"With the change of coach we wanted to bring a breeze of fresh air into the team. My goal was first of all to clear the players' minds, now we have the perfect yield," says Schweikardt, who played as a centre back for seven years for TVB Stuttgart until the end of his career and had previously played for Göppingen and Melsungen. The native of Waiblingen knows the club very well. His brother Jürgen is the managing director of the TVB, his father Günter is one of the founding fathers of the previous club from Bittenfeld.

“I ignored the fact that these family relationships existed. I'm here as a handball coach, so it wasn't an issue for me that my family was involved in the club. In this situation, it's all about the club," says Michael Schweikardt. And especially in the current situation, it was important that someone who knew the club stepped in: "It didn't take a long time to get to know each other. I know every player, I've been to many training sessions, I've been involved in putting together the squad, so it wasn't a problem for me."

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It's difficult for Schweikardt to list what he did differently compared to his predecessor: "I wasn't able to change much in such a short amount of time. For me, communication with the players was the most important thing, I included them in all important decisions. I wanted to be on an equal footing with them, they are all seasoned professionals and have a good feeling for what is necessary.”

Schweikardt wants to play fast, dynamic and successful handball with a compact defense that avoids one-on-one situations as often as possible - "and in the current situation, only the results are in the focus anyway". The next match is the away game in Wetzlar on Thursday (7.05 p.m. CEST). “We want to build on the two successes. We just proved by winning at the BHC that we can get through a difficult period. We must never give up in Wetzlar either, maybe we can go a step further there in terms of play.”

How things will continue in the TVB coaching position after the Wetzlar game will be decided during the national team break: "I said from the start that I would take over for these three games, there is currently nothing to say about anything else." In general, the 39-year-old could imagine a future in coaching, but: "I really enjoy the current work in scouting and in the youth programme - where I can accompany the development of players." The A license holder already has experience as a head coach - at the third division club TSB Horkheim for three years until the summer.

Photo: Körner

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