Dane new coach in Gdynia

The 42 year old Danish coach Jens Steffensen is going to take over as new head coach by Polish women´s champions Vistal Łączpol Gdynia. Here he will succeed former assistant coach Adrian Struzik who was promoted into the job as interim head coach on November 1, as the contract with the former head coach Andrzej Niewrzawa was terminated.

Jens Steffensen is joining from a job as head coach by Ringkøbing Håndbold in the Danish 1. Division which is the second best league in Denmark.

“Once in a while you get an opportunity to which it is hard to say no. I have been extremely happy to work with the girls in Ringkøbing, and I only have good things to say about the club. I am really looking forward to the challenges in Poland, though. Gdynia is a strong team with some interesting players whom I am looking very much forward to working with,” Jens Steffensen said.

Łączpol Gdynia failed to qualify for the Group Matches of the Women´s EHF Champions League, as they lost 26:22 in the final the Qualification Tournament 1 to Danish Viborg HK.

At present Gdynia have qualified for the Cup Winners´ Cup Last 16, where they are going to meet Balomano Bera Bera from Spain at home on 3 February and away the following weekend. Both teams already encountered each other in the semi-final of the CL qualification in Viborg as Gdynia achieved a convincing 31:22 victory.

Jens Steffensen is far from being the first Danish coach in Polish handball. Kim Rasmussen is in charge of the women´s national team in the country, while Lars Walther is head coach at the male top team and EHF Cup Group Phase participant Orlen Wisła Płock.