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CoachThem Corner with the German Ice Hockey Federation
Back in June, the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB) added CoachThem to their arsenal for their men’s and women’s national team programs across every age category. The platform has quickly become an integral part of the country’s mission to establish a standardized player development model and coaching methodology that will breed success for years to come.
We recently caught up with Karl Schwarzenbrunner, the DEB’s Head of Science and Education, to learn more about the philosophy that has helped Germany make great strides on the world hockey stage, and where CoachThem fits into the equation going forward.
The head coach of the German men's national team, Toni Söderholm, quickly became an avid CoachThem user.
Germany’s hockey playing population isn’t large, but you’ve still managed to produce some amazing young talent of late, including Tim Stützle and Lukas Reichel, both of whom were first-round picks in the 2020 NHL Draft. What’s your secret?
KARL SCHWARZENBRUNNER: The biggest thing is the strategy we created – “Powerplay 2026” – which was spearheaded by DEB President, Franz Reindl. It focuses on short-term and long-term development plans for our program, including installing a club auditing system (“Five Star Program”) to ensure that teams around the country have the right infrastructure to achieve positive results. There’s a lot more to “Powerplay 2026” than that, though. I know it sounds a bit cliché, but we have a motto – we always see the human being behind the athlete, and that’s all that counts. That’s not just lip service, that’s what we believe in. We have just 21,000 players in Germany, and we can’t afford to lose any of them. We must develop every single player so they can reach their maximum potential. Our development system operates very differently than the selection system in North America. We knew we had to change, and we made this commitment out of necessity. Good is often the enemy of greatness, and we’re focused on reaching that mark.
What aspects of the game are German coaches really emphasizing with your players that are paying dividends right now?
KS: We have a clear strategy. We don’t talk about specific tactics until players reach the U15 level. Leading up to that point, we discuss principles, and we emphasize small-area games to build hockey sense. It’s all about developing skills. Our players should be good skaters and we want them to be good with their sticks, too. That’s our identity. We’re constantly thinking about the long-term. We’ve developed a philosophy of how we want to play ice hockey in Germany, and we’re passing that down to coaches and players at every point in our system.
Tell us about the Federation’s commitment to foster that standardization across Germany.
KS: If our coaches leave to pursue other opportunities, the plan isn’t to start from scratch. Our national teams, for example, aren’t going to suddenly change the way they play just because they don’t have the same voice behind the bench. We don’t want to have a coaches’ philosophy leading the way, we want to have our Federation’s philosophy guiding everything we do. We’ve embraced that. We’re ahead of the game because we’ve mapped out a decade-long strategy for where we’re going. That’s a big difference that sets us apart. There’s real stability and continuity within our program no matter who the voice behind the bench is. The same lessons and strategies will be taught from one group to the next.
Where does the addition of CoachThem come into play?
KS: It’s a really important part of the change we’ve made. It’s the only tool we use in the Federation for designing and sharing drills between coaches, and there’s a good reason why. I’m a sucker for appearances, and CoachThem makes everything look good. It’s important that the materials we give to our club coaches are consistent and professional. When players are working their way through our system, we also want them to be interacting with the same platform at every stage. They shouldn’t have to get used to new drill formats as they advance. Every positive change we make matters. I would call that the aggregation of marginal gains. Over time, those changes add up and in the end you’re a lot better than you were before.
Give us an example of CoachThem in action.
KS: We just initiated a program with the 60 clubs associated with our “Five Star Program” where one day per week the U15 and U17 clubs are doing the same training. We detected some weaknesses in our play in these age groups, and we’re addressing them from technical and tactical standpoints. To do so, we created a presentation where all the drills were designed using CoachThem, and we incorporated videos that we filmed with the U16 National Team to support the drill content. We loaded everything on the platform, and it was easily accessible by the clubs. Sharing drills on CoachThem really is effortless.
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