With the regular season almost halfway through, Zug’s U21 and U18 elite teams are battling for a place in the playoffs. They are currently two and 15 points behind respectively. Frédéric Rothen, assistant and development coach in The Hockey Academy training program, says: «It’s tough for the boys to lose so often. But we’re not focused on short-term results, but on long-term development. This includes dealing with defeat and always seeing the positive side. For the players, this is character building.» The former EVZ forward sums up the most important lesson: «Never give up, but fight until the end. Because only if we give 100 percent do we have a chance of winning.»
The Hockey Academy’s training concept is bearing fruit in the NL team. For the U21 and U18 elite players, it also means character building.
«Thanks to the permeability within the organization, many talented players get to play in the National League. As a result, we usually play with very young teams in the youth leagues.»
Frédéric Rothen, Assistant and Development Coach in The Hockey Academy training program
However, with an age-appropriate top lineup, they are hard to beat. The U18 elite team recently proved this: after a strong performance against the leaders SCL Young Tigers (2:4), they celebrated their first victory in ten games against SC Rapperswil-Jona (5:2).
Anyone who wants to see the Zug talents for themselves will get their money’s worth this week: the U21 elite team plays three home games in five days, all at the OYM in Cham: On Wednesday, they defeated HC Davos 3:2 in a penalty shootout, followed by games against SCL Young Tigers on Friday (6:30 p.m.) and HC Lugano on Sunday (2:30 p.m.).
The U18 Elite Team’s next game is on Friday, December 5, at HCAP Giovani (7:45 p.m., Gottardo Arena).
