21 Mar 2010 at 23:25 | Published by: Ole | Views: 15887 | News search

From 1st of January Denmark’s got a new head coach. The Danish Minigolf Federation has appointed Bjarne Hansen of Broager Banegolf. He replaces Christian Maglemose who was in charge from 2007-2009.
Bjarne is 46 years old, he has played minigolf for more than 20 years and he played in the national team for the first time in 1991 at the WC in Oslo, Norway. He has also coached the national team the past years, most recently at the WC in Odense, DK.
He has been away from minigolf for a longer period of time due to his job as a smith which demanded much travelling.

For a beginning he will be in charge of the juniors’ team as of men’s and women’s teams. Regarding the juniors team his appointment is only temporary until the Danish federation finds a coach for them.

OR: Bjarne, first of all congratulations with your appointment as head coach.
Let me be direct from the begeinning of this interview. What are your ambitions for the next years?


BH: I’ll aim for a top 5 for the men’s team, and I’m sure that we can have more players who will qualify for the matchplay at the World Cup and the European Championships.
Regarding the women, I’ve invited 5 players. Whether the outcome of this will turn into a team, time will show.
Further more, I’ve asked Stephanie Dallinger if she wants join the teams. Steffi is Austrian citizen and has played for the Austrian youth team. The reason for asking her is that she should have a chance to play for Austria even though she cannot take part in team gatherings that are compulsory for the Austrian players as she is living in Denmark. I believe that she will also be an inspiration to the Danish players as well, because she is a very skillful minigolf player.

OR: What tools will you use for obtaining your goals and what do you demand of your players?

BH: I have invited more than 20 players. Not all of them will be ready for the national team this year or even next year. But I want them to practice more, and I want them to participate in some specific tournaments that I’ve pointed out to them.
Further more, I want that we as a nation improve our skills on concrete. This shall be obtained through more practice on courses in Denmark, Germany and Sweden.

OR: Will you also include mental training as a method for obtaining your goals?

BH: No, not as a means for the whole team. If some of the players want to, they can do it on an individual basis.

OR: What will be your first major task as coach?

BH: To participate in the European Championships 2010 in Predazzo, Italy, for men and women and the junior World Championships 2010 in Sochi, Russia. I am not sure if this will be with full teams.
But the WC 2011 in Stockholm will be the future goal with a full team and with an aim for a higher rank. On our way, I want to have some players participating at the Open Swedish Championships in Stockholm this summer.

OR: How about coaches on the courses? Have you nominated any yet?

BH: Coaches will most probably be picked among the 20 or so players in the team.

OR: We’ve now been around some important issues and I would like to finish this interview with some nice standard questions.

OR: Do you have a role model in minigolf?

BH: Well not really. If I should mention someone, I would be Peter Nordin from Sweden because he radiates calmness and self confidence and he has great minigolf skills.

OR: What is your favorite ball?

BH: Deutschmann 085, the old style (speckling).

OR: What club are you playing?

BH: NIFO Ryner. The new OPC-Pro may also become a favorit club.

OR: Bjarne, thank you very much for your time doing this interview. I wish you good luck in your new job.

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