Sarah Strenk-Khouiled

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The team DVTK Jegesmdvék Miskolc travelled with an expanded staff to Nowy Targ, where the third round of the Carpathian Junior Hockey League (Eagles Division, Blue Group) took place. On the team notes, the name Sarah Strenk-Khouiled grabbed our attention. Sarah has been working for the club since 2018 as an “off-ice” coach. The interview with Sarah is the first in the “Women in the Carpathian Junior Hockey League” series.

To start with, tell us about yourself.

My name is Strenk-Khouiled Sarah and I am the strength coach for the DVTK Jegesmedvék reserve team. Once I was done with playing professional sport myself, I knew straight away that I wished to become a coach, so I started doing all the necessary training and considering all the novelty it came with, it proved to be the best decision for me.

Do you or did you compete in any sports competitively? 

I have played professional handball for over 12 years, joined the league, played at the world championship, so I guess I am proud of my achievements, but mostly, I am grateful for the lessons sports has taught me, which is why it was so natural for me to continue in this profession. I could not even imagine a different career.

Who introduced you to the sport?

My whole family is into sports: my mother was a runner, my dad played football, my brother did athletics, so it was only obvious that I would do sports too. I was a very active child, having tried many types of sports, I have reached the conclusion that handball was my one true love. However, the motivation behind actually starting a career was my at the time strength coach, Holanek Zoltán.

You study at an international fitness school. What do your studies involve? What exactly are you studying?

I did my practice for becoming a strength coach at the IWI international fitness school. To tell the truth, it was a very complex training, but I knew that it was necessary for being able to deal with athletes later on. It is a very professional school and I had the opportunity to learn from very well prepared and knowledgeable teachers.

You’ve worked for DVTK Jegesmdvék Miskolc since 2018. It’s not customary for a woman to be part of the hockey team’s staff. How did you get the job?

My husband is the second coach of the pro team, he was invited for a job here in Miskolc so I thought I'd ask whether they needed any help, so I could also find my own place. As soon as they heard I was a strength coach they offered me a position too. Having just graduated fitness school a few months back, accepting it was a no brainer for me. The fact that the position was to train a male hockey team was a welcome challenge for me.

Why hockey?

I'll be honest: when I was playing handball, I didn't really know what hockey was, other sports did not really interest me. My knowledge of hockey came about when I met my husband, but I took a liking to it straight away, because it requires training well-rounded players who need to be fast, strong and skate very well at the same time.

What does your job entail?

At the club I am responsible for the dryland training of the U12, U14, U16 age teams. While the younger ones focus on playfulness, developing coordination and learning the correct techniques, the older players get more pressure and tough exercise. Moreover, I teach them the protocols of warming up, cooling down, things that a player should know how to implement.

You work with players of different ages at the club. How is it cooperating with young players?

Each age group is different, but thankfully, working together is great.

In Nowy Targ, we noticed that you often reacted much more emotionally at the shift changes than the head coach. How do you experience the games?

Absolutely, as an ex-athlete myself, I like the adrenaline and feeling alive during a game. Luckily, I know the rules pretty well by now.

Do you regularly travel with DVTK teams for matches, or was this an exceptional case?

During a season, I usually accompany the U16 team once or twice on their games. During play off I travel with them to all of their games.

In Poland, your team was battling to advance to the final seven. In the end, you fell two points short to advance. Was this a big disappointment?

I don't believe we should have experienced it as a huge failure. Of course we were disappointed, but we are moving forward. We learned from it and we are already applying the lessons while focusing on our next projects.

This was your first experience with the CJHL. How did you like it in Nowy Targ?

Actually, this was my first time in Poland. I was really looking forward to it and I must say, I was not the least bit disappointed. The organisation was very professional, the games we played and saw were truly great and the city was pretty and had a nice vibe to it. We would love to return and I hope we will meet at the CJHL.

What are your plans for the future? Do you want to stay in hockey or are you considering other possibilities?

I have big plans, I would like to keep learning and developing, and work with the pro team later on. As of now, I will stick to hockey, I grew to love this sport very much.

Given your knowledge of fitness training and rehabilitation, is there anything you can recommend for young players? Are there any pre-game or post-game principles that will help them improve their performance or avoid injuries?

My advice to them, based on my experience, is that the practice they do off ice is just as important as the practice they do on ice. Take warm ups and cool downs seriously, because a strain or a small injury is never welcome and they usually happen because you didn't allocate enough time and energy to warm up before the game/training or cool down after.

To conclude, what do you like to do in your free time?

We have a golden retriever called Marley, we usually go for long walks with him. If my husband has a day off, we go for lunch or to the movies. And clearly, I do exercise myself and go to my husband's matches.