When I was younger, I was always very active in sports. At around 6 years old, I started playing tennis
with my friends at a cabin. We used to play tennis every day for several hours during vacations. In
second grade, I began playing football, but I didn’t stick with it for long. The coach’s approach,
constantly scolding us and never praising, didn’t align with my expectations. In the 6th grade, I
started playing basketball, which I enjoyed the most and, in my opinion, is still one of the most
beautiful sports in the world. However, even there, I didn’t stay for long due to coaches not giving me
much of a chance to play in matches due to being one of the youngest players.
So, in the 8th grade, alongside basketball, I started playing table tennis. Although I didn’t initially find
it as enjoyable, we had an excellent coach there. He communicated with us, tried to understand our
needs, supported us, and criticized us minimally, more as a way to motivate us. I stuck with table
tennis and basketball throughout high school. When I started studying at the university, one of my
fellow students was a triathlete who immediately inspired me to take up this sport. Although I wasn’t
a proficient swimmer, I had a talent for cycling and running. At that time, around 2000, there were
hardly any books on triathlons, and no one really knew how to train properly. So, I tried everything
possible. Eventually, I became completely passionate about triathlon, and when I had to decide what
to write my thesis about, whether it be genetics in biology or something about triathlons in sports,
the decision came quickly. I decided to focus on triathlon.
After finishing my studies, I decided to pursue postgraduate studies at the Deutsche Sporthochschule
in Köln (German Sport University Cologne). After 2 years, I discovered a selection process for a youth
coach position in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg. Although I didn’t meet any of the
requirements, I still got the position. I stayed in this role for 6 years until I decided to start my own
coaching business as a coach for professional and age group athletes.
Based on my experiences with various coaches during my youth, I focused on communicating as
much as possible with my athletes, listening to them, and finding the right individual approach for
each of them. I aim to build mutual respect and often friendship with my athletes. However, in the
end, I am the one in charge, the “boss”, making the decisions about their training. That’s why some
of my athletes tend to call me LuBOSS