Expert: The female lions coach’s social media messages send a strange message to the team

Finland the women’s national ice hockey team lost their second Olympic match on Sunday. The Czech Republic was stronger 2–0. Tero Lehterän the team coached has not yet scored a single goal in the games. In their opening match, Finland lost to the USA 0–5.

Lehterä’s statements after the match caused quite a bit of surprise. He said that a big slice of the team’s half-day goes to the team photo and make-up.

“The team photo was not taken, and the ladies tend to do these Tiktok things. Team photo, friend photos, Tiktok and other similar things. And then we go through special situations. They were missed (due to illness) at the beginning. Let’s shoot a couple of pucks to get the aim right,” Lehterä said Mightily by.

Hockey expert Top Nättinen considers Lehterä’s comments ill-considered.

“Shall we talk first about team photos and makeup or how to prepare for the next game?”

“Now a strange message went out to the players. Does Lehterä take them seriously? Is the coach focusing on the right things, or was this just a half-careless throw? That’s not a good thing either, because in his position you can’t just throw things around,” Nättinen points out.

Pretty played under Lehterä at SaiPa 2017–19. He says that Lehterä’s style has always been such that he does not take things seriously. That’s not just a bad thing.

“He always has a twinkle in his eye, which is a wealth in Finland. He doesn’t squeeze out the last drop of blood all the time.”

“Now, however, we are at the Olympics, and his players have done everything they can for these games for a long time. They play for little money and some on the other side of the world. If the manager repeatedly gives the impression that we are here a little bit and run around, then it will be reflected in the team.”

Nättinen reminds that the players see and read their coach’s comments in the media. When the coach speaks to the media, he is also communicating to his team.

Nättinen says that during his SaiPan years, he was sometimes surprised by Lehterä’s comments to the media, because it was difficult to tell whether the coach was serious or not.

Even a small seed of doubt can water down a player’s preparation for an important match.

“I don’t doubt that Lehterä is fully in on the action, but he leaves the players feeling insecure with these comments. The same thing happened to me when I started to wonder what angle he was speaking from. Is he trying to relax the atmosphere? It is unlikely to succeed, at least in the direction of the team.”

Social media is also an important source of income for a large part of today’s athletes. NHL stars make do with their own income, but women who play puck as a profession have to get by on a very tight budget.

The women’s professional league PWHL also instructed its players going to the Olympics to work hard during the games in order to maintain the visibility of the series.

This is also why Nättinen finds Lehterä’s social media comments strange.

“Visibility for women in ice hockey and increasing financial income streams are the only ways to play sports as a professional. Is this a lack of understanding or what, but the comment shows the privileged perspective of a male ice hockey player.”

Nättinen hopes that Lehterä will have a little less humor and sparkle in the future.

“In his profession, every statement is important. Do you want to help or sand the team’s path? Often those light flap throws are more sandblasters. A lighter style can serve him, but the coach has to think about the team.”

The Women’s Lions tournament continues on Tuesday with a match against Switzerland.

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