Back on the ice in a new role: Biel's assistant coach Beat Forster (left) with his boss Martin Filander
Image: Keystone
Emotional farewell: Beat Forster ended his career as a player in spring
Image: Keystone
A brilliant Russian: Konstantin Kurashev impressed Beat Forster as a junior
Image: Keystone
"He was way ahead of everyone with his thoughts": Long-time HCD coach Arno Del Curto was an early mentor for Beat Forster
Image: Keystone
ZSC coach Harold Kreis once again took Beat Forster's game to a new level
Image: Keystone
Beat Forster also had a good relationship with Biel's Finnish coaches Antti Törmänen and Petri Matikainen
Image: Keystone
Back on the ice in a new role: Biel's assistant coach Beat Forster (left) with his boss Martin Filander
Image: Keystone
Emotional farewell: Beat Forster ended his career as a player in spring
Image: Keystone
A brilliant Russian: Konstantin Kurashev impressed Beat Forster as a junior
Image: Keystone
"He was way ahead of everyone with his thoughts": Long-time HCD coach Arno Del Curto was an early mentor for Beat Forster
Image: Keystone
ZSC coach Harold Kreis once again took Beat Forster's game to a new level
Image: Keystone
Beat Forster also had a good relationship with Biel's Finnish coaches Antti Törmänen and Petri Matikainen
Image: Keystone
As a defender, Beat Forster was a legend on Swiss ice. Now that he has retired, the six-time champion is trying to teach the next generation the craft as an assistant coach in Biel.
Beat Forster smiles. "I never go out on the ice in the summer," says the 41-year-old from Appenzell, laughing out loud. That's not true, of course, otherwise he wouldn't have played 23 seasons in the top Swiss league, won six championship titles and taken part in six world championships. He was also on the ice this summer, but for the first time not as a player, but as assistant coach of EHC Biel.
"It's hard work ironing in the weight room," admits Forster in an interview with Keystone-SDA. "But that's where you lay the foundation for your career. As much as I cursed the summer, I knew how important it was." But no, he didn't miss it.
Friend of the Swedish philosophy
He had to wait a while for EHC Biel to hire its new coaching duo, Swedes Martin Filander and Mathias Tjernqvist. "Stony (Head of Sport Martin Steinegger) said: 'Just come when the ice training starts'," recalls Forster with a laugh. He doesn't understand Swedish, but the Swedish field hockey philosophy suits him perfectly.
"Playing out of the zone, active forechecking, defensively solid," he lists. Forster doesn't see much of the tactical corset that Swedish field hockey has often been accused of in the past. But: "We are talking about the ABC." The basis has to be right. "You need guard rails within which overtaking is prohibited," he explains. "But that was already the case 25 years ago." This is necessary so that you can also be creative.
Still a lot to learn
At EHC Biel, Forster is now primarily responsible for the defenders, especially the young ones. The short-handed game is also part of his remit. "It's always a team effort. We look at what we want to do as a coaching staff and then I have to present it to the players." The work is not completely new territory for the native of eastern Switzerland, who has settled in Seeland with his family. Forster started coaching juniors six years ago. He laughs. "It's field hockey, I understand that a bit."
Nevertheless, he is also breaking new ground. "When I see how our two head coaches see things from the bench, I think I'm at a different game," says Forster, despite his experience of almost 1,200 games in the top Swiss league. He has not made any personal career plans as a head coach. "I was a bit surprised when the idea of being an assistant came up last year," he admits. "But I quickly got to grips with it and now have to grow into the role."
Forster draws on his experience with many coaches. "I've learned something from practically everyone," he emphasizes. He already had good junior coaches in Herisau, from whom he learned a lot, and then also with the juniors in Davos. Among others, Konstantin Kurashev, the father of Swiss international and NHL forward Philipp, worked there. "A Russian defender, brilliant," enthuses Forster. Then, of course, Arno Del Curto influenced him with his field hockey philosophy. "He was way ahead of everyone with his thoughts." Harold Kreis took him to a new level in Zurich, and finally he also worked well with the Finns Antti Törmänen and Petri Matikainen, who was sacked last season in February, in Biel.
A coach has to take you further
Forster does not primarily measure a good coach by success. "The decisive factor for me is that I can learn something every day. If someone can't take me further, even after 30 years, they're not a good coach." That is also his aspiration in Biel.
"I learned personal responsibility from Arno twenty years ago," recalls Forster. So this is nothing new. But what he has noticed is: "Young people know a lot more today." They used to have to buy video tapes to watch games from the previous season. "Today, they're up to date with everything that's happening in the NHL." That's not all good. "It's a dangerous game if they only follow Connor McDavid or Nathan MacKinnon," Forster warns. "They only see the highlights, but they don't necessarily understand why they're so good."
So Forster is not running out of work, and even if he does not yet know whether he is now aiming for a big career as a coach, one thing is clear. "It gives me great pleasure to see how the youngsters work and constantly improve," says the former warhorse. "I live in the now and enjoy every moment I can be here." The fact that he no longer has to go to the gym makes it all the nicer.
SDA
