In a special edition Rams 'Round the World Suffolk women's hockey head coach Taylor Wasylk will take Ram Nation along with her as she goes to abroad to coach at various international campus.
Below is the third and final installment featuring Wasylk's week in Hungary.
Hi everyone! Excited to be checking back in with you after spending the last 12 days working a camp in Győr, Hungary. Let me just start by saying that I absolutely loved Hungary!
I was able to spend one evening in Budapest with some other coaches before camp started and I was blown away by the people, culture and sights. Dinner with a view of St. Stephens Basilica, followed by an evening stroll along the Danube made for an incredible experience in one of Europe’s most popular cities. While it was a quick stay in Budapest, it was certainly an enlightening one as it was my first time visiting Hungary and certainly a night to remember.
The next day we made our way to camp headquarters in Győr and what an amazing little European city it was! Located about an hour and a half outside of Budapest, it sits alongside the Rába River, a tributary of the Danube. When we were not on the ice, us coaches spent time rollerblading through town and along the banks of the river, enjoying outdoor cafes, attending a Hungarian barbeque and of course eating plenty of gelato!
On the ice, I had an amazing time working with players from all over the world. We had kids from the US, Canada, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, UK, Denmark, Russia, Austria, Croatia, Serbia, Italy, Hungary, and a few more that I am surely forgetting. While some of them were fluent in English, others were not and it was such a cool experience to see them interact with players on their assigned teams with whom it was difficult to communicate. If I have learned anything from my travels, it is that there are two things that unite people from all over the world more than anything; music and sport. Even though the locker rooms were full of many different languages, every player knew the words to Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” when it came on, just as every girl got excited when we announced that we would end practice with a “shootout”. Even though it was difficult for some of them to hold conversations with each other, there were certain things that held a universal familiarity for them, and it was pretty amazing to watch them discover all of their similarities throughout the camp.
In addition to the diversity among players, we also had a host of nationalities represented amongst the coaching staff. There were NCAA coaches, as well as professional coaches from Finland, Sweden, Serbia, Great Britain, Hungary and Denmark. While working with the players and watching them learn new skills was exciting and rewarding, it was also amazing to watch other coaches at work and learn new ideas to add to my own skill set. The sport of ice hockey is so unique that it can be played with different styles and emphases in different countries, so as a coach it is always a learning experience to work with peers from around the world.
Reflecting on the last month as a whole, I had amazing experiences in Spain and Hungary working with some incredible players and coaches. I feel like I have upped my game as a coach in the sense that I can now see the game from different perspectives and understand new playing styles. I actually have a running list of new ideas, drills, and systems that I have picked up abroad that I am super excited to share with our players when we get back on the ice together this fall. While my return home this week unfortunately marks the end of this summer’s European adventures, these positive experiences already have me so excited to get back to work next summer and continue to help growing our game for young girls throughout the world.
See everyone back on campus soon!
Fans, families, alumni and friends can check in with what Isaak and Phelan are up to over sees by following their adventures on GoSuffolkRams.com or over social media by using the hashtag #RAMsinterNATIONal.