“Prospects Challenge is a huge opportunity for every player”

Reto Suri has been promoted from assistant coach to head coach of the U21 Elite team. He is looking forward to the showdown with top international teams.

The Prospects Challenge from August 13 to 17 is a special tournament for Reto Suri: his first as head coach. He has taken over from Thomi Derungs in the Zug U21 Elite team. “I’m aware of the responsibility and I’m confident that I can handle it,” says Suri. The new task fills him with anticipation, but also with respect. “Just like for the players, the same applies to us on the staff: mistakes can happen – the important thing is that we learn from them and don’t repeat them.” Last season, Reto Suri already worked as an assistant coach, development coach and scout at the EVZ; a year that gave him new insights into working with young talent. “As a professional player, you live in a world of your own. I wasn’t aware of the effort that goes into the juniors – that impressed me.”

The long-time EVZ forward, whose jersey with the number 26 has been under the OYM hall roof since last season, started preparing with his team in the last week of April. As a former national player and having played in the Champions Hockey League with the EVZ, Reto Suri knows how important international comparisons are. “The Prospects Challenge is a huge opportunity for every player to prove themselves and learn. Playing against other field hockey cultures is an eye-opener.”

Frédéric Rothen, another former EVZ forward, is also part of The Hockey Academy training program. He will further develop the players of the U21 and U18 Elite teams as a development coach and also support the head coaches Reto Suri and Sven Lindemann as an assistant coach. “Frédi brings a wealth of experience from both the active and junior game – that’s worth its weight in gold for me,” says Reto Suri.

EVZ’s training concept proved its worth last season. Due to numerous injury-related absences in the NL team, there was a large exchange of players between the teams. “Of course we hope that the bad luck with injuries in the first team was an exceptional situation. But if it should come down to it again, there will always be a chance to get through. We prepare the players so that they can immediately move up to the next level,“ says Reto Suri and continues: ”It’s good for the credibility of the program and the coaches if players from the junior team are regularly used in the NL team. That’s entirely in the interests of the organization.”