„Open letter“ by Itamar Stein
„First and foremost, I would like to say that this decision was not taken lightly. I’ve put a lot of thought into it and went through tremendous amount of emotions before reaching the realization that this is the right move for me and my family.
I am so thankful for the opportunity I got to work so many years with such a great group of people and having the chance to experience and grow with this club. Through high and lows we stuck together, growing our fan base, having unbelievably support from volunteers and working tirelessly with the management and sponsors to reach amazing success that we never thought to be possible at the start of the road.
But today I want to share with the great Grizzlys family the news that I will stop coaching the team at the end of this season and it is important for me to also be open and honest about the reasons.
For the last 10 years the Grizzlys has been my life, my passion and in my head 24 hours a day. I have given everything I could for the growth and success of the team. I could only do it thanks to the endless support and love of my family that has always been there for me and are as well the biggest Grizzlys fans.
This was the most amazing 10 years of my life, both professional and also outside the court. The city of Hildesheim has only given me love and support, I met so many wonderful people that helped, supported and always been there for me. I am thankful for the many friends I’ve made here and will stay friends for life.
A special thanks goes to the one and only Sascha Kucera! The men that without his vision and winning mentality, the Grizzlys would never reach what they did. Sascha presented to me his vision for the Grizzlys in the summer of 2016 and after 10 minutes I was all in and always went with him hand in hand believing in this project and it paid of in a way we both couldn’t imagine.
In life you make plans and imagine how things are going to be, but sometimes things and situation you never expected come along, and these things can have a life changing impact.
About 3 years ago our son was diagnosed with Autism. It is something I have only heard of and had little knowledge about. We couldn’t imagine the challenges that will come along with it. The attention needed, the inner strength one has to find and the struggle you experience as a couple and family. In this time, I feel more than ever that we need more support around us, support that only a near family can give. We are blessed to have Matteo in our lives; he shines our day and brings has joy and love in such a special way. I am thankful every single day. But at the same time, I feel we need a change to create more support and stability for him and for us as a family.
Although that is not the only reason for the change, I wanted to talk about it openly and at the same time raise awareness and let other parents with similar situation know that it is good to talk about it and that is no reason to be shame of. You are not alone, and your children are special and great and deserve to get the same opportunities and treatment as any other.
There will be more opportunities to talk and conclude this amazing era with the Grizzlys, but now I am fully concentrated on the running season and being competitive to achieve our goals and make our fans happy. Volleyball and coaching is my passion, I have always done it with 100% commitment and will continue to do so. Thank you Grizzlys family for everything, and see you in the Arena, and hope we can experience many more magical moments as we did in the last years. GO GRIZZLYS!“