Athletikcoach Teemu Oksanen

You  are  now  for  almost  two  years  the  athletics coach of  BTV  Aarau  Volleyball. How long have you lived in Switzerland and what did you do before coming to Aarau?

Teemu:  This is my sixth year in Switzerland, after arriving to Schaffhausen in 2016.  My first three years went with the NLA clubs as an assistant or in head coaching positions. 2019 I got a unique opportunity to work as an athletic coach for the Lausanne Hockey Club basically without any previous history with the sport. Personally it was a very  valuable experience and it confirmed a lot of my values as a coach and allowed me to take totally another point of view to pro sports.

What made you take the decision to move from the cold North into the heart of Europe?

I had dreamed about coaching professinally abroad for roughly 10 years before the opportunity came. After I got the offer to join Schaffhausen I didn’t have to think twice. It was something that I had being mentally prepared for all those years prior.

During your career you worked with pro hockey players. What’s the difference between working with them and our young volleyball players?  

The buy-in is definitely the single biggest difference. This group has been by far the most committed group of players that I have ever worked with, and that’s also the reason what makes my every day so enjoyable. Of course the realities are little different between the two situations, because our players are building towards the peak of  their career and most of the hockey players were already on a different part of their career.

Since this season you’re also assistant coach of  the NNV.  What are your daily tasks and what are your responsibilities while sitting with Timo on the bench?  

The daily responsibilities are still mostly determined by the athletic part, but being more involved with the volleyball has definitely given me a chance to know the players better and hopefully also inspire them on their path. During the games the main tasks are the physical preparation for the match, exchanging ideas with Timo about our play, putting our players in the best position to succeed with their serving game and at times giving some individual pointers about techniques, tactics or mentality.

Have you ever played volleyball by yourself? If yes, where and when did you play? If not, how did you come to start a career in this sport?

I used to play back in the day for more than 15 years and I want to think I was a halfway decent setter ;). After the military service I eventually stopped playing and as I had already coached for about five years while playing, it became more important both professionally and mentally for me.

Now one last serious question. How many hours per day do you spend taking care of your beard?

Haha ... well currently I no longer have the glorious beard that i had for most of the year 2021, and the biggest reason to trimm it down was exactly the time it took to get it dry and in reasonable shape to step outside the home door. As it was the longest I think it was roughly an hour per day that it took to keep everything in relatively neat condition. The biggest thing being by far the drying in the morning after I had taken a shower. Outside of that it was only a lot of moisturising and combing throughout the day. We shall see if it makes a comeback at some day in Aarau again.