He meets news on the ski jump in Granåsen, just 173 days before the whole thing is to be kicked off in the WC facility. On this day, he is smiling and wearing Polish sponsored clothing. Because after he finished as the Norwegian national team coach after 13 years, he is now the sporting director of the Polish national team. NEW CLOTHES: Alexander Stöckl wearing the sponsor’s clothes for Poland. How is it for you?, asks news’s journalist. – I don’t see it. It just feels like sportswear. And I’m in work clothes, so it actually feels quite nice, Stöckl replies. Photo: Jørgen Leangen / news The smile stands in stark contrast to the day when the popular jumping coach had received the message that he was finished as Norwegian national team coach. Then he showed up with a serious load of mine in the Dagsnytt 18 studio and the audience witnessed a broken Stöckl. – After that session, I didn’t feel so well, says Stöckl about the day he finished in February. The Dagsnytt 18 interview received a lot of attention, and both the picture and the interview featured in the largest online newspapers. – I think that was the lowest point in the first place, says Stöckl and continued: – Then I was exhausted. I didn’t sleep very much. – Unpleasant From 2011 until May 2024, the 50-year-old was national team coach in one of the most successful periods for the national show jumping team ever. But behind the scenes it simmered. The whole thing with the fact that the national team jumpers expressed dissatisfaction in a letter to the jumping committee after the Ski Flying WC at the end of January. They lack a more development-oriented coach. – It was very uncomfortable, of course. Being in such a situation. With that note around it. Then it was… The most painful thing at times, says Stöckl. THAT TIME: Halvor Egner Granerud serves bubbles to the then national team coach Alexander Stöckl after he won the Hoppuka in 2022/2023. Photo: Geir Olsen / NTB The former national team coach was also considering bringing a lawsuit against his former employer, the Ski Association. This even instead of a final agreement. – What I have done, I know I have done with the best of intentions. I have tried my best to ensure that we can succeed in what we do. I just have to stand for that. Then I have to consider whether I should have done something differently, says Stöckl. – Was almost at match weight for ski jumpers While the storm was at its worst around Stöckl, his family went home to Austria to rest. He says that one of the hardest things was that his eight-year-old daughter also understood what was going on. – Physically, I lost a lot of body weight. I was almost at match weight for ski jumpers. So it was… I felt it. And then there was little sleep. So it was… Yeah. It wasn’t that pleasant, says Stöckl. Now the 50-year-old believes that he has come out of the situation stronger and that he has taken important learning with him into his new role as sports manager. – I have experienced a lot in that phase, both good and bad, says Stöckl. – What have you experienced? – That one must develop further, quite simply. One can never stand still. – But was there any of the things you criticize yourself for, that you didn’t develop yourself? – Yes, I developed in a direction that was perhaps not quite optimal for others. Or I did things that I knew were important, but which others thought were not what should be part of the main character’s role, says Stöckl. – Could have handled it differently The Polish athletes and Stöckl trained in the WC facility at the same time as his former students on the Norwegian national team trained there. Halvor Egner Granerud does not want to go deep into the conflict that took place this winter and describes the relationship today as collegial. – It has gone quite well. We said “hello” when we saw each other. I haven’t had much to do with him in the last four or five months. Photo: Andreas Hagen / news Granerud does not know that he has anything unspoken with his former coach and believes that they were able to talk through the winter. After the WC in ski flying and the World Cup in Sapporo, where Stöckl did not participate, he and the jumpers gathered for a meeting at Gardermoen in the hope of resolving the conflict. After all the noise that arose in the wake of the letter from the mares, Granerud admits that the conflict could have been handled in a different way. – Certainly. As with most things in life, one could certainly do things differently. But instead of dwelling on what has been, I look forward to what is to come. Published 11.09.2024, at 19.13
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