Kovács was born on 2 January 1962, in Budapest. He began playing ice hockey with in 1972. He later played for the Hungary men's national under-18 ice hockey team at the 1979 IIHF European U18 Championship and the 1980 IIHF European U18 Championship; and then for the Hungary men's national junior ice hockey team in Pool B of the 1980 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.