New coach Winkelmann starts first camps with Team Poland

German Danny Winkelmann has been confirmed as the new head coach for the Polish Nordic Combined team and has taken up his duties in the middle of May. The team members are very positive about the first few weeks with the successor of Mateusz Wantulok and have currently completed the first camp under the directive of the new man at the helm in Szczyrk.

“The first meeting with our new coach was more about organisational issues and getting to know each other”, team youngster Pawel Twardosz recounts. “However, it was not without the first intensive training sessions in the gym and outside.”

“To me, the new head coach has made a good impression”, teammate Szczepan Kupczak adds. “It’s cool that he treats us as one team but he also has a good approach to each individual athlete. It is good to get some “fresh blood” into the system. Danny did not introduce many new things but rather he dug up forgotten training methods that, for some reason, got lost in previous years”.

With most training camps being planned inside ‘Polend, the athletes are currently working on improving weaknesses on the jumping hill. The new coach divided the trainings into different stages in which different problems are tackled. Pawel Twardosz: “We have definitely changed the strenghth training. We are now more focussed on the ski jumping, the coach has made some changes our training plans. More information is of course top secret and remains in the team. “ We are all waking up in the morning, motivated to work. Danny himself is motivated to learn as well. He is slowly learning our language and I think that he will speak Polish very soon”, Twardosz laughs.