Cone players: Jona Schoch (left) and Filip Vistorop in a 1:1 practice Photo: /Beytullah Kara
HBW Balingen-Weilstetten has accelerated preparations for the 2023/24 season in the Handball Bundesliga in South Tyrol. The first test for the “Gaul” is on Sunday against TVB Stuttgart.
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The planned hike to the barbecue evening at a hut has fallen flat. Nevertheless, the players of the Bundesliga handball team had ample opportunity to breathe fresh mountain air at the training camp in Schlanders/South Tyrol. Because instead of walking, they made the area unsafe with bicycles.
Numerous kilometers on the bike
“We’ve been on our bikes a lot. The journey from the hotel to the training hall took 30 or 40 minutes every day. There was also a three-and-a-half-hour tour,” says HBW trainer Jens Bürkle. However, since the coach does not want to help his team to a delayed career as mountain bike world champions or Tour de France stage winners, but wants to get them fit for the race to stay up in the Bundesliga, numerous athletic units and work on defensive behavior were on the plan. “Of course we also touched on a few other things, in the offensive game I just wanted to see how the guys solve different situations,” says Bürkle. One thing has become obvious. “If we want to be successful, we have to push our pace game – that applies in both directions.”
Newcomers perform “well and pleasantly”
Bürkle found what the new signings Csaba Leimeter, Nikola Grahovac and right winger Leo Prantner – the Italian national player comes from Meran and had a home game at the training camp – delivered as “good and pleasant”. It is not yet possible to judge whether they will be able to cope with the rough everyday life of the German Handball League, which the new HBW goalkeeper Mohamed El-Tayar has known for a year and a half. “It’s still too early for that. We haven’t really gotten to full capacity yet,” says Bürkle.
Danner, Huber and Sejr struck
Overall, the team came through the week without injury. However, Elias Huber and Captain Felix Danner had to slow down a little due to muscular problems. Keeper Simon Sejr twisted his ankle when he made contact with the goalpost and left early. However, the injury did not turn out to be serious. However, the Dane has to pause for a few days. Coach Bürkle drew a positive conclusion after the end of the training camp on Friday: “We had really great conditions.”
Test opponents Stuttgart have a well-established team
The coach is giving his team a day off on Saturday, and the first test for the promoted team is on Sunday. In the community hall in Bittenfeld, the Bürkle team competes against the back-to-back league rivals TVB Stuttgart (Kick-off: 3.30 p.m.). The Stuttgart team ended the 2022/23 season in 15th place in the table and are relying on almost the same squad from the second half of the previous season. The only change: Ivan Sliskovic (Olympiacos Piraeus) left the club for Greece. There were no new signings at TBV in the summer, but the Lithuanian national player Jonas Truchonavicius (HC Motor Saporoshje), Marino Maric (SC DHfK Leipzig) and Lukas Laube (GC Amicitia Zurich) joined the Stuttgart team in February. Like the HBW, the team coached by Michael Schweikhardt is fresh from the training camp. The TVB groaned in Zell im Zillertal.
HBW claim: Deliver a good game
HBW trainer Bürkle does not yet expect the big findings. “I want to see what we’re still missing and what’s good, what the team is doing and how they’re doing it. Whether we lose the game by a margin of 15 goals or win the same amount has no meaning in the end. Our aim is to make the best possible game.”
2023-07-22 06:07:00
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