Maxi's talent was discovered fairly early. He joined Havelse, his father's former club, aged seven or eight - he can't remember exactly. Havelse's men's first team played in the Oberliga, which was a higher standard than the Kreisliga which Schloß Ricklingen played in. In addition, Havelse's youth set-up had a good reputation. "One season, I think it was the second or third, I played the whole season in goal." A memory which the 20-year-old can only smile at now. The right-footer also remembers playing at centre-back and as a striker. "When you start everyone sort of plays everywhere," says Eggestein laughing, "but when it became more about performances, I quickly moved into central midfield. That's my position."
Eggestein moved into the Werder boarding school in 2011. "At age fourteen you have to quickly get used to not living at home anymore. You change your friendship group, start at a new school and get to know completely new people. I had a bit of homesickness at first. You live with twenty other lads so you come up with some bad ideas," says Eggestein. He had to grow up quickly and miss out on many things which other teenage lads got to enjoy. Cooking lessons instead of parties, fitness training instead of afternoons off. "You have to be able to forego certain things and be prepared to make sacrifices. I always said to myself that if you accept it and get on with it, then you'll see the benefit sometime in the future."
