FC St. Pauli

…the biggest challenge right now:

Christoph: "The biggest task is organising all the training. It's going very well, though, thanks to our existing IT capabilities. Microsoft Teams has proved its worth for the live sessions, for example. The lads are pulling their weight as well. A couple of players had technical problems during the first live session, but the second went perfectly and we were able to do some good work."

…the means of monitoring the performance data of the players:

Karim: "Our Polar system is still in use, we have full access to the data and are able to use it to check whether a player has implemented his personal plan. The players can upload their data either straight from the watch or via the app."

…their current daily routine:

Christoph: "Karim and I always liaise in the morning – either in a video call or occasionally in traditional fashion over the phone. We discuss the day's training for the players. We also get feedback from the club doctors and physiotherapists to find out whether there's anything we need to take into account for the training that day. We meet the players half an hour before every live session, which gives them the opportunity to have a chat and a laugh and creates a kind of dressing-room atmosphere. As soon as training starts, it goes quiet and they all work with good focus. After training, the players get more time to chat. Karim and I divide the work up during training. One of us runs the session, while the other watches how the lads do the exercises. There's always another coach present as well. Karim and I evaluate the data, talk to the coaching team and analyse how the day has gone and whether we need to make any adjustments to the plan for the following day."

…any additional work involved compared with the usual training routine:

Christoph: "You can't compare it with a traditional day of training when we're at the training centre and the work is more condensed. We're busy all day now, from eight in the morning until late in the evening. The lads can contact us any time."

Karim: "It feels like you're on permanent standby for the players, we're in touch with them all day. We upload our documents in Teams and make a note if a player has had a problem or some kind of injury."

…what they can do to get the players back to their former performance level more quickly:

Christoph: "For us it's about maintaining their performance levels as well as we can, of course. When we eventually get back on the pitch with the players, we'll still have to adjust the football-related workload. I think we'll need 10 to 14 days until we can resume the competition phase and everyone's ready to compete again. It's extremely important to give the players the best-possible preparation for when we start playing again. We're still in a competition phase even though the players are training from home at the moment. We mustn't forget that we're still in the season. So we have to work hard for when things get going again." 

Photos: Witters