The captain of EV Zug’s newly founded women’s ice hockey team talks about clichés, failure and ego: the first part of the interview series about role models that promote equality.
To survive in top-class sport, you sometimes have to be soft.
Why shouldn’t women be rough and tough? Ice hockey is a very versatile sport – and it’s well known that women are better at multitasking. They are also more emotional, want everyone to feel comfortable, question more. This can be an advantage.
Instead of adapting women’s rules to men’s rules, the game as a whole should be rethought. As of this season, checks against the boards have also been allowed for women, but frontal body checks are still not allowed. I don’t think men’s hockey needs them either. This is where the risk of injury is greatest.
It has made me who I am today. I had the character for it. To defend my place, I had to be better than any boy. I love challenges, am very ambitious and always wanted more: the national team, international successes, being a pioneer.
Role models. Visibility. Structures. Thanks to the launch of the EVZ Women & Girls programme three years ago, we now have a girls-only hockey school in Zug. We have more spectators in the stadium than ever before. We’re talking about ice hockey, but this progress radiates far beyond the sport itself.
Patience. Persistence, celebrating small successes – and courage.
Not just winning titles, but achieving small milestones. In the end, the small victories make up the big one.
I hate to lose. I’m emotional; I need time and have to cool down. Failure motivates me to get even better. As I said, I’m ambitious.
Experience brings with it the realization that we are part of the puzzle. A coach’s perspective also makes for a good team leader: she relies on the players who perform on the ice. We all benefit from each other.