It has been confirmed since Wednesday that Andreas Mitter will be the new national coach of the German ski jumpers, succeeding Stefan Horngacher. For ex-jumper and TV expert Markus Eisenbichler, the Austrian, who he knows from their days together at DSV, is a “very good” choice.
“I always enjoyed training with him. Andreas is a very good organizer and always keeps an overview – that’s what you need as a national coach. But what will no longer be the case: from now on he will work less on the individual athletes themselves,” Markus Eisenbichler praised the new head coach of the DSV-Adler in an interview with “Eurosport”: “He is a top person and a top coach, a very good decision was made.”
Andreas Mitter is the third Austrian in a row to hold the position, after Schuster (2008 to 2019) and Horngacher (2019 to 2026). The 44-year-old will become the new national ski jumping coach with immediate effect, succeeding Stefan Horngacher, under whom he has served as assistant coach of the German team since 2023. He already gained experience as a head coach in Finland.
“Not much has changed for the athletes, but there may be a different philosophy compared to Stefan Horngacher,” Eisenbichler is certain: “The training methods under Stefan were rather strict and followed a strict plan. Some ski jumpers will certainly benefit from this, but many more experienced professionals would like a little more freedom and individual design.”
Ski jumping: Mitter impresses with “his relaxed nature”
This is a possible approach for the new trainer, whom the “Eurosport” expert describes as “very creative”: “He is always in a good mood and always tries to have fun in training, even when things aren’t going well. In addition, it was always important to him to lighten the mood so that you don’t approach certain things too doggedly.”
The 35-year-old remembered the Austrian because of “his relaxed manner”. “Even on a bad day – at least that’s how I felt back then – you feel comfortable with him at your side. He builds up the athletes so that you see the positive in phases like this,” said Eisenbichler, explaining the exciting background to the new DSV coach.
The former world-class jumper is certain that the fact that Mitter already knows the DSV Adler is “an advantage”: “During the process, there was a lot of discussion with the athletes themselves about the possible national coach and I assume that the more established ones in particular chose Andreas because they value him very much.”
