It’s no secret that a high-quality environment can have a positive effect on your own performance. Organizing such an environment is more difficult – and often a long process. At the WWK Volleys Herrsching on Thursday you will see the length of this path so well illustrated that it rarely happens in professional sports. Because the volleyball first division team welcomes Ankara in the round of 16 of the European Challenge Cup. However, the game will not be played in the already occupied BMW Park, but in the Herrschinger Nikolaushalle; In other words, in the place where the journey to the big European stage began ten years ago with the rise of a student group to the top league and cheeky taunts against the establishment.
Herrsching has now long been an established member of the top half of the table. European competition should help to catch up to the top. Managing director Max Hauser considers the effects of participation in the European Cup to be extremely relevant. “It was the next logical step for us in the club’s development that we open up in Europe and gain prestige with other teams as well as with players,” he says. “It has a lot to do with reputation when you are represented internationally, and of course even more so when you are represented successfully.”
The Upper Bavarians prevailed against Tenerife thanks to a strong performance in the second leg in front of their home crowd. Coach Thomas Ranner was happy “that we showed athletically that we deserved to advance.” The team took advantage of the opportunity “that we earned last season.” He was proud of the “historic progress for the club”, but praised it not only as a sporting success, but also as proof that the entire environment was up to the task.
From a material point of view, the European competition is purely a subsidy business until the semi-finals
By the way, Herrsching had impressed the European Volleyball Federation (CEV), which is always keen on spectacle, with its LED floor. Nobody knows whether the CEV was surprisingly willing to grant a one-off special permit for the first leg of the round of 16 in the Nikolaushalle, which was actually too low and too small. To be on the safe side, Ranner didn’t ask, but was happy about the most uncomplicated alternative option: “We said thank you because all other options would have been very complicated.”
From a material point of view, the European competition is purely a subsidy business up until the semi-finals, as Hauser confirms, “and with the round of 16 draw in Ankara it has now become significantly more cost-intensive.” The added value of the competition is not yet reflected in financial profits, but the desired advertising effect was already achieved after the first game in Tenerife, when Herrsching sent four sets of lederhosen-style jerseys to Spain.
Setter Eric Burggräf also confirms the importance of the competition for the athletes. “The Challenge Cup was one of the reasons why I extended my stay in Herrsching,” he says. In terms of potential additions, the game against Ankara is more than just one game. The standing on the transfer market depends increasingly on the international presence. “For many, it is a childhood dream to play internationally and represent their country – because not everyone can make the national team,” says Hauser, adding: “But you can at least make it as a club.” And sometimes that’s all they need Large stage even a hall that is actually too small.
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