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The Aaron Nell Column: Wildcats' GB Pride
Swindon Wildcats head coach Aaron Nell writes exclusively for Total Sport, every week. This week Nell describes the whole process of life and selection for Great Britain hockey.
I’m very proud this week to see five members of our Wildcats side selected for Great Britain for the upcoming tournament in December.
For those who perhaps do not know, or aren’t fully aware, GB starts at under 18 level and there are world championships played out over a year. The under 18s is around March/April time, and then there are the under 20s and then the senior set-up.
The under 20s play in December and we’re lucky enough to have five players who have been picked. It’s great for the club, we’ve always had players go away for the GB 20s so it has become part and parcel of playing for Swindon Wildcats.
We like to have young players at the club because they know they can get better under us, improve their ice hockey here and stand a real chance of making GB selection. To have youngsters wanting to come here for that reason is a great feeling, and something we’ve always worked towards.
I have personally competed at all levels in the national set-up, 18s, 20s and the seniors, so it’s nice that I have experience in that sector when it perhaps comes to advising younger players at the club who are getting their first break.
In terms of how GB hockey actually operates, it’s very similar to a lot of other sports. The under 20s coach – the current Telford coach – he’ll be looking around constantly, and during games he will have his Telford Tigers hat on, but also his GB under 20s hat at the same time – looking at players from both perspectives.
The under 20s have around three or four two-day camps where they go up to Sheffield and have pretty intense practices, to get the squad up to national standard and allow all the lads to bond and gel on the ice.
In other countries, where the sport is much more prevalent, there are hockey camps which last for a week at a time during the summer, along with trips away to other countries before a major tournament. We’re not quite at that level yet, but I’m hoping one day that we will be.
I guess the procedure of things is very much like football in a way. You have people watching you all the time to see who’s performing well and who’s coming through – and from that scouting process the best players normally make the team.
I can still remember the first time I entered the GB set-up. It was a fairly daunting but also very exciting experience. You get to know different people over the week as you train with them on the ice.
Personally I am always quite shy and I don’t know as many people as some others do. In groups like that you always get some individuals who know everyone and then you get those other quieter people who don’t know as many – I’d definitely put myself in that latter category.
The most important thing though is that everyone is there for the same reason, to represent their country and play the best possible hockey they can on a very privileged stage. There is always a good atmosphere and an excitement about it which is an instrumental part of the national set-up.
In the games leading up to a tournament, the dynamic can perhaps be a little different. There are certain games where players are called up to be assessed in a friendly match, the most recent one took place not long ago in Nottingham.
For these types of games there can be somewhat of an internal competitive edge, because at the end of the day it is for your country. It’s a great honour to even get to that stage, so of course players want to perform at the best of their ability to be in with a chance of selection, but at the same time they all want what is best for each other and GB as a whole.
Opportunities with the national side can definitely change a player’s game. You can go away on a trip and perhaps your form entering that period may not have been at its best – you can be struggling with your senior team but then you go away with GB, get some good ice time, play in a different side and immediately gain some confidence.
This is something you hope for every time, both for yourself and other players. The GB experience can give just as much to players as players give to it. Hopefully this time, when our boys travel away in December they can bring confidence and good form back into the Wildcats’ camp after Christmas and that can help to push us on as well.
Thankfully for us however, on a club level the guys will only miss one game as a result of the trip, the last game before Christmas. Normally this can be much more. Last year we had players who missed four games and we had a considerably smaller squad as a result – around 10 or 11 players for two weeks! So it is safe to say that was a struggle, but this year it is just the one game.
We may be a little bit short but we’ll certainly be better off than we have been in the past. We have a good depth to the squad this year, as this is something we gave thought to during the summer. We didn’t want to be caught short when the boys are away, as this could really affect our campaign.
Thinking about the status of the GB set-up itself, it is now getting to where it wants – and needs – to be. There was a peak around 10 years ago with the under 20s and around five years ago with the senior side, but it is always getting better which is great to see.
The senior side had a great tournament last year and it was testament to how much hard work is being put in. There’s a long way to go, but so long as we keep seeing the GB side improving year upon year, that is the main thing. If our guys at Wildcats can be a key part in making that happen, even better.
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