On Saturday, Jukka Jalonen rushed to the Lions’ game by helicopter. Jalonen was awarded an honorary doctorate in sports sciences at the University of Jyväskylä.
Joska Saarinen,
Mika Halonen,
Jussi Saarinen
Jukka Jalonen had a special day today in his long and successful career as a hockey coach.
Jalonen, who piloted the Lions to three world championships and Olympic gold, was awarded an honorary doctorate in sports sciences at the University of Jyväskylä.
The promotion of the University of Jyväskylä was scheduled to end at 2:30 p.m., and Finland’s World Cup match against Austria started in Tampere at 4:20 p.m. Jalosta was waiting for a helicopter ride from Central Finland to Pirkanmaa, but still it was difficult for him to make it to the Finnish exchange fence for real action.
In addition to Jalonen, 14 other social influencers and distinguished people in science will be awarded honorary doctorates in the promotion act of the University of Jyväskylä.
– A great and valuable opportunity. I have never been able to do anything like that, Jalonen told Urheilu after the match against Austria.
Jalonen studied sports pedagogy at the University of Jyväskylä in the 1980s. He graduated with a master’s degree in physical education in 1988.
– Yes, it is a good school. Five years of teacher training and how to work with people. Yes, it has been useful, but practice has taught me more.
Jalonen, who played in Riihimäki Nikkarei as a junior, played puck during his study holidays in Jyväskylä in JyP HT, first on the second tier of the league in the 1st division, then after promotion in the SM league.
However, he has become known as a successful hockey coach who is popular with the Finnish people.
An example of this was seen on Saturday, when Jalos was congratulated in the match against Austria in the media cube of the Tampere arena. The audience showed their favor to “The Lion King”.
– Yes, it gave me chills. It was a really nice gesture. It was great that the audience was very involved.