If Jochen Schöps had known then, he would have enjoyed this last performance at the highest level more.

But when the United Volleys had to say goodbye to the past volleyball Bundesliga season in April after an exciting semi-final series against defending champions Berlin, Schöps still assumed that the Frankfurt team would play another season.

The license withdrawal for the Hessians three months later meant the abrupt end of his outstanding professional career.

"I would have liked to be able to decide for myself when to stop," says the 38-year-old.

There were offers, but after so many years in which everything in the family was based on his competitive sport, volleyball should no longer play the most important role.

Three times Volleyball Player of the Year

His twins have just started school and his wife Anna has taken a break from work.

"If we move again now," says Schöps, "everything should fit." He doesn't want to put his children through too many changes of location.

As a player, the longtime captain of the German national team has experienced everything.

Born in Villingen-Schwenningen, the diagonal attacker took part in two Olympic Games and won the 2014 World Championship bronze.

He was volleyball player of the year in Germany three times, winner of the DVV Cup five times, German champion three times, Polish champion, and champions league winner.

Schöps was online for clubs in Russia, France and Qatar.

Now my job has become a hobby.

Saturday evening in Langen.

A completely normal sports hall, a little more than 100 spectators are sitting in the stands.

No light show, no spectacular run-in, no music snippets - pure volleyball.

The local sports and singer community (SSG) will lose their third division duel against USC Freiburg 1:3 (25:15, 20:25, 23:25, 19:25).

It is the first home game after promotion from the regional league.

Schöps will almost play through in their formation.

As usual, he puts a ball in the far corner of the opponent's field with sensitivity, slams another in the middle on the ground, hits several aces, but also serves into the net.

"Man, dad!" criticizes son Theo, who is following the events from the spectator seats with his mother and sister Lotte.

In the break between two sentences, Schöps rushes out to fill his bottle at the tap.

The budget only allows one purchased per player.

In the end, the veteran will first take a seat "ko" on a chair.

Freiburg coach David Kurz comes by.

"You made a couple of my team very happy to play you," he says.

The two of them did the A trainer license together this year, but Kurz has known the five-year-old from his youth in Offenburg.

Prominent newcomer

“Exceptional player”, “role model”, even “legend” is how people in the scene talk about Schöps.

He himself has remained humble.

He doesn't know affections, stays in the background, wants to "support", open up opportunities and not dominate.

The Langen team, which includes two other former volleys in the two Wolf brothers Peter and Georg, should develop in such a way that they can function well without him.

It was important to the prominent newcomer that the other players also wanted him by their side, says SSG trainer Markus Pfahlert.

It was his idea to hire Schöps.

The coach had read in the volleyball magazine that the family lived in Langen.

When the rise became tangible, he contacted Schöps via Facebook.

"He would come over for a game," and in the summer he'd practice in the sand "for fun."

When the Volleys dissolved their professional team, Schöps returned to the original offer to strengthen the third division club.

There were initially concerns in the club, says Pfahlert.

It was feared that he might want to "turn everything inside out".

Schöps can imagine helping to “make Langen taller”.

He doesn't push himself into the foreground.

Volleyball is still too much fun for him to stop completely.

But he doesn't get involved in every one of the three training sessions a week, and if something is important in the family, he will also be absent from games.

Schöps doesn't give up the "body management" in between, but he doesn't plan more than one strength unit per week - at home, not in the gym.

Emerging melancholy

The result of the reduced diligence is "that I now have sore muscles after every volleyball day".

With daily training, it always soon dissipated.

What he misses are the "quick" friendships that develop in a professional team because you spend so much time together.

"But now I know my neighbors better because I'm at home more often," says Schöps.

At first he was "frustrated".

Something like melancholy will probably set in when he sees Bundesliga clubs meet again.

But Schöps has largely come to terms with his new situation.

It is not yet clear where his career path will lead him.

Schöps had already gotten a taste of management with the volleys, but not deep enough "to really know if that's something for me".

There are already ideas and visions, but nothing that is ready for a decision.

He doesn't rule out moving, but there is "great potential" in the Rhine-Main area for both him and his wife with their expertise in stadium management.

A decision should be made during the course of the season.

Until then, he enjoys pursuing his passion, at least as a recreational athlete.