Hockey is a sport that people often come to know and love through their parents (who, in turn, learned it from their own parents or grandparents). And often, it’s not just one brother or sister who plays, but the other siblings as well. But the fact that 25% of a women’s team at the Final4 in Servette consists of siblings—that’s more than just a footnote. Adding to this is the fact that the father of these siblings is the club’s sports director, and we’re also certain that the mother is involved here as well. That’s why we were very excited to speak with the Stöckli family from the LSC to understand how the “Stöckli family business” manages the LSC.

Swiss Hockey: Hello everyone, thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us. All three of you play for the LSC’s NLA women’s team. Which of you plays which position?

Livia / Morena / Neila: Livia plays forward or center, Morena plays center and forward, and Naila plays defense.

Swiss Hockey: Wow, it’s really impressive to see you all playing together as sisters in every position. How did you get into field hockey in the first place? What do you like about it? What are your strengths? And where do your individual weaknesses lie?

Livia / Morena / Neila: A friend of Livia’s invited her to a tryout. Livia was thrilled by the team sport (she used to train in artistic gymnastics three times a week) and was able to pass on her passion for field hockey to us, her sisters Morena and Naila. We especially love the diverse team, the many opportunities to figure out the techniques, and just being able to play. And having that feel for the ball is what makes the whole experience unique.

Our strengths include ball handling, shooting technique, speed, and maintaining a good overview during the game. The center position, in particular, requires good stamina and situational awareness to know what’s happening around me and to be able to play a blind pass from time to time. Team spirit is especially important to us, and we look out for each other on the team. One of our weaknesses might be that we’re less daring during the game and aren’t the “loudest” ones.

Swiss Hockey: Communication is important during the game. Do you understand each other more intuitively as sisters than you do with other teammates? How can you tell?

Livia / Morena / Neila: We find that the atmosphere in the team and during the game is always a little different. One advantage of having siblings on your own team is, for example, that even just a glance can help us understand each other, or that we know each other’s running routes by heart.

Swiss Hockey: If one of you isn’t performing so well during a game and keeps making mistakes—how do you react? Do you get really mad at her, or do you defend her against the other teammates? Do you forgive your sister more mistakes than you would other teammates?

Livia / Morena / Neila: Helping each other is definitely important, and we also cheer each other on. For example, if I make a mistake or a bad pass, we ask each other why she passed it there or why she reacted that way. This helps us better understand the situation before we jump to premature and unnecessary conclusions. This gives us the opportunity to offer each other advice and feedback that’s meant in a supportive way.

It’s true that we stand up for one another when our teammates don’t always understand us. A strong sense of togetherness is important for good teamwork. It fosters open communication, boosts motivation, and helps us successfully overcome even difficult challenges together.

Swiss Hockey: Claudia, Ramon, your three daughters play for the LSC women’s team, and you’re on the board—does anything at the LSC run without you?

Claudia / Ramon: Yes, and that’s okay. Although the LSC has taken up a large part of our time during the week and on weekends for years, it’s important for us to schedule time together outside of the training and game schedule. In the winter, for example, that might be a ski weekend, or in the summer, a bike ride together.

Swiss Hockey: Let’s flip the question: Is the LSC the defining factor in your lives? Do you base your annual planning on the LSC calendar?

Claudia / Ramon: Because of our passion for the game, the team spirit, and being part of the squad, it’s important to base our annual planning on both calendars (LSC and the national team). That doesn’t leave much room for family events during the year, especially not for spontaneous trips. For this reason, as parents, we always look forward to tournaments outside of Central Switzerland so we can actively support and cheer on the girls in person—for example, at the Final4 in Geneva, or at international tournaments in The Hague, Ludwigshafen, or Zagreb. This has already allowed us to discover many new towns and cities in Europe that we certainly wouldn’t have visited without this sport.

Swiss Hockey: And where does your love for field hockey and the LSC come from? What drives you to be so committed to the sport and the club?

Claudia / Ramon: It’s really special that all our children play the same sport. We didn’t actively seek this out or push for it. When they were younger, two of our daughters did artistic gymnastics, while the third played tennis. The fact that all three have now been successfully playing field hockey for years makes us, as parents, quite proud. What’s much more important to us, though, is that our daughters continue to enjoy going to practice or a game and stay healthy.

Through our involvement with the club, we can offer them a “platform” that allows them to pursue their passion—playing field hockey—within a structured competitive environment. It’s certainly special, too, that all three of our daughters were accepted into the sports school in Kriens. This allowed them to focus on the “sports” track and thus spend even more hours on the sports field. The girls will never forget this phase of their lives, and as parents, we’re very grateful that they were given this opportunity. With an opportunity like this, it goes without saying that we want to support our children and are happy to take on a certain amount of responsibility within the club.

Swiss Hockey: If you have any time left—what else do you do in your free time? Do you need a break from “field hockey” / “LSC”?

Claudia / Ramon: A break is always good. 🙂 We enjoy a quiet weekend at home in our garden, cooking together, or spending a few days in the Grisons mountains. After a tough week or tournament, the girls are happy to be able to leave their sticks in the corner for a change.

Swiss Hockey: Putting the stick aside for a while is certainly a well-deserved treat. We’d like to thank all of you for the great conversation. Thank you, too, for being so dedicated to hockey as a family. We wish you continued joy with your “family business.”