- Katılım
- 27 Ocak 2025
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In this life, you grow as much as you take root in the hearts of your students. Under this vast sky, it is often teachers who shape us the most. That is exactly what coach İlknur Kurtuluş taught me.
She is both an educator and a champion coach. For a large part of her journey, many doubted her — and even today, there are those who fail to see the passion in her eyes. As a woman and as a teacher, she has fought countless battles. Now she stands as a champion coach, generous enough to say, 'Every coach should experience this feeling at least once.' And today, for the first time, İlknur Kurtuluş has reached the Quarter-Finals of a European Cup as a Turkish female handball coach.
There is a unique bond between her and her team, Nilüfer Belediyesi. When you consider how much players and coach lift one another up, their success should not come as a surprise. Because no matter how strongly you believe in yourself, without people beside you who believe in you too, something will always feel incomplete. İlknur is coaching a men's handball team — a rare example of a coach–team dynamic, especially in the handball world, where most of her rivals are male coaches. That is why her words, 'Every coach should experience this feeling at least once,' carry so much weight; they reflect a lifetime devoted to the sport.
Last summer, Nilüfer faced Beşiktaş in the Turkish Super Cup Final. When the match went into a penalty shootout, the champion was decided by seven-meter throws. As many viewers noticed on screen — myself included — Coach İlknur could barely watch the shots. At that moment, Genco stood beside her, held her arm, and said, 'Coach, this is your moment — you need to watch.' He brought her back to the edge of the court. The rest is history: a dramatic 37–36 victory and a Super Cup title for Nilüfer Belediyesi. Tolga Özbahar, the team's veteran presence, reflects İlknur's leadership on the court. In a story where a female coach leads a men's team, nothing comes easily. As I said before, you need people who truly believe in you. For someone like Tolga, who says he has built his life through handball, standing beside a coach who has dedicated her entire life to the game feels inevitable.
And today, the journey has reached another milestone. As a Turkish female coach, İlknur Kurtuluş has guided her team into the European Cup Quarter-Finals, eliminating Czech side SKKP Handball Brno with a 32–28 victory in the Round of 16. Writing this in a single sentence sounds simple — but living it requires a lifetime plus sixty minutes on the court. Nothing began today; this success is the result of years of belief and perseverance.
How can I describe what Nilüfer and Coach İlknur have achieved? Imagine a stone garden in the shade of your home, turning green from the moisture. That greenery is the team. But when the sunlight finally reaches it, the garden blossoms — and that sunlight is Coach İlknur. Neither exists fully without the other. Now, beyond the horizon, the path to a championship continues with the Quarter-Finals. A coach and a team who dare to imagine what lies one step beyond reality keep following the stars, surrounded by those who believe in them.
Be patient — what is meant for you will find its way.
She is both an educator and a champion coach. For a large part of her journey, many doubted her — and even today, there are those who fail to see the passion in her eyes. As a woman and as a teacher, she has fought countless battles. Now she stands as a champion coach, generous enough to say, 'Every coach should experience this feeling at least once.' And today, for the first time, İlknur Kurtuluş has reached the Quarter-Finals of a European Cup as a Turkish female handball coach.
There is a unique bond between her and her team, Nilüfer Belediyesi. When you consider how much players and coach lift one another up, their success should not come as a surprise. Because no matter how strongly you believe in yourself, without people beside you who believe in you too, something will always feel incomplete. İlknur is coaching a men's handball team — a rare example of a coach–team dynamic, especially in the handball world, where most of her rivals are male coaches. That is why her words, 'Every coach should experience this feeling at least once,' carry so much weight; they reflect a lifetime devoted to the sport.
Last summer, Nilüfer faced Beşiktaş in the Turkish Super Cup Final. When the match went into a penalty shootout, the champion was decided by seven-meter throws. As many viewers noticed on screen — myself included — Coach İlknur could barely watch the shots. At that moment, Genco stood beside her, held her arm, and said, 'Coach, this is your moment — you need to watch.' He brought her back to the edge of the court. The rest is history: a dramatic 37–36 victory and a Super Cup title for Nilüfer Belediyesi. Tolga Özbahar, the team's veteran presence, reflects İlknur's leadership on the court. In a story where a female coach leads a men's team, nothing comes easily. As I said before, you need people who truly believe in you. For someone like Tolga, who says he has built his life through handball, standing beside a coach who has dedicated her entire life to the game feels inevitable.
And today, the journey has reached another milestone. As a Turkish female coach, İlknur Kurtuluş has guided her team into the European Cup Quarter-Finals, eliminating Czech side SKKP Handball Brno with a 32–28 victory in the Round of 16. Writing this in a single sentence sounds simple — but living it requires a lifetime plus sixty minutes on the court. Nothing began today; this success is the result of years of belief and perseverance.
How can I describe what Nilüfer and Coach İlknur have achieved? Imagine a stone garden in the shade of your home, turning green from the moisture. That greenery is the team. But when the sunlight finally reaches it, the garden blossoms — and that sunlight is Coach İlknur. Neither exists fully without the other. Now, beyond the horizon, the path to a championship continues with the Quarter-Finals. A coach and a team who dare to imagine what lies one step beyond reality keep following the stars, surrounded by those who believe in them.
Be patient — what is meant for you will find its way.