Sarah Murray, head coach of the South Korean women's ice hockey team, leads practice in Hamden, Connecticut, U.S., December 27, 2017. There’s a lot of pieces of hockey culture that they weren’t taught,” Murray said during a recent pre-Olympic U.S. tour.“The first year was a lot of learning as we go,” Murray said. The team is very professional.”ON THE UPThe team is also a lot better at hockey.Under Murray, South Korea has surged six spots to No. Last year, they won their division’s world title and earned a promotion.When she took over, her main goal was growing the sport in a country that has not taken much to ice hockey, especially not by women and girls.The International Ice Hockey Federation counts just 319 female players in Korea, out of a total fewer than 3000.”It’s really difficult, the system in Korea,“ Murray said. ”Girls can play youth hockey, but there are no teams once they become teenagers.”They can practice with the boys teams, but they don’t get to play any games.

Source: Egypt Today January 24, 2018 12:56 UTC