and teamed up with Sarah Cahill, a former
strength and conditioning coach with the
U.S. Women's Team, to create Movement in
a Box, a subscription service that combines
fundamental movement exercises with
learning activities for children.
Her new job with LA28 is right in Schaus'
wheelhouse as she is working with youth
programs in and around Los Angeles to
encourage physical fitness while trying a
variety of Olympic sports.
After spending two Olympic cycles pre-
paring for her own moment in the spotlight,
it's now her turn to help provide the plat-
form for the next generation of athletes.
"It's fun to see the other side of it,"
she said. "As an athlete, you experi-
ence it one way and now you get to
see the amount of work that goes into
10 years of preparation."
The Latvia trip in March wasn't the
first time Schaus has branched out from
her goal crease to help others. In 2011, she
was part of a crew that spent a week building
a house in Honduras as part of Habitat for
Humanity 's global initiative of improving
the lives of those around the world.
Schaus also served as an athlete role
model at the 2016 Youth Olympic Games
in Lillehammer, Norway, and as a U.S. rep-
resentative at the Olympism and Action
conference in Buenos Aires in 2018.
Each time Schaus embarked on a new
odyssey, it's been an opportunity to not only
serve the international community but to
grow as a person.
"To step outside of your bubble and just
understand what's going on in the world,
it's a really important lesson," she said. "I've
learned that every single time I say 'yes,' you
grow as a person, and you grow as an athlete."
It also helps open the eyes for others to
see a side of the game that they may not
know exists. Latvia has a rich history of com-
peting in international hockey and has been
a consistent presence at both the Olympics
and IIHF Men's World Championship tour-
naments. But it's on the women's side that
the country of 1.8 million has been lacking.
Schaus saw that firsthand during
her week working with players
ranging in ag es from 5 to 20
years old, including members
of the country's junior program. Few of those
on the ice were females, which was some-
thing Schaus questioned her hosts about.
"The coaches I talked to admitted that
their girls' hockey program isn't as far along
as they'd like to see it," Schaus said. "Part of
that's cultural. Part of that's numbers and ice
time availability.
"They face a lot of the same challenges as
USA Hockey and Hockey Canada. They're
doing the right things, but we all know it
takes time, resources and commitment."
For Schaus and her traveling companion,
Brett Kurtz, who works in the Ducks fan
development program, the trip was as much
a learning opportunity for them as it was a
chance to share their own experiences.
" T h e c o o l e st t h i n g a b o u t t h e h o c k e y
c o m m u n i t y i s y o u st e p o n t h e i c e a ny-
where in the world and you immediately
speak the same language of hockey," said
S c h a u s, w h o c o n t i n u e s t o c o a c h a 1 6 U
team within the Lady Ducks organization.
" Ultimately, we learned that we weren't
ove r t h e r e t o t e a c h t h e m h ow t o c o a c h
h o c k e y o r t r a i n t h e i r p l a y e r s. T h e y 'r e
turning out players at the highest level. It's
more about just sharing ideas."
" What better way to make friends and
g r o w t h e f r i e n d s h i p b e t w e e n o u r t w o
countries?"
P
PHOTOS COURTESY OF Molly Schaus; USA Hockey Archive
JUNE 2023 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM //
39
Molly Schaus discusses how playing sports gave her the
confidence to take on challenges off the ice.
V I D E O
Read about
Molly's 2011 trip
to Honduras
with Habitat For
Humanity.
