Athletes versus coaches
There is no peace in Norway’s ski jumping
February 20, 2024, 6:26 a.m
Norway’s ski jumpers have trouble with their coach: head coach Alexander Stöckl’s leadership is particularly criticized. The situation is “very stressful” for him; a first discussion will not bring peace back.
After a letter of complaint from Norwegian ski jumpers against their coach Alexander Stöckl, a discussion between the Austrian and the team has not yet brought any solution. “I’ve been dealing with the situation for the last few weeks and today I finally got the opportunity to talk to the athletes. It was an intensive and fruitful meeting, but we can’t draw any conclusions at this point about the further course of the season,” explained Stöckl at the request of the German Press Agency.
Last week it became public that several Norwegian ski jumpers had criticized their coach in a letter to the ski jumping committee. Athlete spokesman Johann Andre Forfang confirmed the letter and the dissatisfaction within the team to the Norwegian newspaper “Dagbladet”. “It’s not about the results. It’s about the fact that we believe this cannot wait until spring as we want to put together a new team for the World Cup season,” Forfang wrote in a text message to the daily. The letter is said to have primarily criticized the human leadership of the long-time head coach.
Stöckl, who has been head coach of the Norwegian national ski jumping team since 2011, was missing from the coaching stand at the last three World Cups in Willingen, Lake Placid and Sapporo. “For me personally, the last two weeks have been very stressful and on the one hand I have to take care of myself and my family and also talk to all my colleagues about how we are dealing with this situation,” explained the 50-year-old.