgoing Erdinger ice hockey department head around Rainier Sabus.
With immediate effect, the team members have been accepted as assessors in the current department management (see interview above).
Michael Westphal is planned as head of department: “I have been self-employed since I was 16 years old and have above-average knowledge of online marketing and sales.
The establishment of digital business models and the development of ideas for products and services are my specialty, ”the Erdinger native explains.
“Now I want to volunteer my knowledge and skills for the good of the department.
Because: My passion is building brands. "
Christian Fragner, who played as an active player in the TSV youth team, played with the former 1b team in the regional league and is still active in the 1c team today, is to become the deputy.
“For me, ice hockey is the most beautiful sport in the world,” says the self-employed entrepreneur (driving school, bus bar, show trucks).
As far as the new head of department is concerned, "a great, homogeneous team has been found here that focuses on working with young talent and is very keen to find a common path".
Sarah Pham Tich should be responsible for the youth management.
"I grew up on the ice as a figure skater and did competitive sports in Chemnitz for ten years," she says.
Since her children started playing ice hockey in 2016, the business psychologist has been associated with TSV Erding and has also volunteered in various areas.
David Whitney has been involved in Erdinger ice hockey for years and has been a press and stadium spokesman.
He was also active for a long time with the “Crazy Ducks” fan club.
The head of the traffic authority in the Erding district office is to become the secretary in the ice hockey department, but says: “The classic secretary work is no longer up-to-date in a modern club and would be completely reinterpreted by me.
As the technical manager, I would take over the management of the office, the contact between the first team and the youngsters, including the association and passport work of the senior team. "
Christoph Mosbauer, the designated treasurer, is an absolute Erdinger ice hockey veteran.
He went through the TSV youngsters under Hans Huber and Hansi Dorn before he moved to EV Landshut in the junior Bundesliga.
He later worked for Erding in the Oberliga Süd and worked as a coach for a total of eleven years.
“I have never lost sight of my hometown club TSV Erding and have supported it as a sponsor to this day,” he says.
What qualifies him as treasurer?
“The position of treasurer requires careful handling of the department's finances.
As managing director of our medium-sized family company with high investment needs for many years, the responsible handling of numbers and money is one of my core competencies. "
