On the field, the basketball players dance according to his pipe: Peter Wolff is a referee in the 2nd division. It was surprising to some that he made it there.
Polling - Every week thousands of people whistle Peter Wolff. Sometimes they even insult him. But he doesn't hear that. In Chemnitz he once performed in front of 6000 spectators, worked in front of Chancellor Angela Merkel. However, Peter Wolff from Polling is rarely the center of attention. He is a basketball referee in the Second Bundesliga (Pro A). For the second year in this division, Wolff is one of the best in his profession. It would have been enough for the play-offs - and thus for the jump among the top 50 referees in Germany. "A sensation," he says. Even before Pro A published its nomination, it stopped playing due to the corona crisis. The virus has robbed him of the greatest success of his career.
Few fans see that referees at this level are also competitive athletes - colleagues and competitors in one. As important as the interaction of the officials among themselves on the field is - in the ProA there are three of them: they too are fighting for the play-offs and for promotion. Every man for himself. Only the best are allowed to compete in the championship round, and only the best of the best are rewarded by jumping into a higher league. Peter Wolff rose to ProA at the age of 32. Some wondered how Pollinger slipped into league two at that age. As with the players, the association (DBB) primarily promotes younger talents. At a sighting in Berlin ten years ago, Wolff was among 16-, 17-year-olds. The course leader asked him what he was doing here. Wolff's honest answer: Get tips for his work as an instructor. At that time, he did not expect an ascent. From this - you could almost say - the youth at the DBB got delusion of youth.
Peter Wolff: jump into ProA at 32 years old
In addition to their program for talents (with the charming name EVA), they paved a path for the elderly, for career changers in the federal leagues. Compared to the boys, she has one skill: life experience. It cannot be trained quickly. Wolff has been running an advertising agency in Munich since 2012. He leads employees, he negotiates with customers - and in the end he does nothing else on the basketball court. He calls it "second education" for referees. Last year the BBL, the First League, lifted a 35-year-old up. That hadn't happened before. "You can tell that a rethink has taken place," emphasizes Wolff.
In the past, the Munich-based company also dreamed of the BBL, of the “non plus ultra”, as he says. Until he realized how much more time the first division colleagues have to spend. "I can't get this done," says Wolff. He easily works in the company for 60 hours a week. In addition, he is a member of the Presidium of the Bavarian Association, he trains young referees in the lower leagues, oversees the video work of the Regionalliga referees, and leads a self-founded association. He generally whistles twice on weekends. Once a second division for men, once a division for women. It takes an average of six hours to get there and prepare. The effort is even greater in the BBL. "There is no future for me there," emphasizes Wolff. But it's not that the ProA is boring him. In the first year, the trainers saw the newcomer as the target of their psycho-games. "You will be identified and edited as a rookie." The comments seldom worked for Wolff, a casual guy. Everyone in league two now knows that the Pollinger is a communicative and, above all, predictable referee. That distinguished him in his third division years. No matter whether top game or relegation duel - Wolff always whistled the same. "Most can handle it," says Pollinger.
Peter Wolff: The effort for the BBL would be too great
The ascent would never have been possible without victims. In the past, Wolff also looked after the Pollinger men in the district league. Home games start: Sunday, 10 a.m. These were often short nights. During this time he learned a lot for his refereeing career. How coaches tick, how they manipulate referees, how they guide their players. He meets many of the past in Munich today. But he goes home at least once a month, visits his parents and brother Klaus, himself a fourth division referee. He recently became a father and made Peter Wolff his godfather. At some point, the topic of "young talents" should also come to the marketing experts and his girlfriend Dani. The sporty future also depends on the family future. "If there are too many children, I'll break up," jokes Wolff. Until then, he trains his body on the many paths and trails in Munich and in the gym. Because it is also clear: "A beer belly is not in the Bundesliga."
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