Opinion
Things got tough on the hockey field after the win at the Olympics. Harsh words from the coach and a surprising reaction from his player Anne Schröder.
“Laura, shut up and come here!”
I’m imagining it right now. My boss shouting at me like that in a conference room during a heated news situation. Because we have to discuss something now. And I just don’t feel like it and I pull an annoyed face and turn around when he wants to start his team speech. What would I do? Would I be okay with that? Would I shout back? Cry? Quit?
I don’t know, because it’s not (any longer) imaginable in a working environment outside of sport. Good thing!
But what is the situation there, in sport, today (still)? Well, we saw that yesterday during a break in play during the German women’s hockey team’s victory against France. National coach Valentin Altenburg is furious! Despite the lead, he is unhappy with a scene in the game and with the fact that his “extended heart on the field”, Anne Schröder, is slumping her shoulders. “Anne, now shut up and come here, your body language is annoying me.”
Emotions are part of it – and sometimes insults
After this announcement from her boss, the national hockey player simply turns around and does what he tells her. Shut up and listen. Why does she do that? What should a spectator say? Is that OK, normal, OKAY?
Now, everyone, relax! Of course it’s OKAY!
Man! This is a hockey field! This is a sports team that fights to the death to bring home a medal! One that works hard with sweat, tears and blood until it’s sick. This is sport! Professional sport! This is performance, pressure, painfully high here at the Olympics! Emotion! And sometimes bullying too!
What should a team coach do in a situation like this, when a player is possibly dragging the team down with her body language? “Hey, Anne, I don’t mean it like that, right? But could you maybe just jump over your personal shadow for a moment and come back into the group for your teammates? That would be really nice of you, really great, thank you.”
That’s unrealistic. There are often situations in sport where there is no time for good manners. It has to be clear immediately what phase is in progress.
Anne Schröder certainly knew how to deal with her coach’s outburst. She had known Altenburg for a “very long time” and had “a very close relationship of trust” with him, she said later in a joint TV interview. Accordingly, “neither of us take it badly.” It’s just the nice, uncomplicated, wonderfully old-fashioned custom in sport: pack fights, pack gets along.
stern colleague Miriam Hollstein disagrees. She thinks: Just shut up, Valentin!
Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
