Assistant coach Arne Woltmann sits down for first Zalgiris interview 3

This summer has been one of the most unusual ones in the career of Zalgiris’ new assistant coach Arne Woltmann.

The 45-year-old specialist was already on his way to RASTA Vechta in Germany and was ready to start preparing for the season. Nevertheless, it all turned around when Zalgiris’ new head coach Martin Schiller called and invited his old buddy to join him on a EuroLeague staff.

Woltmann talked about his relationship with Schiller, Zalgiris’ offer, the ongoing work in Kaunas and his own coaching career in his first interview with Zalgiris TV.

“My plan was to go to RASTA Vechta in Germany and then Martin called me and asked me what I would think about joining him in Kaunas. Obviously, that’s an offer you don’t get too many times in your career. I tried to talk to Vechta and they understood the situation and were very nice about everything. After a couple days of back and forth, I decided to come here with Martin.”

The former basketball player won’t be a rookie in the EuroLeague, as he’s worked in Brose Bamberg before.

“I worked four years in the EuroLeague and I really enjoyed that time. It’s a great competition, in front of great fans, and everything that goes along with it. But also Martin as a person he’s a great leader and has a lot of energy, he takes people with him. I thought it would be great to join him for this challenge over here.”

Speaking with Zalgiris TV, Woltmann noted some of Zalgiris strengths that should be visible as the season goes into full swing.

“We have a good mixture of experienced players, with good leadership. Of course Jankunas is the role model for leadership.  We also have some young guys that make their first steps and want to leave their first footprints. It’s going to be interesting to see where we can be. I think we have some good strengths at the guard position, but also under the basket we’ll have some muscle that we can use. Also some firepower on the wing. I think in general we have everything well-spread.”