After the long arrival day, two intensive sessions on Monday and the warm-up including a test match in over 30 degrees on Tuesday, Wednesday was all about regeneration for coach Marcel Rapp’s team. In the morning, our Storks completed various exercises in four groups before having some free time in the afternoon. The boys used this in a variety of ways.
The goalkeepers led by goalkeeping coach Patrik Borger were the only ones to work on the pitch – and unlike the other three groups, they did not take it easy at all, but completed a sweat-inducing session in summer temperatures, so much so that Borger called himself a “goalkeeping athletics coach” afterwards, tongue-in-cheek but with good reason. All the outfield players, on the other hand, did regenerative work on the premises of the team hotel. While one group completed aqua jogging exercises in the water under the guidance of physiotherapist Timm Pflügler, another was active in the gym next door with athletics trainer Timm Sörensen. All the remaining Storks competed against each other in a large hall, which used to be the town’s train station and is now used for events such as weddings or conferences, in the so-called “Bremser”-games led by co-trainer Dirk Bremser in various challenges such as soccer tennis and golf, a mixture of teq and spikeball and frisbee throwing. Afterwards, physiotherapy treatments were on the agenda for some of the players.
After lunch, the rest of the day was at leisure. A group of twelve used the free time to play a round of top golf. “Calle and Shuto did the best,” said Max Geschwill, who also impressed with his strong golf skills. At the same time, many players also went to the Mall of America or a nearby lake before everyone had dinner together. As the batteries were fully recharged after the exertions of the first few days thanks to the regenerative program, our boys can now look forward to the coming days with renewed energy, in which intensive sessions are again on the training schedule in temperatures between 25 and 30 degrees.
