The journalist’s inappropriate question to Jessica Campbell at the World Cup angered Toni Söderholm.
Toni Söderholm and Jessica Campbell talked behind the German bench at the World Cup. PDO
- Former Canadian national team player Jessica Campbell is the first female coach in AHL history.
- Coachella Valley Firebirds, the farm team of the NHL club Seattle Kraken, appointed him as an assistant coach on Tuesday.
In spring Jessica Campbell30, made similar history first as an assistant coach of the Nuremberg DEL team and then at the World Cup as an assistant coach of the German men’s national team.
He was selected by the German head coach for the latter Toni Söderholm.
– Great thing! Really great for him, Söderholm is happy about Campbell’s new washing machine that breaks glass ceilings.
– Yes, he is definitely ready. He has a great desire to develop players, and there is enough energy for individual coaching. I think that will be his big area of responsibility.
According to Söderholm, Campbell’s strength is precisely the individual coaching approach.
– He is open to customizing each player’s own language, which each player needs. He’s really strong in that, and I think that’s one of the reasons why he got this washer now.
– For me, taking him was a hockey decision, and now the next team has made a hockey decision with him.
Söderholm received good recommendations from Campbell, and the positive impression only strengthened during the World Cup tournament hosted by Finland.
– The Kunti got along really well with him.
According to Söderholm, Campbell had a lot to contribute to the discussion about the state of the team and what to emphasize next.
– He was really good at that. You could tell by how intensely he put himself into it. He was a great help to me in structuring the right things, which are important today or tomorrow or the day after tomorrow – and through which Point they are brought to the fore.
– A very versatile and profound thinker, Söderholm characterizes.
Germany’s other assistant coaches were experienced Tom Rowe and familiar from HIFK Cory Murphy. Campbell did not have playmaking responsibility during the matches, but developing the underpowered game was part of his job description.
Young people in
Jessica Campbell was vocal at the World Cup training in Germany. PDO
Germany finished second in their initial group, but lost 1-4 in the quarterfinals Kari Jalonen coached against the Czech Republic.
– It was an OK tournament, but in the last game we couldn’t do what we wanted. We missed the quarter-finals.
The underpowered game did not work when the Czech Republic scored three international goals. Söderholm sees it more as the opponent’s strength.
– They were world-class superiority goals. The Czech national team players were at the top of the world.
Summing up the achievements of the Games, Söderholm gives Campbell one more thank you.
– We were able to bring in new players. Jessica’s open-mindedness was a good thing. He dared to say that only the younger players he taught during the tournament will be used.
“idiotic”
Campbell himself was open-minded, but in at least one case deep-seated prejudices were also revealed against him.
There was an uproar around Campbell when a female reporter from Slovakian broadcaster RTVS asked the coach a suggestive question:
– What is it like to be in the team when you are a beautiful woman and the team is full of handsome men? Maybe you like one guy more than another?
Campbell was taken aback by the question, but still answered matter-of-factly.
– I don’t see any problem, I only see opportunities. My job as a coach is to always work at the highest possible level. It doesn’t matter if it’s men’s or women’s sports.
According to Söderholm, Campbell did not bring the incident to the attention of the German team. However, the head coach found out about it through the media.
– I don’t even have enough vocabulary for that: inferior, idiotic and as deep as you can be, Söderholm condemns the inappropriate inquiries.
– I have to say that the woman has a lot of courage, that she went into the project so completely and without prejudice. You knew that those things would definitely come – questions that are not entirely clean. In the big picture, however, it went well.