14 February 2024

Rise of the Wunderkinds, Germany’s goal for gold

Once the unlikely national hero, Andy Kapp now watches over some of the best curling prospects to come out of Germany.

Twice competing at the World Junior Curling Championships, Kapp’s rink made its international impact several years later, winning the European Curling Championships in 1992.

Notably, Andy would lift the trophy with his younger brother, Uli, one year after his father, Charlie did while playing on Roland Jentsch’s team.

Much like Andy and Uli, tasting more success than their father – winning five world medals together – Andy’s son will be aiming to outdo his curling hero.

At 21 years old, Benny Kapp feels like a veteran amongst his peers. At 16, he was the alternate for the national team at the Pioneer Hi-Bred World Men’s Curling Championship 2019. By 19, he was a world junior medallist, losing to James Craik’s Scotland in the 2022 final.

It was a breakthrough moment for Germany, who won their first medal in the competition since 2000.

Kapp’s rink claimed another silver the following year, matching the feat of Daniel Herberg’s side in 1994 and 1995.

Another medal would make Kapp the most successful German skip at the world junior championships and that elusive gold medal this year in Lohja is a possibility.

At first glance, this surge in results suggests a systemic change in youth development, a revolutionary overhaul of the old ideas. However, Andy Kapp rejects the idea of innovation being the answer in this case – instead it being down to passionate students of the game.

“You always need four crazy guys who commit to the sport,” said Andy.

“And then you need coaches who bring them to a certain level because of their experience.”

The four crazy guys remain the same four crazy guys from last year – Benny Kapp, Felix Messenzehl, Johannes Scheuerl and Mario Trevisiol, yet again flanked by alternate Adrian Enders.

“I think they are much more in the game. They talk about curling every day, they watch every day,” added Andy.

It is no exaggeration to say the quintet live and breathe the sport – their relationship with curling is obsessive. Watching the Scottish or Swiss championships is as much for pleasure as it is for work. When asked what the team do to unwind from curling, Benny seems stumped as if asked an existential question.

“We maybe play some games,” he said, pondering over the name of a Czech card game introduced to him by one of his coaches.

So perhaps the success Germany is seeing at youth level can be put down to the mentality of Kapp’s rink. But it is much more than that.

Two young rinks competing for the top crown at the German Curling Championship has been hugely beneficial, coming up against the slightly older group led by Sixten Totzek, who have competed at the men’s world championship on three occasions.

“It’s a great time for German curling that you can have two very competent teams competing for that world championship spot with Sixten and Benny,” said Andy.

Benny agreed, “I think it’s just helpful to have a really good opponent in your own country. It just can make you stronger.”

“We are lucky that this team, they are all now full professional soldiers. They are training every day twice, so as a result they are getting better and better,” added Andy.

Now, the focus is that elusive gold medal on the junior stage.

On one hand, Germany’s unchanged junior team provides a level of stability in an event that can throw out volatile results due to members graduating past the age limit. On the other hand, new opponents every year means endless studying of unknown entities.

Germany will be one of the favourites for a medal alongside defending champions, China. Scotland and Denmark are possible medal contenders as well, whose mixed teams played the final at the Winter Youth Olympic Games in January 2024.

Nothing is guaranteed, but many will predict another podium spot for the Kapp rink.

“Everybody knows if you’re a two-time silver medallist, everybody expects that now it should be gold,” Andy said, cautiously.

“But I think in the new competition, the new teams, it’s a totally new week; and then if you get to the play-offs and you have two totally new games, and everything can happen.”

Benny admits the play-offs have been an obstacle for the rink so far, but the national setup now benefits from a mental coach in a bid to end their championship journey with a gold medal.

“We would have such a good round robin and it wasn’t possible for us to bring the momentum from the round robin into the play-offs,” he added.

“I think that’s just something we want to work on this time and hopefully it works.”

But it is clear he is no longer fazed by the occasion, having acted as the alternate in the elite world championship in 2019, where he recalls he was “overwhelmed” by the competition. At a time where his friends were still in school, he was being introduced to the likes of Niklas Edin by his father.

Benny added, “I think it’s just like a huge advantage to get that much experience at an early age. It just makes you like more hungry to win more championships or to achieve more goals.”

While many will look at Benny Kapp’s fearsome five as the team who can finally break the 49-year gold medal drought for Germany, Andy has made it clear that whatever the result, the growth of the rink is the most important element.

“I don’t care that much if the result is like a silver medal again, a gold medal or a bronze medal, or they want to get to the play-offs,” said the coach.

“But I want to see them compete the best they can and then the winning take care of its own.”

Written by feature writer Michael Houston

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