Ely & Chesterton aiming for ‘high intensity’ in World Skate European Cup tie against Italian club Valdagno
While his Ely & Chesterton United side may lack experience, head coach Roger Courtenay-Barrow has backed his young players to more than make up for it with a pair of ‘high intensity’ performances during their upcoming two-legged World Skate European Cup encounter against Valdagno.
Ely & Chesterton will host their Italian opposition in Herne Bay on Saturday (1 February) before jetting out for the return leg two weeks later.
After losing 5-4 on aggregate to Swiss outfit Uttigen in a WSE Female Champions League qualifier last November, these two fixtures will represent a second foray into Europe for the team, who have an average of just 17.
And Courteny-Barrow is confident that the hurt from that narrow defeat – along with their superior fitness levels – will give Ely & Chesterton more than a fighting chance of reaching the semi-finals.
He said: “Whatever happens in the first leg, whether we’re winning or losing, we’ll go to Italy looking to give it everything.
“These girls have an average of 17 and so the maturity to run out narrow winners, to push at the right moments and the guile and tenacity to get over the line is something they have to get right – especially in these cup fixtures.
“I look back to the first leg (against Uttigen) and think we could have gone for the jugular. We started brilliantly, but because you don’t quite know what you’re going to be up against over the two legs, you tend to slow down a little bit, hold back and protect.
“That won’t happen this time. It’s a case of going out and trying to keep the intensity high from the beginning. We want to make it difficult for the other team.
“They (Valdagno) play a more open and expansive game compared to Uttigen and that suits us.
“They’re obviously playing on skates, but we’ve got a lot of what we call runners. Their fitness levels are high and all of our players bring different attributes to the team.
“I can rotate them to keep that intensity and maybe Valdagno will be a little bit light towards the end. We can roll-on and roll-off with the subs, so getting those cycles right and getting the girls in the right frame of mind for each stage of the game is going to be key.”
Yet regardless of the result, the double-header will represent another landmark in the career of Courtenay-Barrow’s youthful group.
A handful of the squad have previously enjoyed success with England, but having forged close friendships over a number of years in an Ely & Chesterton shirt, it is their club that pulls hardest on the heartstrings.
Courtenay-Barrow added: “There’s a couple of them who haven't played internationally, but if I asked all of them – even the ones that are a big part of the England set-up – which they would prefer to have success with now, it would probably be the team we have.
“If they hadn’t played for England or were still aspiring for that first cap or major tournament then it might be different because they’d still have something to chase, but because they've done it and had some success, doing this together is massive.
“Especially doing it in this sport, it’s so unusual. Some of them have played together for such a long time and they’re still best mates.
“If they have birthday parties or days out, they’re all there. To keep them in the sport is a big thing and if one of them is struggling with injury, they still come to training because their mates are there. That’s huge and it’s something we try to use. I never hear a bad word amongst the group. From a very young age we’ve always encouraged them to win together and lose together.
“They’re actually quite philosophical about it these days. They’re learning together and they’ve got everything going for them.”