At the begining of September a new series has started on icehockey.hu where the youth programs throughout Hungary are introduced. This week Jászberény and Szilvia Antal was highlighted.
As a women how and when did you get involved in hockey?
After eight years the youth prorgam was started up again in Jászberény, at t his time my older son was five years old and my husband thought that we should take him to the first practice because he himself played hockey as a kid and he really enjoyed it, I started off as a hockey mom. At the start i was on maturinty leave because of my younger son so I had time to orgnaize things and also drive around since we had ice time in Budapest and Miskolc since there was no ice in Jászberény.
What position do you hold and have you held in Jászberény
I am a board member of the hockey faculty of the Jászberény sports organization. I have been responsible for applying for grants and allocating the TAO money, since 2013 when we won the grant to build the new rink I have been very busy
Next to being the club manager you are also a mother, what are you average weekdays like and how are your weekends different?
Our lives revolve around hockey, aside from dealing with the hockey team's day to day things we, Krisztina Remete and myself are dealing with everything that is needed for the arena up until it is finished and handed over as well as coordinating the U8 and U10 teams. Both my sons play hockey, my older one is playing with MAC and has four practices a week in Budapest with my younger one playing here for Jászberény. The weekends are just hockey games.
The hockey rink in Jászberény opened up recently, what has it been like?
My first experiences with the new arena have been positive, everyone was really waiting to start using it, the fans, the skaters and the players all alike.
How many kids are in the organization and how many coaches are employed?
We have 40 kids but the number have been going up since we have a covered rink, we will start to have morning practice sessions after the fall break for school programs. The head coach is Szilárd Rusznyák and Leventer Kari and Gábor Bujdosó are assistant coaches with János Fodor helping out with the little ones and Csaba Székely is the goalie coach.
What potential is there in Jászberény hockey and what are your personal goals?
Hockey is very popular in Jászberény, there were a couple hundred fans out for our first OB3 game this season. Thanks to the TAO we have everything set up for the sport to develop and eventually have teams in each age group. With the arena being built I dont know what is next, seeing a bunch of smiling kids on teh ice or seeing Dávid Szappanos playing in a Jászberény jersey.