The two North Squirrels players share their daily sporting activities between ice hockey and roller hockey. Two disciplines which are similar, which complement each other but whose differences require continuous adaptation.
Manon Serer is, basically, a pure ice player. She is even captain of the Amiens Gothiques women’s team. She discovered roller hockey quite by chance: “This is my second year skating. Because it looked like ice hockey, I said to myself “that’s not bad”, I’ll do both. » Lucie Marseille is a semi-novice in the discipline. Because although she has only been playing ice for a season and a half and she only joined the North Squirrels this season, roller hockey was very familiar to her: “I have a lot of people in my family who have done it. I did it when I was younger, from when I was 6 until I was 13. And I stopped everything for reasons… I don't really have a reason. I quickly regretted« she laughs. And it was on the advice of Manon Serer, with whom she plays ice hockey, that she decided to wear rollerblades again: « From the first training session, I was immediately hooked. Whether in relation to the team or in relation to the sport. »
But practicing two sports simultaneously poses problems, just for training schedules and different meetings. “During the week, I have roller training on Tuesday. And I spend Wednesday and Friday at the ice cream. The weekends are alternating. It depends when there are ice matches or when there are roller matches« explains Lucie Marseille. Same organization for Manon Serer who specifies that a choice must sometimes be made if the two disciplines overlap, particularly for championship matches: “I prefer ice a little more anyway because it's my basic sport and also because I'm the ice captain, I can't miss too much of matches. But otherwise I try as much as possible to be there for both and for now, this year, the schedules match well. »
Braking and the puck, the two elements changing
The technical, tactical and physical approach is also different. Both players must know how to juggle two game systems, two surfaces, two pieces of equipment, etc. Moreover, regarding this last point, Lucie Marseille makes a fairly clear comparison: « When you get to the ice, you feel like you're equipped to go into the army. When rollerblading, you feel like you're in a swimsuit.« But the striking difference between ice hockey and roller hockey is the braking system and the sliding of the puck: « In roller skating, it goes much faster because the puck is much lighter. In terms of braking, I find it much more complicated in roller skating for someone who comes from ice so I think it must be the same the other way around” explains Manon Serer. Comments confirmed by Lucie Marseille: “What I don't know how to do in roller hockey is brake, it's super complicated. It's not at all the same type of braking. So, I haven't mastered it yet. »
And when we ask whether the simultaneous practice of these two disciplines is an advantage or a disadvantage, Manon Serer does not hesitate for a second: « Doing both sports helps me progress. My roller skating results so far are good, on ice they are very good too. » And if she had to choose, due to her status as captain in the ice team and her seniority in the discipline, the latter would favor skates. « If tomorrow I have a match between roller skating and ice, I will choose ice« she admits. For Lucie Marseille, on the other hand, the choice is difficult: « I couldn't choose because it's completely different, even compared to the team. There are strengths in hockey that there aren't in roller skating, and vice versa. To choose, frankly, would not be possible. » Skates or rollers, ice or field, ice rink or gymnasium, Manon Serer and Lucie Marseille have a double hat that few can boast of having. But these two roles suit them well.
Simon Vasseur
Photo credit: Kevin Devigne – Gazettesports.fr
