Team spirit is very important to Holm Scheibchen. He emphasises that he enjoys supporting the TSV NEMA sports club as its trainer and has been doing so for years. He praises the sense of cohesion within the water polo department.

Holm Scheibchen’s goal as a water polo trainer is to enthuse children about sport. He is an example of many Vogtland residents, who achieve a great deal in the region on a voluntary basis. He attends training sessions several times a week, then there are the competitions and the organisational work – this sense of commitment demands a great deal of time and energy from him and his four trainer colleagues in the department.

“But I enjoy it very much. I had good examples myself when I was a child. It all started at the open-air swimming pool; we were a group of lads who had discovered this sport for themselves,” says the 51-year-old native of Netzschkau. His trainer back then was called Claus Sussmann and many of his friends have also maintained their enthusiasm for water polo.

“We were even district champions on one occasion,” Holm Scheibchen recalls.  

He was head of the water polo department for twelve years and a member of the board at the TSV NEMA Netzschkau club for a long time. He now says,

“It’s good for others to have their say too; that’s why I’ve taken a back seat and am now working as a trainer.”

He is currently responsible for the boys and girls in the U10 and U12 age groups. The U10 is the youngest training group with 13 young water polo players. The club has 120 members in all. Alongside the children, the club also has its 1st water polo men’s team and it plays in the top league in Saxony. TSV NEMA Netzschkau can look back on a long history: swimmers and water polo players have been training in the open-air pools in the region since the 1920s.

Holm Scheibchen only mentions that fact that he was involved in local politics for many years as an aside; in fact, he is still a member of the town council in Netzschkau.

“Working at the club here is important to me. Things only function properly because everybody pulls their weight. That’s really the case here.”

He even praises the parents in glowing terms.

“There are often no public transport services at training times. If they didn’t bring the children – to competitions too – none of this would be possible.” The trainer then adds,“We’re geared up for popular sports. We want the children to become involved in sports, but they shouldn’t lose sight of the fun of it all. We also know that their school work shouldn’t suffer through this either.”

Despite this, the Netzschkau club members regularly take part in competitions with great success. Professionally, Holm Scheibchen has made a name for himself as an engineer.

“I look after everything related to computing from the planning to the project completion work.”

He studied in Dresden and then worked at the airport there. He has now been working as a freelancer in the Vogtland region for more than 20 years. His wish for the future has something to do with water polo again.

“That things will go well at the club. Then even younger people will feel at home as trainers and will be prepared to achieve a great deal.”

A new training pool is also one of his great wishes too. He was already training at the current one in Reichenbach 35 years ago.