„Participating the Olympic Games in 2020 is our big dream. No other Polish women's national team has achieved this. But it’s a long way to go”, thinks Leszek Krowicki, coach of the Polish national team. The young team is coached by Krowicki since 2016 and he is quite pleased with its development: “We played with 11 debutantes at the European Championship in 2016. We were in a very hard group with Germany, the Netherlands and France, but we played quite well. But nevertheless, we dropped out. We played great handball in the last two qualification matches against Italy and especially Slovakia. If our development goes on like this, I’m optimistic.”
Optimism is needed when looking at group B, because Poland has to play against Sweden, Hungary, Norway, Czech Republic and Argentina. “Of course, it will be hard to even reach the round of sixteen. But I am convinced that we can beat everyone on a good day. Maybe even Sweden in our opening match on the 2nd of December”, so Krowicki.
But other things than outcomes are important to him as well. Fun is big part of the game for the 59-year-old. “The victory is the first priority of course and I demand great ambition of my players. But enjoyment of handball is almost as important. At first, I try to impart my love for this sport and I hope that my players are thinking the same”, says the coach with a A-licence. Krowicki lives in Germany since 1989, he has been coach of the Dutch men’s national team for three years. In the 90s he coached the then most successful German club Walle Bremen and was coach in Buxtehude and Oldenburg. “We build a house here and we want to grow old here”, he explains.
Because of his new function as national coach Krowicki has a lot more time and tries to adapt to this now. “In the last 13 years I woke up and made a training plan for the day. Now I don’t have to do this anymore. Of course, I miss it from time to time, but now I have a lot more time to travel and to watch the Polish club teams. Just now I watched the European Cup match in Nykøbing against the Polish champion Vista Gdynia. I didn‘t had time for that“, says the Polish about his new phase of life.
He considers the development in Poland positive. “Handball is very popular in Poland, the arenas are beautiful, the fans are watching the matches and the female players earn good money. Recently we’ve got a B national team and a junior team, which cooperate closely. Therefore, we are able to integrate young players even faster in the future”, says the Pole. “A lot of the young players are playing in their home country, we have only a few ‘European stars’”, how Krowicki calls them. “Karolina Kudlacz-Gloc, who plays in Bietigheim, is our biggest star maybe. She is back in the team after the birth of her son. I have a few more team members playing in Germany and France. I think playing abroad for a few years is good for their growth. And if they develop further, maybe our dream of Olympia comes true”, he smiles.
