Newark, New Jersey – Assistant coach for women's ice hockey at Harvard University Venla HoviRecently, he spent time on the ice at the New Jersey Devils' Summer Development Camp.She was invited to attend the camp as part of the NHL Coaches Association's program, which offers coaches outside of NHL franchises the opportunity to learn and experience an NHL camp first-hand, and NHL.com recently featured Hovi in a feature article detailing her experience at the camp.
This article was originally published on NHL.com by Katherine Bogaert of the New Jersey Devils PR team and has been re-edited for GoCrimson.com.
There were two new faces behind the bench at the Devils' development camp this summer: Tara Watchorn, head coach of the Boston University women's ice hockey team, and Venla Hoviassistant coach for the Harvard University women's ice hockey team, is a member of the NHL Coaching Association's Women's Coaches Program and participated in the Devils' summer camp as a guest coach through the program. The experience gave both coaches the opportunity to learn more about how teams like the Devils support young players, as well as providing them with a first-hand look at plenty of on-ice programming that they can bring back to their respective collegiate programs.
“I'm a curious person and I love to learn,” Hovi said of the opportunity. “Learning was definitely the best part of this experience. Seeing the practices and how they're structured, some of the pre-practice routines the coaches have, it really got me interested and excited. I got to meet more people than I ever expected, so that's another bonus of the trip.”
Over the course of four days, the guest coaches experienced everything from on-ice drills and coaching to off-ice nutrition counseling. The on- and off-ice programming is a key part of the development camp and something both coaches have experienced throughout their own coaching careers.
“There's a lot of structure that we can bring back to Harvard,” Hovi explained, “and think about preparing for the team, the season and even camp. There are things that we can use in our practice plans.”
“This summer we're hosting a Harvard Crimson camp for some of our promising players,” Hovi said, “that's starting soon, and we'll also be doing nutrition, mental skills, strength and conditioning. There are a lot of similarities in that regard.”
For both coaches, the development camp is just the beginning of the program, as both coaches plan to stay in contact with the Devils staff over the next two years and attend upcoming camps in New Jersey.
“I would love to coach in the NHL one day,” Hovi explained. “That's a big goal and dream of mine, and being here and being able to connect with these guys is just one step closer to that. I want to be able to coach the best players in the world and I want to learn every aspect of the game.”
