The German Ski Association (DSV) and national ski jumping coach Stefan Horngacher are apparently about to reach an agreement on continuing their collaboration. The Austrian confirmed this in the sports show.
“There are preliminary discussions that are pretty good. We’ll talk more during the week in Trondheim and see how things go.”said Horngacher, whose contract expires after the season. The 54-year-old has been the head coach of the German men since 2019.
DSV sports director Horst Hüttel announced talks in Trondheim – the venue for the 2025 World Cup – a few weeks ago. “Maybe that can trigger something in him“, he said, hoping that Horngacher would be able to throw any doubts overboard with a successful performance there.
Clear trend at DSV
The trend was already back then: The DSV would like to continue with Horngacher despite the mixed past season and this winter, in which Andreas Wellinger in particular kept the German flag high with strong performances.
“At the moment we have no other plan for the coaching position. The season started very well with nine podium finishes in a row”said Hüttel, who had already emphasized several times that he would like to “bind Horngacher to the association forever”, “Because he’s just a good guy with a lot of technical expertise”. He also pointed out the upcoming highlights – in addition to the 2025 World Cup, the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. Horngacher then emphasized that he felt comfortable in the DSV, but that “It’s not always the job of the national coach” must.
Wellinger, Paschke and Raimund on the trail
Decisive days in Trondheim. From a technical point of view, Horngacher, who took over the difficult legacy of his compatriot Werner Schuster in 2019, is beyond all doubt. As the Polish national coach, he had already led Kamil Stoch to his old strength and triumph at the Four Hills Tournament in 2018.
A development in the German team is also visible. The successes of Wellinger and Pius Paschke at the beginning of winter are not least due to his meticulous work. Philipp Raimund also made it to the top of the world under Horngacher. Only Karl Geiger’s form curve clearly showed a downward trend this year. But Horngacher can be trusted to get Oberstdorfer back on track.
What’s next for women’s national coach Juffinger?
A sustainable coaching solution is also needed for German ski jumpers two years before the Olympics. After Maximilian Mechler’s surprising resignation shortly before the season, his previous assistant Thomas Juffinger took over at short notice. However, there were no top results.
Model athlete Katharina Schmid was unable to match the performances of previous years. Ninth place in the overall World Cup ranking shows that we have lost touch with the world’s best around the Slovakian Nika Prevc and the Austrian Eva Pinkelnig.
It is quite possible that there will be a change here. However, DSV’s priority is to extend the contract with Horngacher. The good initial discussions are now being deepened in Trondheim.