Captain Stefanie John: "Maybe I'll come back"

Created: 04/26/2022, 06:48

By: Silke Andersson

Saying goodbye to SV Lohhof and competitive sports (from left) Maxima Wiesmüller, Joana Hurler, Stefanie John and Lilian Engemann.

© Gerald Fortsch

Goodbye?

Perhaps.

Stefanie John, captain of the second division volleyball team SV Lohhof, is taking a break from competitive sports.

But she doesn't rule out a return.

Lohhof

– With their 3-0 win against TV Altdorf, the Lohhofer second division volleyball players brought a happy ending to the 2021/22 season (we reported) that was not necessarily to be expected: Fourth place, the team was only just that good three weeks in November there.

But when the sporting festival was celebrated and the team had finally said goodbye to the almost 300 fans with umpteen thank-you Laolas, things got emotional.

Because the end of the season usually also means saying goodbye to players - wet eyes included.

The voice of the hall speaker falters: "One of the hardest moments"

And so hall spokesman Matthias Kock led the way to the difficult part of the evening in a slightly offended voice: "Now comes one of the toughest moments", because the first farewell was particularly difficult for the long-standing department head: Captain Stefanie John disembarks (we reported), the 26-year-old needs a break from volleyball after eight years in the second division.

"I want to do something different, sometimes spontaneously do something in the evening," explained the player.

Although John, who learned to play volleyball in Lohhof, stood on the podium twice with the club's youth teams at German championships and made her second division debut at the age of 18, promised: "Maybe I'll come back!" But first of all she needs distance: "I just wasn't easygoing and relaxed anymore, sometimes I really had to torture myself into training," reveals the setter, away from the big crowd and the hall microphone.

She will miss the team, John estimates.

But the contact will continue, because the now ex-captain will continue to look after the social media presence of the team in the future.

Three other players say goodbye to SV Lohhof

And then hopefully have to report fewer injuries than was the case this season.

For three of her colleagues, these injuries are the reason why they will no longer be part of the game next season: Maxima Wiesmüller, like John a homegrown Lohhofer, has to pay tribute to her ongoing back problems: "It's a shame that it has to end like this, but the Health is no longer so good.”

The same applies to Lilian Engemann, who is drawing the line after tearing her second cruciate ligament, and to Joana Hurler.

The 23-year-old takes a break from volleyball to minimize the additional strain on her aching wrist.

Because as a physiotherapist she depends on that.

So, despite the happy sporting finale, the issue of injury was very present again and is still on the mind of trainer Elena Kiesling: “If it had all been overexertion stories, then you can change something in training.

But as?

That was just a lot of bad luck for one season.”