Today Ina Leminen is one of F-Liiga’s leading defenders who was recently called up to the national team squad for the first time. A year ago, though, she was close to giving up the sport.
In the summer of 2019 Ina Leminen had a line of tough seasons behind her. Her team SB-Pro had been doing great but she had been struggling with injuries and lots of games missed.
“I was pondering between retiring or giving my all one more time: those were the only options. Playing half-heartedly would not have been fair towards the team or towards myself.”
Ina Leminen decided to give it a go. A proper one, that is. And that’s where coach Aki Vilander played a crucial role.
“Aki was really prepared to help me develop as a player and as an athlete. He told me I had the potential but I would have to start living like an athlete instead of just pretending to be one.
From now on, it would mean the gym and running shoes instead of pizza and nightlife.
“Finding the right mix of training, playing and nutrition made me feel like I was flying out there as a difference of a few kilos changed a lot of things.”
In less than two weeks, the tough right-shooting defender and SB-Pro will play the Finnish Super Cup in Mikkeli against their nemesis PSS.
