Peter Schweda takes over as Head Coach of the U18 men

Having served as U14 and U15 Head Coach, Peter Schweda was U16 Head Coach last season and now moves up to the U18 level. “I am, of course, very grateful to have been entrusted with the role of U18 Head Coach,” said the Vienna native, expressing his excitement about the upcoming challenge.

By spring 2026, the 34-year-old will prepare his team for a major task: returning to Division IA. The Division IB World Championship will take place in Tallin (EST) at the end of April 2026. Austria will face Lithuania, Korea, France, Estonia and Italy.

“This year's relegation from Division IA to Division IB is, of course, extremely bitter. Nevertheless, we are firmly determined to rectify this setback as quickly as possible. We are aware that we must neither underestimate any opponent nor overestimate ourselves,” explained Peter Schweda, who also worked with the 2008 and 2009 age groups at the Youth Olympic Games 2024 and the European Youth Olympic Festival 2025.

Schweda and his staff and squad are approaching World Championship preparations with focus: “We will jointly define the objective of promotion back to Division IA at the first team meeting during this year’s summer camp. This idea will then deliberately be put to one side – our full focus will be on the daily process, professional work and continuous performance development, so that we are ready to fulfil our full potential when it matters.”