IIHF.com writer Risto Pakarinen sat down with team Canada coach Vicky Sunohara ahead of the quarter-final game against team Japan.

Not everyone makes Team Canada’s U18 Women’s Worlds team, and even fewer get to be coached by an IIHF Hall of Famer. The players on this year’s Canadian edition can feel special about being coached by Vicky Sunohara, a seven-time world champion and two-time Olympic champion. 
 
Having spent her entire life in hockey, from the day her father flooded a backyard rink and put his two-year-old daughter in skates, Sunohara now cherishes the opportunity to nurture the next generation of female players. 
 
“I never thought that I would get into coaching because I couldn't imagine myself ever being behind a bench and not jumping on the ice. I still feel at home on the ice,” she told IIHF.com with a smile, fresh off Team Canada’s last practice before the quarter-finals.
 
“Our [Team Canada] coach Mel Davidson, always wanted to get more females involved in coaching, and she invited us to take a coaching course when were centralized for the 2002 Olympics. She said you never know, you might want to coach one day.”
 
And here she is, in her 14th year behind the bench. 
 
“Yeah, it's crazy. We've had some alumni events [at the University of Toronto] and players that I coached are bringing their kids to those events. It’s so great to see and to be a part of that. I've been invited to a couple weddings!
 
“Coaching has been so rewarding and challenging. I love the competition, the challenge of building teams and working with other coaches. Ultimately, it’s the opportunity to support a player’s growth and development that is the most meaningful as we help them take steps in their own hockey careers.”
With Team Canada, there are always expectations for the team to be successful – always. Especially in the U18 Women’s Worlds, a tournament that Canada has won seven times in 16 tries and in which the team has never missed the medal podium.
 
“There may be a perceived pressure, but we’ve expressed to the players that Canada is behind us and we feel the support of Canadians. We want to use that momentum and energy - it’s not added pressure on our shoulders weighing us down," said Sunohara.
 
More important, though, is the work that the group puts in, according to Sunohara.
 
“One of the themes since our first camp in August has been getting one percent better every day, whatever it is. If we all get a little better individually, it's going to make our team better. For this team, we're just trying to have them enjoy the process and really enjoy the moment.”
 
That, too, is based on another lesson from Davidson. 
 
“Mel told me once, ‘Don't wish time away.’ Yes, you want to compete for a medal, but it’s important to really enjoy today, take it one day at a time. You never know when you're going to wear the Maple Leaf again, especially at this level. Enjoy the process, learn from each other, ask questions, be humble, and grow as a player.” 
 
Judging by the way the Canadian players celebrate their goals, and support each other, the team seems to have embraced their coach’s lessons. 
 
“That’s enjoying the moment and that's celebrating. This group is not taking anything for granted. We consider every opponent a challenge, and we're not taking anybody lightly at all."
 
Canada went through the group stage undefeated. But Sunohara thinks the gap between North American teams and the rest of the world isn’t as wide as it used to be, even if Canada has ten times the number of female players than, for example, Sweden. 
 
“I think the gap is narrowing, definitely, but we need the support of the federations, and we need to keep helping each other and working with each other,” Sunohara said.
 
Now that she’s been behind the bench for a decade and a half, has the urge to jump on the ice subsided?
 
“No!" Sunohara said with a laugh. "I just got a text message about a pickup game with my friends and former teammates after the tournament, and of course I want to play.”