2023-05-12 06:30:31
“Call me in a while, I’m in high school now.” The message is from biel nadal16 years old, who is studying in the first year of high school and on Sunday will try that the Girona win the first game of play-out a Palau in a best-of-three tie againstAreny de Munt. “I was in English class. It’s a bit hard, combining the two things, but I’m doing well and I’m happy, because this is a very exciting year for me: from being called up for the national team or playing with the first team in theOK League and in the youth the same weekend. Yes, there is mental wear and tear, but my purpose, like that of any junior who is starting out, is to dedicate myself to it, to live hockey one day”, assures the one who has the perfect mirror in the dressing room. Christmas is changed with Jaume Llaverola, who continues to defend the goal towards his 48 years. “When I see the dwarfs climbing, like Biel, I check their appetite. It reminds me of my beginning, when I wanted to eat the world. Now they are the ones who want it. But they force me to look in the mirror and tell myself that I must have the same illusion as them. I am filled with the eagerness they have in each training session, their fight, their desire to learn”, confesses the goalkeeper, a legend of roller hockey.
“It’s an honor to have him in the dressing room”, points out the teenager, “everyone pays attention to his way of seeing things, because what he says goes to mass. He has lived through it all and it’s not just his advice, when he tells us that even if the situation goes badly we must continue because there will be an opportunity, it’s his behavior. Jaume is a reference”. “It’s a beast to spend thirty years together, but with most people I spend fifteen. Feeling that they want me to be there, by their side, gives me strength to continue. And I love hockey, injuries respect me and my family supports me”, says Llaverola, who announces that he will continue for another year in the pavilions. “Yes, I will do one more course. And I want it to be in the OK League. I have already spoken to the club and now we have left it a bit in stand by. But if we stay, I will stay to enjoy the category; and if we go down, to help go up».
“I also want to play in the OK League again, eh,” claims Nadal, who continues. “It really impresses when you are face-to-face with the players you used to see on the court from the stands. Despite my age and lack of experience, I think I have adapted well enough. And I’m lucky that my colleagues have made it very easy for me». Anxiety does not play against youth, which has that point of unconsciousness that allows it not to be afraid of anything. “It’s true that there are more idyllic situations to debut, if we think that you are gambling with the future of the team with every ball and every minute you play. But when you’re on the court, you don’t have to focus on the negative aspects. If I am a privileged person who is living a dream!’
A family in Palau
“Garatge Plana Girona is a small family. We support each other: from the fans, to the board, to the team. We all go to one”, describes Llaverola, an essential piece to understand the meaning of an organization that represents with dignity Girona hockey in the highest state category. “I have experienced the birth of Girona, since First Catalan National, with several promotions and stability in the OK League. Obviously we have to continue to First and we would be very sorry not to do it, because of the efforts of all the invisible people who have been fighting for the club for years. Only we know how much it costs to have the team where we have it. And the fans don’t deserve a relegation. No one here wants to be relegated, we have to push it forward no matter what and do our best. We have the field factor in our favor, which is an advantage, but in front of us there will be a rival in the same situation as us and we will have to do better. But it would be a shame, after the goodbyes of teams like the Tordera or the Palafrugell, not to have any team from Girona in the hockey elite». Take the word Christmas, with a direct and ambitious speech. “Practically, I think about the game against Arenys 24 hours a day. We have worked all year for this moment, and we have a lot of confidence in our game and in the coach. This year we have shown that we know how to compete, because no rival has clearly surpassed us and we have even defeated big rivals. In fact, I hope that the tie will be two games away and that I will win it». “But if there is a third party, it will also be in Palau, and this is again positive”, remembers Llaverola. There’s nothing like the experience.
Mentalized one hundred percent
Garatge Plana Girona is clear that Sunday’s game is not just a game, as its goalkeeper approaches. “We play a lot, we are aware that relegation is at stake. It is the second year in a row that we have contested the play-out and you never get used to it, because one small slip can set everything in motion. Obviously we feel nerves and pressure, because if it didn’t mean that we go through everything and that’s not the case, but we have to leave it in the dressing room and take all the tension out on the court. We are fully mentalised». “The mental state will have a lot of influence, the team must be patient, not rush and be effective, take advantage of our chances. We have to know that we will have them and that we cannot win the game in ten minutes. We can do it, and that’s it,” adds Nadal. “It’s a final”, concludes Jaume Llaverola. And the finals are won.
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