Jessica Campbell, 29, from Canada, is part of the German coaching team led by Toni Söderholm at the World Hockey Championships. A question from a Slovak journalist after Wednesday’s rehearsals shocked the Canadian.
History is being made at the World Hockey Championships when, for the first time, a woman is also involved in a coaching team in a country. A 29-year-old Canadian who specializes in skating and individual coaching in his career Jessica Campbell was promoted to the coaching team of the DEL team in Nuremberg in the spring, and he was immediately given a lot of responsibility for, among other things, the team’s superiority game.
Campbell is a former hockey player who played one World Cup in his career.
A few weeks ago, Campbell was also elected Toni Söderholm to lead the coaching team of the German national team, where he is responsible for, among other things, the team’s underpower game. Campbell’s media attention has been high in Helsinki, and he continues to be underestimated.
On Wednesday after the German rehearsals, a female journalist from a Slovak TV group asked Campbell a question that shocked the coach.
– What is it like to be on a team when you are a beautiful woman and the team is full of handsome men? Maybe you like some of the men more than others, the reporter hinted.
– Sorry, I don’t understand what you’re trying to say, Campbell was amazed.
The reporter repeated the question, and Campbell answered bitterly.
– This is my job and my profession. Players do their own work. We have a strong relationship with players in hockey and nothing else is involved.
After the TV interviews, Campbell mentioned to the team’s media manager that he didn’t like the questions asked by the Slovak reporter. According to Söderholm, the decision to include Campbell in the team is only a decision related to hockey.
The Finnish coach says that Campbell has brought exactly the kind of new power to the team that the selection sought.
– The reception among the players has been good. His eyes are pretty good on technical know-how, and he’s done that kind of work before. He has a lot of energy and he is tirelessly looking for solutions to the problems that arise, Söderholm praises.