Today we explore the road that Coach Saara Niemi has taken through her career so far. As a player Saara played for the University of Minnesota Duluth, Ilves and the Finnish Women's National Team. During her playing days she won championships at the college and professional level and won Olympic and World Championship Bronze. Saara started her coaching career in 2011 when she became the Ice Hockey Coordinator in Kisakallio. From there she worked as a tutor-coach for the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, working to educate coaches of players aged 10-13 years old. During the three year period as a tutor coach and ice hockey coordinator, Saara was studying at University of Jyväskylä in the Masters Program of Social Sciences of Sport and serving as a Mentor for Team France in the IIHF Ambassador and Mentor Program. Additionally, the final year of this period from 2011-2014, she worked as a Sports Reporter for the SM-Liiga in Finland. In 2014 she transitioned to a role at the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in charge of Girls Hockey Development until 2017. During that time she also coaches the Red Wings Girls Team. In 2017, Saara moved to Guangdong, China and became the Assistant Coach of the Kulun Red Stars of the CWHL for one season. Finally, in 2018, Saara returned to Finland and is now Head Coach and General Manager of the IFK Helsinki Women's Hockey Team.
With Saara we discuss the impact that playing in the US had on her coaching style and philosophy. Similarly, we discuss the impact of having experience working in China and with Team France on her coaching philosophy. We explore the role of her education in her development and we discuss the type of environment and values she works to have in her teams. Saara recommends a couple of books that she is reading and enjoyed: "Peak" by Anders Ericsson and "The Anatomy of Winning" by Okari Saari.
Connect with Saara on twitter (@SaaraTuominen) and on LinkedIn (Saara (Tuominen) Niemi).
Don't forget to connect with the Hosts Derek (@DerekERead) and Rick (@RickSchreiber68) on twitter, as well as the show itself (@thecoachsroad) on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
We would love to hear from our listeners, so please send us an email with any topic ideas, thoughts or comments! Our email is thecoachsroad@gmail.com.
Thanks for listening and see you next week!
