Stefan Mair's herculean task

“For me it is a great honor and confirmation that my work in Switzerland has not gone unnoticed and is recognized. “I worked with young players here and got the most out of Thurgau with limited financial resources,” says Mair.

“If a coach gets a chance in the top league that may never come back, then it is also in the interest of the sport to enable him to seize this opportunity.” This sentence comes from the mouth of Paolo Duca, the sports director of HC Ambri Piotta. That's why Stefan Mair also knows who he owes his move to the 20.000-inhabitant town of Kloten in the Swiss canton of Zurich.

Stefan Mair has a new task. © Zimmermann

Thanks to his meticulous work, he also put himself in position to do so. Between 2016 and 2022 he led HC Thurgau to the Swiss League play-offs six times in a row. Several players have improved under him: including Michael Loosli and Jonathan Ang, who we will now see again at Kloten.

Mair was in contact with Kloten four years ago. “Back then we played the semi-final against Ajoie when Kloten expressed his interest. At that time, I was already in agreement with Thurgau for the 4/2019 season, which is why the move to Kloten didn’t happen,” remembers the father of two, who will be sitting on the bench for the Ambri juniors yesterday and Sunday.

The first training session on Monday and the first game on Tuesday “My contract with Ambri ends on Sunday evening. “I will go to Kloten immediately after the home game against Zug, where I will lead the first training session on Monday at 10.30 a.m. before the difficult home game against Servette Geneva on Tuesday,” says Mair, who is aware that none of the 10 remaining games will be easy.

Kloten is currently in 13th place in the table and one point away from saving 12th place. The “Fliers” are 10 points short of a top 13 place, which would mean participation in the pre-play-off. “First and foremost, the goal is to stay in the league. I'm not giving 10th place a thought at the moment. I just look from game to game. As soon as we are saved mathematically, I will focus on new goals,” explains the new Kloten coach. In addition to Loosli and Ang, he also knows the goalkeeper coach Tim Bertsche and the director of player development, Martin Büsser, from his new team, both of whom have already worked with him at Thurgau.

His interlude at HC Pustertal was only a short one. © Optic Rapid

Mair, who has dealt intensively with his new team in the last few days, knows exactly where he has to apply the levers first: “Kloten has conceded the most goals so far. The Finnish Juha Metsola is a strong goalie between the posts. The problem, however, is that the people in front of him allow too many shots from the opponent. That's why we have to improve our defensive behavior and make some changes at certain points. The team has been too harmless in attack so far. Also because several foreigners have played below their standards so far.”

For Mair, the priority now is to fix the biggest construction sites. He is aware that the mental aspect will also be very important and that he has to work on the self-confidence of the players who have been badly hit recently. “I have numerous meetings and many one-on-one conversations planned. I would need a whole week to implement everything I have in mind. “Unfortunately I don’t have that time,” regrets the native of Bolzano.

What Mair will do after this season is anyone's guess. He also has no option in his contract for a possible follow-up contract with Kloten. “The club made it very clear to me that any contract extension depends solely on the results. If I and the team manage to stay in the league, then the board could certainly imagine a longer collaboration beyond this season. At least that's what he told me. But that is a thing of the future. For now, I’m fully concentrating on the next games,” promises the 56-year-old.

Important experiences in the youth sector After his premature failure at HC Pustertal, his involvement in Ambri's youth department was an emergency solution and, in retrospect, the right decision. “It was a mega experience for me. “I made important contacts and got an insight into the Swiss national teams at various meetings,” Mair enthuses.

The job was very challenging for him: “There is a lot more work in the youth sector compared to a professional team. A lot has to be coordinated, but also improvised. There is a huge performance gap among juniors. You always have to make sure that you keep all players happy and don't lose anyone. The main question is: What is best for the team and for the individual player?”

Mair got off to a false start with his team and lost the first 7 games of the season. Ambri has now established herself and is in fifth place among 5 participants. Mair's place with the juniors will be taken by Ambri's youth boss Manuele Celio, who is also assistant coach of the Swiss U13 national team, from Monday. Then Mair's “mission to stay in the league” begins a good 20 kilometers away with EHC Kloten.

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1. Lausanne HC	52	153:128	97
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Stefan Mair's herculean task

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