Mihambo and the three Erdinger boys

Created: 2022-08-20 13:01

By: Dieter Priglmeir

Dieter Priglmeir © private

The long jump superstar showed in Erding how to effectively talk to the conscience of pubescent rowdies.

And Helmuth Kammerer is just the right person to sing the praises of the Webers and the TSV athletes.

Kerstin Weber was confused and asked her BLSV colleague Dani Mau: "Where did you get a newspaper from on a Sunday?" Then she remembered.

"Ah nonsense, it's already Monday." The answer was a counter-question: "What's your mood?

Uh, it's Tuesday already."

Somehow she lost the sense of time and space in the last few days, Weber suspects and laughs.

For the past three weeks, everything in her family has revolved around the great German athletics, which has made its way from the pre-camp in Erding to new successes.

"It's time for a song of praise for the Webers." That's not what we're saying, but someone who actually knows his stuff: Helmuth Kammerer, state coach in the decathlon for ten years - and one reason why the DLV national squad was already there before the EM 2002 had set up camp in Erding.

Together with City Marketing Manager Günther Pech, he brought stars like Heike Drechsler, Grit Breuer, Ingo Schultz and Charles Friedek to the Semptstadt.

He now met the latter again, as Kammerer explains.

And the shot putter Simon Bayer, whom he already knew as a 16-year-old talent from Wasserburg.

Because of course the 67-year-old didn't miss the opportunity to stop by the Sepp-Brenninger-Stadion.

Well, actually he was almost always outside chatting with a lot of acquaintances who were once athletes and are now coaches.

Just like Friedek and discus world record holder Jürgen Schult.

Kammerer likes to think back to the time 20 years ago, "for example to the public training on the day when well over 1000 people were there".

But Erdinger also says: “The interaction between athletes and coaches has changed enormously.

At that time, many coaches still came from the old GDR school.” Everything was based on orders and obedience.

"Today you have the responsible athlete and therefore a completely different level of cooperation."

He raves about the "empathetic Malaika Mihambo", who is approachable despite her superstar status and is not afraid of contact herself.

Then Kammerer tells this impressive story that happened during a day of training: Three pubescent boys stood at the fence of the Sepp Brenninger Stadium and shouted nonsense.

"And then the N-word was mentioned." Mihambo let the boys come to him.

"Then she sat down with them on the floor and talked to them for a long time and calmly," says Kammerer.

It turned out that one of the boys originally came from Bosnia.

"How are you doing here?

What happened to you here?", the long jump world champion wanted to know and then asked the trio: "You're Erding's boys?" - "Sure!

Luckily, there are also completely different ambassadors of Erding, with which we read the wishes of the athletes and their sponsors and marketing people from the lips of Kerstin and Christian Weber, Alex and Conny Bauer and the other helpers of TSV Erding to have.

Who spontaneously found a new solution.

Just one example of this: when the throwing group had just eaten the entire cake buffet, Kerstin Weber dismantled the table, which seemed sparse, put the coffee pots in the fridge and announced: "We'll have iced coffee later."

That's the contagious and hands-on Erdinger happiness and the reason why – and Kammerer emphasizes this too – the athletes feel so at home here.

By the way, Kerstin Weber now knows what day it is.

And that she can "take a deep breath from Monday".

But not for too long: the German senior championships will take place in Erding at the beginning of September.

also read

FC Moosinning: "Something like that doesn't work at all" - Coach Ball rages after the Dachs departure to Hallbergmoos

TSV is looking forward to the folk festival game

And why the Webers need a calendar