William Douglas has been writing The Color of Hockey blog since 2012. Douglas joined NHL.com in 2019 and writes about people of color in sports. Today, as part of NHL.com’s celebration of Women’s History Month, he profiles Miriam Thiem, a coach who was one of the first black women to play in Germany.
Mary Thiem knew hockey was for her from the moment an uncle took her skating at a rink in Dorset, Germany, when she was 7 years old.
“Figure skating isn’t really me,” Thiem said. “And I saw some boys in my neighborhood playing hockey. So I started playing hockey. The first time I had a hockey stick in my hand, I absolutely knew it was for me.”
Thiem became one of the first black women to play and advance hockey in Germany. The 44-year-old retired forward played for the German Women’s Ice Hockey League — or DFEL — and the women’s national team. Since 2013, he has coached men’s and women’s hockey in Duisburg, Dusseldorf and Bergkamen.
Thiem has become a face and a force for diversity in German hockey and beyond.
She is a member of the Ombudsman, an independent arbitration panel that examines cases of racism and sexism in the German Ice Hockey League, the country’s top professional men’s league, and DEL 2.
“It’s sad, but I still need it,” Thiem said. “Germany is doing its best, but there is still a long way to go.”
Thiem is also a member of the NHL Coaches Association’s Female Coaches Program, which was launched on International Women’s Day in 2020 to support the development of female hockey coaches at all levels of the game.
