Career in Sports
My name is Frauke Kubischta. I am from Heidelberg, Southern Germany, but I have lived in Finland for the past 18 years. My first encounter with the world of sports and physical activity was when, like many young girls, I started ballet at around four years old. I first moved to Finland in the 1980s when my father took the whole family with him to Finland after getting a job at the Helsinki School of Economics. In Finland, I switched from ballet to horseback riding. Of course, living in Finland meant I also learned to skate and ski. I attended the German School in Helsinki – we also played pesäpallo (Finnish baseball) there. In 1989, we moved back to Germany, to Heidelberg, where I continued my horseback riding hobby. I also tried rugby for a short time and karate in my teenage years. During my first year at university, I practiced taekwondo for about a year, and eventually, I ended up in my first Muay Thai training session. I should also mention that my favorite mode of transportation in the city has always been the bicycle.
I have tried all kinds of sports and physical activities. Although I had tried many sports, the one that has truly stayed with me to this day is Muay Thai. I started Muay Thai quite late; I was already 23 years old. At first, I thought I would just train because I enjoyed how the sport challenged me. It requires all kinds of attributes: coordination, balance, strength, speed, and endurance. After training for about two years without any intention of ever fighting, my coach suggested I have a match. I thought why not: after all, fighting is part of the sport. Although I lost my first two matches in Germany, I had no intention of quitting. When the next opportunity came, I took it and continued my fighting career.
I moved to Finland at the beginning of 2007 to pursue doctoral studies at the Department of Geosciences at the University of Helsinki. When we went on a family vacation to Finland in 2005 to visit old friends, I went to study at the Kumpula library of the University of Helsinki and looked at the geology department. I liked what I saw and asked about the possibility of doing postgraduate studies there. I was encouraged to apply in 2006 once I had graduated from the geology department at the University of Heidelberg. I did so, and I was offered a doctoral researcher position at the University of Helsinki.
After moving to Finland, the first thing I looked for, after finding a place to stay, was the location of the nearest Muay Thai gym. I found one close to my apartment and started training there. A few months later, my coach suggested that I could participate in an inter-gym competition organized by our gym. Of course I agreed. I won my first match – the feeling was exhilarating. After this, I fought in a few inter-gym competitions before I got to compete in my first Finnish Championships in 2008.
Around the same time, the coach at my gym asked if I would be interested in taking on the coaching responsibility for the gym’s women-only “ladythai” group. I agreed because I felt I was a good coach, even though I hadn’t attended any coaching courses. The Finnish Championships were followed by a professional match at a martial arts event – I won that too. I continued training and participated in the European Championships the same year (placing fifth) and the Nordic Championships (placing first). I continued fighting for a few more matches but began to focus more on coaching. I also attended the first-level coaching course for martial arts.
Sports became a career for me. When I was in the final stages of my doctoral studies, I learned that Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences offered a bachelor’s degree in sports and leisure management in English. I applied for the program and was accepted – I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 2014. After gaining work experience in the field, I decided to pursue a master’s degree in coaching at the same institution. Later, when I had already started my own business, I also studied for a master’s degree in sports business and a vocational teacher’s degree to expand my expertise.
I also worked for six years at the Vierumäki Sports Institute in the International Ice Hockey Development Center, dealing with international affairs. I acted as a liaison between the sports institute and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) – I got to participate in several IIHF projects and organize events such as the IIHF coaching conference. At Vierumäki, I assisted many foreign teams with off-ice training, including Turkey’s men’s national team, the Italian youth national teams, and the Japanese women’s under-18 national team. I also helped with training, camp, and match arrangements for many other club and national teams at Vierumäki and in tournaments organized by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association across the country.
I have also worked as a physical trainer for various ice hockey teams, such as Heinolan Peliitat, KJT’s women’s teams, Pelicans Lahti’s juniors, and for two years, Finland’s women’s under-18 national team, in which I was also the team’s manager.
The importance of sports in my life
Sports has been a central part of my life not only because of coaching but also for other reasons – because of sports, I can stay in good shape, take care of my well-being, and meet friends. I came to Finland for doctoral studies at the University of Helsinki, but I had a hard time after graduation, and Muay Thai provided me with a safe place and a way to release the frustrations and disappointments related to the academic world. I love how sports can connect people and positively impact others’ lives. Sports can give people opportunities to succeed and thrive, and it can provide a place where people feel safe and cared for.
Through sports, I have made friends in Finland. From the very beginning, Muay Thai offered me the opportunity to meet other people, train, and create networks. It also gave me the opportunity to start my own sports consulting business and offer coaching and adult education in collaboration with various organizations. Through sports, I have had the chance to serve on the board of the Professional Coaches of Finland (SAVAL) association as its first foreign member. The work done by SAVAL is very important to me because, although coaches play a central role in supporting athletes and their development at all levels of sports and physical activity, their professional status is often marked by uncertainty, short-term contracts, and low pay. Coaches are also often dependent on the decisions of club management and other stakeholders. At SAVAL, we strive to improve the status of coaches in society, fight for their rights, provide them with legal assistance, and make their voices heard.
How would you make Finnish sports better and fairer?
I have had many good experiences in the sports world – for example, at my club Lahti Thaiboxing Club, I have made good friends and received support, and my work and efforts have been appreciated. Of course, there have also been less positive experiences – for example, in the early stages of my career, I encountered some less sensible coaching practices. This has strengthened my conviction that coaching education and development are crucial if we want to offer everyone positive and nurturing sports experiences.
As a foreign entrepreneur in Finland, even though I now speak Finnish more or less fluently, it is still sometimes difficult to be considered for projects, participate in project negotiations, or even get feedback from potential clients.
The integration of foreign coaches and athletes/participants into the Finnish sports environment needs to be facilitated. Too often, it seems that language is still a barrier, especially at the administrative level. Athletes care very little about whether the coach speaks fluent Finnish or not. What matters most to them is that the coach supports them and meets their needs. More and more non-Finnish speakers live in Finland, but they often find it difficult to find information on how they can join clubs, train, and engage in physical activity. Finnish sports clubs and organizations would greatly benefit from opening their doors to foreigners because new people bring new ideas, training methods, and perspectives that positively impact the development of sports in Finland. And of course, as a board member of SAVAL, it is important to me to improve the status of coaches and to get society to recognize that coaching is not just a hobby – it is a profession.
