From author to trainer

Created: 01/15/2022, 07:00

By: Patrick Hilmes

Knows how basketball works: Andreas Mayr already coaches the second team of ESV.

© Stephan Adelberger

Andreas Mayr actually writes about the Murnau Bayernliga basketball players, from now on he coaches them.

The journalist will take over the coaching position at ESV Staffelsee until the end of the season.

Murnau –

Experts in sports are often accused of criticizing the performance of athletes, coaches or teams: "Do it better." Andreas Mayr now has this opportunity.

As a journalist and freelancer for the Tagblatt, he constantly reports on the games of the Murnau basketball players, women and men - always with the necessary critical objectivity.

But that's the end of it for now.

Because Mayr now puts the pen aside and grabs the felt-tip pen for the tactics board.

Until the end of the season, he will take over the coaching position at ESV Staffelsee's men's Bavarian league.

Previous coach Goran Culum not vaccinated

But Murnau's decision to appoint Mayr as coach is of course not due to his journalistic work, but to his specialist knowledge, which he has already demonstrated as a coach with the second team of ESV.

And the club's dilemma in this position.

Since the actual man with the tactics board, Goran Culum, has not been vaccinated, he is no longer allowed to accompany ESV games.

As a result, the Murnauer have been without a coach since mid-November. And since then, the training has only looked like this: warm up and gamble.

Bankruptcy against Traunstein as a receipt for insufficient training

Where this is leading became clear last weekend.

The ESV didn't see a country at 64:89 against TV Traunstein, whereby the result did not even reflect Murnau's lack of a chance.

"Traunstein relentlessly revealed how quickly you can forget the basics without proper training," emphasizes Mayr, who watched the game live on site.

Back then as a reporter, now as a trainer.

Mayr wants to refresh Culum's foundation

The actual desired solution, Bastian Rapp, had to turn down the offer for reasons of time. In addition, none of the active players should be appointed player-coach. So Mayr was the logical choice, as he knows the club and the players very well. In addition, his job is not to lead the ESC to promotion or to incorporate another game system. No miracles are asked of him. "I don't have to invent anything new. It's about freshening up the foundation Goran created, because that's sensationally good for the Bayernliga.” Mayr's job is to bring seriousness and structure back into training. Just throwing a few baskets and gambling, that's over now. In the sessions during the week and during the games, you need a steady hand from the outside who can set the team and put it in order."I trust myself to that extent," emphasizes Mayr.

Ungrateful opponent on the debut

But his start, it can be assumed, will not be more successful - at least not in terms of the result. "It's about keeping the damage to a tolerable extent," he emphasizes with a view to the game this Saturday against TS Jahn Munich, who are unbeaten leaders of the table. "Jahn Munich and Traunstein are in every respect a class better than the rest of the league." Mayr attests the upcoming opponent to play "exhausting basketball". Munich relies on uncompromising and continuous defense from one end of the pitch to the other. "That's 40 minutes in hell." You can keep up this pace for half a period, but towards the end the opponents always run out of steam. This could also happen to Murnau, as there are currently only seven regular players available.After all, Mayr can count on the help of Dominikus Findler and Moritz Czajka from the second on Saturday.

But the gymnastics is not the benchmark of the Staffelsee basketball players.

The gaze is directed more downwards, but not to the end.

"We shouldn't have anything to do with the descent," emphasizes Mayr confidently.