The former head coach of Hämeenlinna Pallokerho Maso Lehtonen the days have been busy. The head coach, who was fired on Monday of last week, has spent hours on the phone with other SM league head coaches and met his friends.
Lehtonen still has you with his kicks. The coach sees that he was responsible for the performance and describes that dismissals are part of the hockey SM league’s business.
– More experienced people have said that even the feeling of failure will emerge later, when the machines calm down. Bitterness and anger may arise, but at least there hasn’t been any, Lehtonen said on Radio Suomen Urheiluilla.
The coach who accepted his dismissal has thought more about what he did wrong and what he could have done differently. Now Lehtonen has time for that, because this is the first time for him in ten years without a job as a coach.
– When I jumped off the squirrel bike, my brain felt as if someone had opened the oxygen taps. My vision has broadened quite a lot and my eyes have been opened to how I had gone through the fog one year at a time, Lehtonen continues.
Badly slept nights
The 36-year-old Lehtonen didn’t expect a call from HPK’s management, but he knew it was possible. Lehtonen also wanted to give himself peace of mind by considering in advance what possible dismissals would mean both financially and emotionally.
When the call finally came, according to Lehtonen, the body went into shock.
– A slight tremor on top, I slept badly for at least a couple of nights. It’s still really difficult with sleep. I fall asleep, but I wake up a lot and have more dreams than before.
Lehtonen has dealt with his kicks, but reminded himself that it’s just hockey.
– This is just another job that was taken away from me and you think I will get a new one at some point. Here, however, no one has run over anyone with a car or no one has gotten sick, says Lehtonen and reflects on cases of illness in his own housing company:
– If you think when you leave the door that people must feel sorry for me, they don’t.
Lehtonen’s heart is pure
Lehtonen’s situation was also discussed in the media due to HPK’s information. The firing of the head coach was reported on the same day, when he had been giving comments to MTV’s Tulosruutu.
In the same insert, also the CEO of the club Kaj Källarson said how everyone is in the same boat when he was asked about the club management’s trust in Lehtosen.
– Things are certainly progressing quickly, Lehtonen states at first.
– If the matter had been known and there had been an argument about not allowing the interview, then everyone would have known where we were going.
Lehtonen also reacted to the firings with humor when talking to his assistant coach Mikko Sirento-Mannisen with.
– I told “Miksa” that it was probably the worst afternoon training when this was the final result, Lehtonen elaborated.
– I understand that things certainly don’t happen in an hour, and managers think and weigh options. Let’s just say that my heart is completely pure in these matters.
Experience to honor
In the SM League, the situation of young coaches has recently become a topic of conversation. Last spring, so did Ässien Jere Härkälä39, as SaiPan Ville Hämäläinen43, were fired.
In the past, the same fate has been experienced in the SM league, among others Matti Tiilikainen in HPK and Lauri Merikivi at JYP. They work in the SM league now as assistant coaches.
Lehtonen sees that young coaches are well respected in the SM league. However, he considers experience to be a really important thing and sees that both good and bad experiences should be valued more than now.
Technology, which is used much more nowadays, adds its own spice to the matter. Players are also waiting to take advantage of it.
– You also need to know how to use information data, so if you don’t keep up with the changes in the world, experience won’t help. However, I still say that experience is a trump card that we may not value enough in Finland.
Lehtonen sees that nowadays there is more and more appreciation for young coaches who also adapt better to modern times.
– But an experienced coach who adapts to modern times is by far the best option, Lehtonen sees.
No rush back
Lehtonen has been coaching continuously for the past ten years and has achieved two championships in Mestis, among other things. Lehtonsen is in no hurry to get back on the squirrel wheel, because he wants to learn and develop himself.
– Every day I learn new things and take note of how I could be better in the next race. That process is really fascinating, and I’m in no rush to get out of that process, concludes Lehtonen.
On the other hand, Lehtonen wants to continue coaching. He describes how he needs the emotions that hockey gives, both wins and losses.
– I am an addictive person, I miss feeling and extremes. If I was working from eight to four, I don’t know what I would do in my free time.
– I would have to jump off a cliff or do something illegal. I might have gone down a bad path or something when I was young, because playing sports as a kid was an escape to unwind and experience things. Now that’s coaching.
Paasi and Nättinen: 5 minutes to bundle up the topics of discussion of the Finnish lätka once a week. You can watch this week’s broadcast in the following video.