It’s not only in his job that HSW General Manager Björn Zirotzki plays in the top league – in canoe polo, he has achieved everything there is to achieve. His most recent success: In the non-Olympic games, the World Games 2022 in Birmingham (US), he took gold as coach together with his national team.
Zirotzki has two challenging jobs: during the day, he is HSW’s dedicated general manager, and in his free time passionate trainer of the Germany’s national canoe polo team. He believes that the secret to being successful in both is essentially down to one thing: discipline. This he practised at an early stage, initially in his career as an amateur player in the first Bundesliga and the national team. “The stakes are high if you want to play at the top of the game. It involves two training units a day, seven times a week. The first session starts at seven o’clock in the morning before work, and the second after work.” All this effort has really paid off for Zirotzki. His track record is impressive: four times German champion, five times winner of the European Championships, gold twice at the world championships and three times gold in the World Games. The sport has also benefited him in his career: “These two activities demand exemplary behaviour, ambition and motivation from me, day in, day out.”
Aged 40, he switched the canoe to take up his place on the coach’s bench. This round birthday marked a milestone for Zirotzki: “I was tired of being in the water at temperatures down to three degrees, I needed more time to regenerate, and the family also played an important part in the decision.” At that precise moment, a new door opened as Zirotzki was nominated to become trainer of the national team. This was six years ago. Since then, he has been on the road just as much as before. Zirotzki draws a picture: “May to August is high season for canoe polo. During these months I spend an average of two weekends at home.” The rest of the time is taken up by training camp, test games and competitions in Germany and Europe. In the meantime, his six-year-old daughter goes along as a spectator. This year, tournaments took him to France, Belgium, Italy and Poland, among other countries. The absolute highlight of the year 2022 were the World Games 2022 in Birmingham (US). He and Germany’s eight person national canoe polo team succeeded in winning 6:1 against France in the finals.
But however important it all is to him and no matter how good it feels, the year 2018 is etched into his memory. “Four weeks before the world championship back then, one of my players rang me up and complained of severe headaches and disorientation. That was the last time I spoke to him.” He died two days later of meningitis, aged 25. “All of a sudden, one becomes painfully aware of how short life can be.” He can still vividly recall the shock today. “We nevertheless made a conscious decision to compete in Canada – in special memory of our fellow player, although in our minds we were not really there. We brought back the World Championship title for our team mate,” Zirotzki says.
This experience has also influenced his style of training. Team spirit and the team have top priority for Zirotzki. It’s about performing together with everyone knowing what’s at stake. “There is no fuss or superstar airs and graces in Germany’s national canoe polo team,” he states. He makes many of his decisions from gut instinct: “I have a good eye, and I know what we have to work on to be successful.” However, his judgement is a great deal more than just intuition. Zirotzki speaks from almost 40 years of living with the sport. His father, also an avid canoe polo player, used to take him from a very early age to training sessions. His club, 1. Meidericher Kanu-Club Duisburg, was located two kilometres away from his home in those days. He also met his wife through canoeing. His family therefore also supports and lives the ambitious hobby, also from a financial standpoint.
Up until 2021, his commitment as canoe polo national trailer was an honorary position with virtually no funding. Zirotzki summarises: quite apart from the sheer amount of time involved, annual costs of around €2800 for a new canoe, plus paddles for more than €400, and travel expenses to most of the tournaments have to be covered. However, as luck would have it, the national team now benefits from government funding for non-Olympic sport disciplines. “Our excellent performance at the World Games generally secures grants for the coming season. This is also very motivating for us,” Zirotzki says.
A look at the agenda brings him back to everyday life at work. On Thursday there’s a trip to Norway to HSW shareholder Wilson for a meeting about the annual accounts, on Friday to an HSW Christmas party in Duisburg, and then the trainer will spend the weekend with his national team in Szczecin, Poland. And the season hasn’t even begun yet.
About canoe polo
Canoe polo, also known as kayak polo, is a mixture of football, basketball and canoeing. Two teams, each of five persons, compete against each other, with the goal suspended above the water. The players sit in small, manoeuvrable one-person kayaks and attempt to hit the ball by hand or using the paddle into the opponent’s goal. The game is played in two halves of ten minutes. Across Germany, more than 1,000 athletes sports people in more than 100 clubs participate in this sport. There is a first and second Bundesliga for women and men.
Image source: privat