Villers – Marckolsheim
This Saturday at 8 p.m.
Of course, the championship is still long. However, as the days go by, Villers Handball continues to climb the rankings. And yet, on October 12, following its defeat against Nancy HB (28-29), we began to fear a disastrous future for the Vllar “seven”. But after 5 consecutive defeats, Villers found some light by successively winning at Paris SC (31-32), ahead of Roissy (32-31) and finally at Gien (30-33). A rise in power to which Tanguy Blaise (20 years old) largely contributed, nurtured at Neuves-Maisons before taking his place in the under-18 nursery at Villers HB.
“I have completely freed myself”
Suffice to say that for his second season in N2, Tanguy Blaise is making sparks. And that’s saying something: 9/15 against Paris, 8/16 against Roissy and 13/15 in Gien! These statistics even allowed him to climb to 5th place in the group scorers rankings just ahead of Pierre Poncet, his captain. “A lot happened in the offseason,” he recalls.
“A lot of players left us and we also changed coaches. A new philosophy has been put in place. Before we had individuals and we lacked a team, today it's the opposite. Personally, I completely freed myself. I was bothered for a long time by a shoulder injury but also by a lack of passion. Last season was difficult and I didn't find what I wanted. This year, I feel like I'm growing wings because I have rediscovered my passion for this sport. In the off-season, the coach also asked me to take on more responsibilities because I was part of the 'executives'. Finally, we play more and more in unison.”
On weekends, Tanguy Blaise does not hesitate to put on the blue to put himself at the service of the collective. “For me, defending well or making an assist are as important as scoring a goal,” he adds. “The important thing is that the team wins.” In Gien, Tanguy Blaise did not hesitate to take the truck keys and give a “rant at the break” because the situation was compromised. “We returned to the field with a completely different state of mind,” says Tanguy Blaise.
“We proved that we could win even when we were missing important players (Da Silva Ribeiro, Camus, etc.). The “young people” are beginning to disinhibit themselves and gain confidence. Even if the next generation begins to take power, we will always need the oldest (Poncet, Da Silva Ribeiro, Camus) because they are the ones who make us surpass ourselves.”
