Janne Vaeaetaeinen new head coach in Finland

As the Finnish Ski Association announced on Friday, Janne Vaeaetaeinen will be the new head coach of the Finnish Ski Jumping national team. Vaeaetaeinen's predecessor Lauri Hakola will work as an assistant coach from now on.

The 45-year-old has already been the head coach in Finland from 2008 to 2010. After that, he moved to Japan, where he worked with athletes like Noriaki Kasai and Ryoyu Kobayashi during his time as coach of the Team Tsuchiya.

"Janne is extremely good in motivating athletes and leading them in training. Nowadays nobody can make it to the top in any discipline without hard work. Janne Happonen and Ryoyu Kobayashi are examples for the successful work of Janne Vaeaetainen as a coach", says Lauri Kettunen of the Finnish Ski Association.

"In our first talks, this idea seemed to be far away, as I left Finland already ten years ago. But slowly I got interested in this position and in working with the Finnish team", told Janne Vaeaetaeinen.

While Vaeaetaeinen will focus on working with the national team, Lauri Hakola shall also be responsible for the education of the coaches.
"We want to help the team develop in the best possible way and in these positions we can make the most out of the strengths of every coach. My strength is practical coaching and I can now focus on this more. As head coach, Janne will also be responsible for the management of it all. Of course, we will work closely together on all levels", explains Lauri Hakola, who became head coach two years ago.