The Driver of the Swiss Ice Hockey Team
Text provided by the Swiss Road Transport Association ASTAG
Reto Grogg likes to talk about his everyday life. But he knows when to keep information to himself. Discretion matters – for his own protection, but also for the protection of his loved ones and the people he works with. “Some things my circle only learns later from the media, but much of it they never do. I keep that information to myself, too – after all, it's part of the job,” explains Grogg.
In practice, Reto Grogg has two jobs: he works in security for the Military Police and as the driver of the Swiss national ice hockey team. But how does one end up with such unusual responsibilities?
Two ingredients...
First of all, passion. As a child, Grogg already stood in the fan end of the SC Bern ice hockey club with his father and his godfather. “I was about six years old when I went to a game for the first time. After seeing the bear on the players' chests and experiencing the sport live, I was fascinated. And that passion for the Mutzen has stayed with me to this day.”
This passion is then paired with a determination to keep growing professionally. At the start of his career, Grogg was a cheesemaker. From Huttwil via Untersteckholz, he eventually ended up in eastern Switzerland, including at the Appenzell show dairy. “But I had knee problems and was looking for a job where I didn't have to stand so much,” says Grogg. He decided to get his lorry driving licence and transported goods all over Europe. Despite destinations that others only knew from holidays, he missed the contact with people. So he switched to passenger transport.
After years as a coach driver and a short spell as a field service employee, he wanted to join the Military Police: “I realised I was looking for more meaning in my work.” Now he has it: escort protection, transport of persons protected under international law from Switzerland and abroad, ammunition transports, inspection of military facilities. A demanding job, and yet Grogg says: “After 17 years now, I can say: I've arrived, and I can imagine doing this job until I retire.”
… to professional fulfilment
So Reto Grogg has found his main career. Among other things, he was able to draw on his knowledge from passenger transport. That is exactly what ultimately helped him combine his know-how with his passion. “After I left the coach travel industry, my contact at Eurobus asked whether I'd like to work occasionally as a stand-in. That's how I first got to drive coach trips for the SC Bern fans, and I still do today,” says Grogg.
A year later he was asked whether he could imagine also driving for the national team: “I said: ‘Tell me when and where, and I'll be there.’”
That was ten years ago. By now he is almost part of the national team's staff. “It has brought many wonderful moments – whether it's seeing young players get called up for a World Championship, or the running gag that one of the regular goalkeepers locks him out of the coach at the hotel before departures: “That's not meant badly at all, it's his way of showing appreciation. It always makes me smile.”
Driving instead of holidays
Tournaments don't only take place before a final round. Reto Grogg usually knows a year in advance when the national team's dates are. His main job and his passion can be combined well that way: “Now and then I can work off overtime, but it has also happened that I've used up holiday days.”
The reward is varied weeks in an exciting environment that means a great deal to him. When the physios need something, Grogg gets going. If something needs carrying, he's on hand. And when the coach talks to individual players during the journey, Grogg can listen in a little. “The conversations always happen directly behind me. I've heard many things that way – but I've never repeated anything.”
One dream remains
Reto Grogg is particularly challenged at warm-up games. “It can happen that fans jump over barriers and then try to get onto the coach. I have to be vigilant.” After all, it is a space that is kept off-limits as a retreat for the players.
His skills are valued. Reto Grogg is loyal, discreet, can drive and always keeps the players' safety in focus. At the same time he is open, communicative and down-to-earth. And above all, proud: “It is a privilege that I get to drive and accompany presidents, the Pope or the national ice hockey team. I even enjoy it very much. If the national team could now also win a World Championship title, perhaps even in 2026 in Switzerland, that would be fantastic.”
Then Reto Grogg would have another great episode from his everyday life to tell – one that will probably be a little less discreet.