Taught by the legend

What makes the new Head Eagle Tray Tuomie tick!

(Bild: GEPA pictures/ Andreas Gebert)

Villach's new coach Tray Tuomie came to Germany at the age of 23! Both as a player and as a coach, the 56-year-old US native worked his way up to the DEL. As "Co" he once reached the semi-finals, as Head he even reached the CHL round of 16 once. Tray pushes fast, physical field hockey - a legend brought him to Villach.

The ancestors of neo-VSV coach Tray Tuomie come from Finland - but the US boy himself got stuck in Germany. At the age of 23, the now 56-year-old once came to Haßfurt in the 5th division. The striker then worked his way up to the DEL. "I even played three games for the Eisbären Berlin in 2002, which I'm proud of. But my highlight was winning the DEL 2 title with Bremerhaven in the '01/02 season."

Tuomie embarked on his coaching career at the age of 40. He spent a total of six years in the DEL as a "co-coach" - for Düsseldorf, Nuremberg and Augsburg. "We made it to the semi-finals with Augsburg once. Mike Stewart was the coach back then." Tuomie spent three years as head coach for Nuremberg and Augsburg in Germany's top league. "I made it to the play-offs with Nuremberg and once reached the last 16 of the Champions League with Augsburg."

Tray Tuomi (right) with his wife Anke and son Parker.(Bild: zvg)

Fast, physical field hockey
Last season he went to Italy - where he won the AHL title with Ritten. He also has big plans for the Eagles. "I don't want to reinvent anything here, Villach has a lot of tradition. I just want to do my bit to help VSV take a big step forward again," says Tuomie, who pushes fast, physical field hockey. As a guy, he is really cool - typically American. He also pulls this off as a coach. "I always have a good relationship with my players, I'm very human. But if I have to, I can also get really loud."

Son Parker plays at the World Championships
Away from ice hockey, Tuomie, who has lived in Germany for 33 years, is a family man. He is married to a German woman and has three grown-up children. "I recently became a grandfather for the first time, which is a wonderful feeling." By the way, his son Parker is a successful professional ice hockey player. The 28-year-old forward recently moved from Straubing to traditional team Cologne. He is currently playing with Germany at the Ice Hockey World Championships in the Czech Republic.

Tray is currently relocating from Ritten back to Bremerhaven - he will then come to the Drau in mid-July. A meeting with VSV legend and buddy Herbert Hohenberger is planned. "We get on really well, we met at a coaching course years ago. I have a lot to thank Herbie for - he was the one who got me talked about as a coach in Villach."