After six years in Linz and five years in Villach, Rob Daum is back behind the Austrian ice hockey team. The 67-year-old was hired as head coach at the Adler Kitzbühel and was immediately available for an inaugural interview:
What convinced you and what was the deciding factor that made you say yes to this task?
Rob Daum: I got to know a competitive team here and an organization that does everything it can to support the team as best as possible and make it successful. Kitzbühel is also a great place to live, which further strengthened my decision.
You’re coming in at a very challenging time of the season. How excited are you to be behind the gang again and how would you like to have an immediate influence on the team?
Rob Daum: It’s never easy to take over a team in the middle of the year. I’ve experienced this four times in my career, so I have experience that helps me. Luckily, we have plenty of training time in the next two weeks to implement my plan step by step. It is important to remain patient and continually develop.
You coached in the NHL, worked for many years in the ICE Hockey League and won a championship with Linz. How does it feel to be coaching again and have you missed coaching over the past two years?
Rob Daum: I can hardly express how excited I am about this opportunity. Coaching has been my passion my entire life and still is. I’ve been very lucky to have been able to live out this passion for 40 years now, and I’m not dead yet (laughs).
I’ve missed it a lot over the last two years. I missed working with players, helping them with their development, both athletically and personally. Above all, I missed seeing how individual personalities grow together and want to succeed together as a team.
What are your main goals for the remainder of this season and how do they fit into the long-term vision for the team?
Rob Daum: My long-term vision for the team is to make each individual player better and to create a clear structure in which everyone contributes to the team’s success. Of course, from a sporting perspective, we want to reach the playoffs and be successful there.
What can the fans in Kitzbühel expect from your style as a coach in terms of playing style, intensity and mentality?
Rob Daum: I’m an offensive-oriented coach, so we will play an aggressive style of play and try to put the opponent under pressure and force them to make mistakes. We want to play hard and be competitive. At the same time, I expect my team to play intelligently. There will be a clear system, but also the flexibility to make adjustments if necessary.
We want to act as a team: support each other, not do anything selfish that harms the team, and stand up for each other – with a real “Wolfpack” mentality. Our goal is not to beat ourselves. We are in the fight together. Last but not least, perhaps most importantly, players should have fun. Hockey is a game and should also be fun.
Before every game, I will tell the team the following: Play hard – that’s everyone’s responsibility. Play smart – that is our shared responsibility. I prepare the plan, the players implement it. Play as a team. And have fun.
www.dieadler.at, www.sport-bilder.at
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