Never letting anything stand in her way and with a passion for sports, Teena Murray, a native to Shawville, has landed her dream position with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Growing up, anyone that knew Murray could spot her on the ice rink, ball field or working at her father’s store, Murray’s Sporting Goods, which was a staple in the community for over 44 years.
From a young age, Murray did not give up on her love for sports even when there wasn’t a girls team in Shawville. Since the age of nine she was the exception and whatever sport it was, Murray joined the existing boys team to play, she explained. “That was a really big deal back then.”
“It’s the reason I am who I am. The village of Shawville shaped me, a lot of people were invested and involved in my formative years as an athlete, as a student, as just a person,” Murray said.
As a women who works in a male dominated industry, she highlighted that that is all she knows and it was never a deterrent to go after what she wanted.
“I try to bring a unique perspective and a unique point of view and certainly I just try to build strong relationships with people right at the end of the day. It’s really about people. It’s about connecting with people. And when you can do that, well, I think it creates opportunities,” said Murray.
Growing up Murray was influenced by her two uncles Terry and Bryan Murray who went on to have successful careers in the NHL. During offseason, she enjoyed hanging out with her uncles at her father’s store. Having them around allowed her to dream big, she said.
“We need to see it to believe it. So I got to see it, firsthand, and I knew at a young age that I also wanted to try to follow in their footsteps,” said Murray, added that they were her role models and mentors.
Most recently, Murray was named the Pittsburgh Penguins Senior Vice President of Integrated Performance. Her role is overseeing the hockey operations’ strength and conditioning staff, rehabilitation, sports science and medical staff. In her role she reports directly to general manager Ron Hextall.
“I would say above all, I’m really excited to get back to my roots. I’m really excited to get back to the game that I grew up on, you know, it’s in my blood,” said Murray.
In the past 20 years, Murray was a coach and worked one on one with players, but in her new role, she is excited to be in a more managerial role where she will be putting together a team of experts to provide the highest level of service and care to the athletes, she explained.
Prior to this new position, Murray was vice president of health and performance for the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, and when this role came up she felt it was the right team and the right time for her to make this leap.
“I’m excited about having a rink right outside my office and being able to put my skates on and skate anytime I want,” said Murray.
Entering her new role she is hoping to learn as much as she can about the organization. Along with that she is also taking an executive leadership program at Northwestern University to learn how to become a better leader.
Murray started off in this industry as an athlete herself, she played college basketball and studied kinesiology at Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada.
“I fell in love with the training, I fell in love with nutrition and I fell in love with what I call just this whole world of human performance,” she said.
Murray then went on to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro to pursue her master’s degree in exercise physiology and sports nutrition, and got an assistantship with the softball team.
She also spent over 25 years working in different environments with professional and collegiate teams. Prior to her time in Sacramento, Murray spent 14 years at the University of Louisville as the director of sports performance, there she built an NCAA-leading high-performance sport program that served 21 Division Top-25 sports.
In her new role, Teena hopes she can bring new and innovative perspectives to the Pittsburgh Penguins and push the envelope.
The Equity spoke to family members and her old coach who say she has always been a go getter and when there was a challenge it only made her hustle harder.
Ann and Bill Murray, her parents, highlighted that from such a young age she enjoyed playing all sorts of sports and being part of the chatter at her fathers store.
“It’s right in your blood to be so interested, I mean she could just chat away with the guys just like one of them,” said Ann.
And now that she has moved closer Ann and Bill both said their excited Teena will only be a few hours drive which will allow them to see her more often.
“She’s worked very hard for everything that she’s done, and shes a very dedicated person,” said Bill. Ann added “You can’t help but be proud of everything she’s done.”
Bill also enjoyed watching hockey with his daughter because shes very competitive, “we do lots of cheering and shouting, and if they won we’re happy and if they lost we were mad, thats just the way it was,” laughed Bill.
Although it had been many years, her coach from Pontiac High School still remembers her. When shes in town she would always stop by to say hello said John Petty. He explained that she was competitive and very team oriented. “She was a pleasure to coach,” said Petty.
“What I appreciate the most, as any coach would, is seeing her stay very humble and remember her roots,” said Petty. Once she left high school there was alot of expectation on her, and “she certainly measured up,” he said very proudly.
Five years older then Teena, Lynn Hearty-Coutts, her cousin, grew up together in Shawville and highlighted Teena could always play at a higher level. With sports running in their family, she is also an Associate Athletic Director at the University of Denver.
There have been so many people that have gone on to do great things because of Teena’s guidance and mentorship, said Coutts. Teena is the best at what she does but has always been humble, she added. And not just the best as a women but as the best in her field.
“She is incredible, so professional, so compassionate, so passionate. She would help anybody. She lifts other people she doesn’t need the limelight. She does such great work and it’s being recognized and I’m so, so excited and grateful that she has this opportunity,” said Coutts.
Coutts highlighted that Shawville made them and allowed them to dream big, and the reason they never forgot their roots is because their town always celebrated them and supported them said Coutts.
“Uncle Bryan was a guiding force for both of us in the fact that he never treated us any different and so we didn’t know any different other than just go do your best and kick butt right,” said Coutts.
Throughout her career, Murray has worked with young professionals who she continues to mentor and support and highlighted that that work is extremely important to her.
“I think the thing I’m most proud of is the people that I’ve been able to impact not only the athletes that I’ve worked with but also the younger professionals and practitioners who’ve worked with me. My legacy is going to be the people that come after me,” said Murray.
When asked what advice she has for anyone who grew up in a small town like herself she said: “There are no limits. The only limits are the limits we put on ourselves.”
“I believe regardless of what you accomplish, you stay hungry and stay humble. And you try to lift as you rise, lift other people up as you have a chance to climb,” said Murray.
