photo: Matt Zambonin/IIHF
The Czech U18 women’s team has had only four coaches in 17 years. The current bench boss, Dusan Andrasovsky, is now in his fifth season with the team, and after two fifth-place finishes they have made the podium in 2024 (silver) and 2025 (bronze).
Not coincidentally, Carla MacLeod has been in charge of the senior team for the same length of time, during which they have won two bronze medals and lost in the bronze game the other two times at the Women's World Championship.
In short, the women’s program is riding a wave of success. “I don’t think it’s only about our coaching staff,” said Andrasovsky. “The coaches before us worked hard with the team. They gave the players a lot of confidence. We changed net-front pressure, for instance, and I think that’s the one thing that really helped us, to go to the net, be aggressive. Carla gave the players so much confidence on the senior team, and she taught all of us how to build confidence for these young kids. I think that’s so important for them and it's why we are where we are now.”
In addition, the grass-roots development of girls’ hockey is also gaining traction, and in the coach’s view it’s a strange example of turning a negative into a positive.
“Our program for young players is very difficult,” he explained. “Our young girls still have to play with boys, which is unfortunate in one way but is also an advantage because the boys are aggressive and play fast. So the girls need to be good if they want to keep up with the boys.”
But Andrasovsky is hoping new initiatives will allow, as they say, girls to be girls. “Now we are starting to change some things. We have aa Future Olympians program for kids under 12. We work with them two days a week in various areas around Czechia. We move the program around, and they come out for practise. Czech ice hockey is growing in an impressive way now, especially on the women’s side.”
The junior and senior levels are not isolated from each other, as Andrasovsky is quick to point out. “We work closely with the senior team,” he continues. “For three years in a row, we have had the U18 team and the senior team training and practising together in the summer, so they get to know each other. It’s not so much about playing together. It’s mostly about building relationships. We also work with the coaches on the U16 team and start to build a path to advance the Future Olympians into the U16 program. As coach of the U18 team, I work with the U16 coaches and with Carla at the senior team. We try to create one system for the players, try to build their confidence, and develop their skills. Everything.”
But there is a gap, and it’s difficult to fill. The U18 team can be successful, but there is often a few years between playing for that team and developing those players into senior-level quality talent.
“This is what is still missing in Czech,” he admitted. “We have been working the last two years with a U19 team to bridge the gap, but we don’t have ideal conditions for this yet. We do what we can, but the support is not perfect. It’s growing, and we hope it will be better in the future.”
One thing fans will notice watching the U18 team here in Sydney is that the team plays with skill and speed. No trap. No lining up five skaters along centre ice. They play to score and create chances.
“We work a lot on skills,” he added. “We start with the Future Olympians and the U16, and we build their skills. We work with coaches about skills and skating. These are the most important elements if players are going to have confidence to play like we are playing now.”
Not coincidentally, Carla MacLeod has been in charge of the senior team for the same length of time, during which they have won two bronze medals and lost in the bronze game the other two times at the Women's World Championship.
In short, the women’s program is riding a wave of success. “I don’t think it’s only about our coaching staff,” said Andrasovsky. “The coaches before us worked hard with the team. They gave the players a lot of confidence. We changed net-front pressure, for instance, and I think that’s the one thing that really helped us, to go to the net, be aggressive. Carla gave the players so much confidence on the senior team, and she taught all of us how to build confidence for these young kids. I think that’s so important for them and it's why we are where we are now.”
In addition, the grass-roots development of girls’ hockey is also gaining traction, and in the coach’s view it’s a strange example of turning a negative into a positive.
“Our program for young players is very difficult,” he explained. “Our young girls still have to play with boys, which is unfortunate in one way but is also an advantage because the boys are aggressive and play fast. So the girls need to be good if they want to keep up with the boys.”
But Andrasovsky is hoping new initiatives will allow, as they say, girls to be girls. “Now we are starting to change some things. We have aa Future Olympians program for kids under 12. We work with them two days a week in various areas around Czechia. We move the program around, and they come out for practise. Czech ice hockey is growing in an impressive way now, especially on the women’s side.”
The junior and senior levels are not isolated from each other, as Andrasovsky is quick to point out. “We work closely with the senior team,” he continues. “For three years in a row, we have had the U18 team and the senior team training and practising together in the summer, so they get to know each other. It’s not so much about playing together. It’s mostly about building relationships. We also work with the coaches on the U16 team and start to build a path to advance the Future Olympians into the U16 program. As coach of the U18 team, I work with the U16 coaches and with Carla at the senior team. We try to create one system for the players, try to build their confidence, and develop their skills. Everything.”
But there is a gap, and it’s difficult to fill. The U18 team can be successful, but there is often a few years between playing for that team and developing those players into senior-level quality talent.
“This is what is still missing in Czech,” he admitted. “We have been working the last two years with a U19 team to bridge the gap, but we don’t have ideal conditions for this yet. We do what we can, but the support is not perfect. It’s growing, and we hope it will be better in the future.”
One thing fans will notice watching the U18 team here in Sydney is that the team plays with skill and speed. No trap. No lining up five skaters along centre ice. They play to score and create chances.
“We work a lot on skills,” he added. “We start with the Future Olympians and the U16, and we build their skills. We work with coaches about skills and skating. These are the most important elements if players are going to have confidence to play like we are playing now.”