The action on the court is reflected in the standings and results. But there are also many administrative tasks that are handled by the SG Flensburg-Handewitt office. A conversation with SG Managing Director Holger Glandorf.
Holger, recently there was a video showing you playing handball in the Duburghalle wearing an SG uniform. Do you still play handball actively in any capacity?
Holger Glandorf: Those were some older recordings from December. I was supposed to play for an All-Star team and wanted to see if I could still do it. I went to an A-youth team practice once, where my son also plays. That was a one-time thing. I don’t play handball anymore. It wouldn’t work anyway because of my shoulder.
But you’re certainly involved with handball every day. How much free time does an SG managing director have?
Holger Glandorf: Not much, my wife always says. Since both my sons play, handball is ever-present even in my free time. And you always run into someone to talk handball with. But I make sure to take a few breaks.
How often do you go to practice with the team? What are your responsibilities there?
Holger Glandorf: Some weeks I’m at practice every day, then there are weeks when I can only make it once. The time from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. often conflicts with other appointments. But it’s always important to me to get a sense of the mood. You talk to the players, sometimes questions come up, and things need to be sorted out on the spot—whether it’s a child benefit application that needs to be filed. We’re responsible for those kinds of things, too.
How do you follow home and away games?
Holger Glandorf: I’m always there for the home games. For away games, it depends on the location and my schedule. I was in Hannover and Aarhus, but not in Mannheim. In that case, I sat in front of the TV and watched the game from home. Ljubomir Vranjes was there as the sporting director. At least one official representative is always present at away games.
Do you have a seat in the GP Joule Arena from which you watch the games?
Holger Glandorf: No, I stand in a gap at the edge of the court and watch the 60 minutes from there—unless something very important needs to be taken care of at the last minute. Before and after home games, it’s normal to have conversations with partners and sponsors.
Are you mostly at the office or out and about attending various appointments?
Holger Glandorf: There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to that. Sometimes I’m at the office all day, other times I’m out and about. It happens that I’m still in the office at 10 p.m., while on other days I can finish work as early as 6 p.m. Even on game days, I might head back to the office afterward. I try to be there as often as possible to support my colleagues and discuss things with them.
You have ten employees at the office. Is team spirit just as important in the office as it is on the court?
Holger Glandorf: Team spirit, passion, and having fun are important for getting the tasks done as a team, since they often fall outside of normal working hours. A current example is our next home game in the EHF European League. There’s an event at the GP JOULE Arena on Tuesday evening. We’ll start working through the night and continue on Wednesday morning to get everything ready for our game. Fortunately, we also have a lot of experience on the team. Jan von der Wehl, a proven employee, has just returned to us.
