Volleyball in Bremen: talents, coaches and future prospects

Mr. Thiemann, the volleyball teams in the region will start their indoor season at the end of the month. As head of the association, how do you feel about the new season?

Lars Thiemann: I’m happy that things are starting up again, because after the Olympics it’s always exciting to see whether there’s an increase in the number of people taking part in individual sports. Our men’s volleyball team also performed successfully in Paris and generated a lot of excitement.

How do you see the volleyball sport in Bremen positioned?

Volleyball in Bremen has grown in recent years. This is particularly evident in the number of registrations among young people aged between 15 and 18. This is encouraging. And we want to continue this trend.

What exactly can or should the clubs do to remain or become interesting for young people?

In my opinion, there are three factors that we need to think about. Firstly, we need to consider the concept of all-day schools from 2026 and see when the young people will actually be available to us during the day. We need to tailor our offerings to this. The second factor is the infrastructure. The new double sports hall on Ronzelenstrasse is a dream, but we have many halls in Bremen that are not in such good condition. That is a dilemma.

And what is the third point?

That is the question for the coaches. And we have to find a really good answer, because the coaches are the key players when it comes to getting young people into volleyball and keeping them there.

What exactly should the trainer bring with him?

Above all, you have to be reliable and good with children. You should have fun and be able to teach the game. Especially in volleyball, it takes a while until you have a certain level of playing ability. You have to achieve this as quickly as possible, otherwise the young people will quickly leave again. There are simply too many alternatives to keep yourself busy or distract yourself in your free time.

You say that the trend is correct and that membership growth is positive. However, there is currently no sign of this in Bremen in terms of performance. The women of Eiche Horn and the men of Bremen 1860, as the highest teams, only play in the regional league. Do you have an explanation for this?

To be honest: no. I do believe that Bremen has the potential to have a team in both the women’s and men’s divisions in at least the 3rd division, or even better in the 2nd Bundesliga. We have a good basis – excellent youth work is being done here.

However, the fruits of this work are often earned by other clubs or performance centers. Julian Hoyer, Sunna Milz, Luisa Durisova – these are just three talented players who recently left Bremen and moved to a base. What would have to happen to offer these talents a perspective in Bremen?

I don’t have an answer to that. Realistically speaking, I don’t see any team playing in the higher leagues in the 2nd or even 1st Bundesliga any time soon. It takes time to get there. And the talents I’ve just mentioned already want to get to where you and your club might only be in a few years. But I would also like to say in principle: If these top talents have been given the basics in our clubs to change bases and play in the Bundesliga, then we have fulfilled our training mission in the best possible way.

Nevertheless, it is painful to lose talent year after year. Wouldn’t it be urgently necessary to join forces in Bremen in order to be represented at a higher level and thus make it more attractive as a volleyball location?

Of course it would be nice to have a star that offers young talent a perspective and is also interesting for sponsors. That would be exciting, but as an association we can only support that with a network. The clubs themselves are called upon here. A concentration of forces in the performance area could be a good way, but it is incredibly difficult to get everyone on board. We would have to talk openly about it. We would have to clarify who should play which role and perhaps also involve the young talents. Then it could work.

Are there other ways to attract more attention?

The clubs need to make the home game days much more of an event. It has to be chic to go to a home game of Eiche Horn or 1860. The new hall on Ronzelenstrasse would then offer completely different possibilities.

That sounds good, but why do you think too little is being done about it?

The coaches, the heads of department – ​​these are often the only ones in the clubs. You need vision – and you need supporters. To implement something like this, you need a certain number of people. And that’s where the problem lies.

In many trash formats on television, the participants get more money than an Olympic champion. That is absurd.

Lars Thiemann

What is the general public perception of the sport?

Volleyball generally has a good image. Our problem, however, is the lack of importance given to the sport as a whole in Germany.

What exactly do you complain about?

Well, in many trash formats on television, the participants get more money than an Olympic champion. That is absurd. Moreover, physical education is always the first school subject in Germany to be cancelled. And if you look at the sports budget in Bremen in particular and deduct the resources for swimming, then there is quickly nothing left. Sport has an important social function, is good for health and integrative – it just shouldn’t be a cost. That’s not right.

In your opinion, what would be necessary to change this?

We should actually stand up for our legitimate interests much more strongly and perhaps also be more vocal in public – but unfortunately, we athletes are always too solution-oriented in our thinking for that.

The interview was conducted by Frank Büter.

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