Exciting day: Pupils at the sailing boarding school give their all for the dream of the Olympics
Nils Leiterholt
· 16.10.2024
When Simon Heindl wants to visit his former home, he has to enter a huge concrete complex from the 1970s through a large glass door. Today, three young sailors are sitting on a sofa. Lunch is on the table in front of them. It's pasta for the young athletes. We are in Kiel-Schilksee. This is where the non-profit organisation "Trägerverein Olympiastützpunkt Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein" runs its own small sailing boarding school. It is supported by the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) and the German Sailing Association (DSV), among others. Heindl was a pupil here until his A-levels last spring.
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Behind another glass door, the alumni enter a long corridor. The athletes' rooms are located on the water side. Each has its own small bathroom. They are furnished with a wardrobe, a desk and a bed. Floor-to-ceiling windows let in plenty of light. Another practical feature is the free-standing radiator on which the sailing boarding school students can dry their wet clothes after training. On the other side of the corridor, sailing equipment such as wetsuits, spray tops and life jackets dangle from clothes racks. There is also a locker for each athlete in the corridor.
Life in a sailing boarding school as a "mega cool time"
"This was my parlour for two years," says Heindl as he points to one of the doors. The rooms are decorated in a maritime style in blue and white. Their occupants have personalised them, having lived here for at least two years. Heindl, 19, has already put a lot of effort into his dream of competing in the sailing Olympics. He moved to the boarding school almost two and a half years ago in order to receive the best possible support at the national base in Schilksee.
At the age of 17, he had no regrets about moving from his home in Gruiten, North Rhine-Westphalia, east of Düsseldorf, to the German capital of sailing. "I knew it was the only way to take the next step," says Heindl, "it was definitely the right thing for my path, so I would do it again.
Heindl discovered his sport during a sailing camp at Unterbacher See in Düsseldorf. It was therefore a logical step for him to join the Düsseldorf Sailing Club Unterbacher See (DSCU), where he learnt to sail and gained his first experience. The 49er helmsman now sails under the flag of the Kiel Yacht Club (KYC). His sailing partner, 19-year-old Conrad Jacobs, also sails for the KYC. Together they became 49er world champions in their age group U 21 last season. Heindl's co-sailor Jacobs also comes from North Rhine-Westphalia. He originally comes from Lake Möhnesee, which lies north-east of Lake Unterbach. If you ask them about their overriding goal, they answer without having to think about it for long. "For us, it's the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028," says Heindl.
He has fond memories of life at boarding school: "It was a mega cool time. The advantages clearly outweigh the disadvantages for me," says the graduate. Nevertheless, there were also phases during the two years that were difficult. "Of course, even in a community like this, there are people with whom you don't completely see eye to eye. Especially at our young age, it was stressful when you can't really avoid each other," says Heindl candidly.
Best young athletes in the competitive athlete class
The boats of the budding Olympians from the sailing boarding school are just a few steps away from the boarding school in the hall of the DSV national base. After the athletes have pulled their 49ers out of this monstrous vault onto the slip trolley, they take them to the slip ramp, where their coach today, 2004 Olympian in the 49er, Max Groy, is already boarding his dinghy.
Groy has taken over the training of the junior squad 1 (NK 1) at short notice after the previous coach left in the spring. He is actually the national coach of the 49er seniors and also coached the German team in Marseille. "However, the Olympic participants and all those who have been on a campaign this year won't really get back into it until the new year. That's why I'm making sure that the guys get on the water and that I can train them on an interim basis," explains Groy.
With his rib, he sets course for the harbour exit of Kiel-Schilksee and immediately begins to observe his protégés - the trainer's main task. After only a short time on the wind, Groy has already made his first realisations. As he turns round, the trainees continue to sail north-east. "Actually, they should slowly come back in my direction. If we had been working together for longer, that would definitely be the case," he says ironically. With his whistle hanging casually around his neck, he will repeatedly give loud audible signals during the training. Be it for collecting or to signal the start of the regatta races.
The best young athletes in Schleswig-Holstein come together in the competitive sports class at the Friedrichsort Community School (IGS Friedrichsort). The THW Kiel handball players, the Holstein Kiel footballers and the sailors in particular all have to attend school together. "The school's portfolio is tailored to the needs we have as young athletes," says Heindl. For example, written examinations can also be taken abroad at the IGS. During the exam, one of the coaches who has travelled with the athletes helps them to solve the tasks.
Practical sailing exam in the Abitur
Hendrik Ismar, who heads the DSV national base, can tell us about such an exam from a coach's perspective. "In my last season as 470 national coach, I even took a written A-level exam," reports Ismar. His athlete had to take an A-level examination in biology, which was a funny déjà vu for him because he had taken biology as an advanced course himself back then. A practical sailing exam was also made possible for the sailors in the competitive sports classes. "Of course, these were tasks that were not difficult for us as competitive athletes with a lot of training time on the water," says Heindl about his own exam. And his result was correspondingly good. The sailing boarding school student achieved the highest score.
After the tenth grade, he transferred to a sailing boarding school and IGS Friedrichsort. Here he attended Q1 and Q2. He completed his Abitur with an average grade of 2.0. "I went to a Waldorf school in NRW. Apart from maths, I didn't have any problems in any subject," says Heindl.
The boarding school provides basic foodstuffs such as muesli, milk, bread and eggs. "The fridge was always topped up. There was also always a lunch that was cooked and put in the fridge," reports the 49er helmsman. The athletes were able to heat up their lunch as required, explains Heindl. "But we often cooked and ate a little something together in the evening, especially at the end of boarding school. We usually bought the ingredients ourselves," Heindl continues, "and later we went to the sauna, for example.
Petra Homeyer is responsible for the organisation of the eight boarding school sailors. She is the head of the boarding school and is also responsible for career counselling at the Olympic Training Centre in Kiel. "Petra had the task of looking after our academic performance. That's why she sometimes had to put the brakes on us when it came to the calculated travelling days, for example, if there were too many. We then rebooked again and flew home straight after training," recalls Heindl. "Petra also liaised with the school and got the information on how things were going there. She then provided us with intensive support during the Abitur to make sure we succeeded."
Four hours on land for two hours in the water
While other high school graduates use the time after their exams and graduation to take a holiday and treat themselves to some time off after the stressful exam phase, the summer was different for Heindl and Jacobs. The two finally had the opportunity to devote themselves fully to their sport and work towards their goals. "We had already prioritised sailing over school during our A-levels. But if you don't even have to have that in the back of your mind any more, it makes things a lot easier," says Heindl about the time after leaving school. From the winter semester onwards, he would like to study industrial engineering at Kiel University. "If that doesn't work out, I'll have to think about something else, such as an online degree programme," he says with regard to his future non-sailing career.
Heindl and Jacobs' boat is adorned with the logo of the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo. They bought the hull last autumn. It was sailed by the Belgians in the 49er FX at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Heindl and Jacobs organised a new rig to turn the FX into a 49er, as sailed by the senior men at the Olympics. "We want to sell the other 49er, which belongs to me, in the next few weeks. We would then like to buy a new boat in the winter," says Heindl, explaining the short-term goal of getting a new boat.
In addition to training on the water, the two young athletes have a lot of work to do on land. "For two hours of water work, I train for two hours in the gym. At least the same amount of time is spent on organisational matters and working on the boat," says Heindl and concludes: "So for two hours on the water, we spend at least four hours on land, and even more if anything."
But it pays off in the end. "It takes a lot of time, but we have to accept that so that we can deliver our performance and achieve the best results with equipment that is in perfect condition," says Heindl.
