The first cry to heaven for Lucas Rey, a dream come true

SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO (Special Envoy) — The surname Rey is indelible in the San Fernando Club and also in the Argentine National Team. Keeping that surname that has brought so much joy to men’s hockey in force is not an easy task. Lucas or The Turk as he is nicknamed, the brand new coach of Los Leones, lived his first dream night in Santiago del Estero. Their first victory against Ireland came. “It’s lovely. Leading your country is the most beautiful thing that can happen to you”he told AM850 Hockey.

Can a person who has heard his country’s anthem so many times be moved again? The defeat against England in his official debut was perhaps an anecdote in what he was feeling The Turk at that moment of hearing the verses of the Argentine song for the first time on the other side of the lime line. “I feel lucky to have been able to experience it as a player. Now it’s my turn as a coach, the moment of the anthem is a moment that gives me a lot of happiness. Seeing the kids on the field, that’s mixed with the feeling of when you were a player, what you were feeling at that moment, the teammates you had next to you, and seeing them focused, concentrated, prepared to go defend the shirt. “It really fills me with pride, so we are very happy with the coaching staff.”described in detail.

From a family of hockey players and with his brother Matías as captain and Emilio as the first standard bearer of that brotherhood, the moment is undoubtedly special and the cultivation of the human group that he wants to build with Los Leones is essential. “Today it is the turn of these 24 players, but it may be the turn of others in the next Pro League window. Those who are there know that they are part of the team, even if they are not on the field, they know that they have to be super positive and encouraging. I think there is also great work on the part of Daro, our psychologist who has been working with them for a while now, and well, little by little a line of what we are looking for is coming down.”he stated.

Rey and his coaching staff breathe hockey all the time. They are at the level of every detail. From training with a bocce throwing machine for penalty corner defenses to analyzing each offensive attack on camera in the moment. Nothing escapes them. “We are starting a new process, we have a mix of players. We have a different coaching staff, with different ideas, we have to merge all that. Many times in putting all this together, imbalances are generated that are normal,” he explained. “It means starting to build and knowing that it is step by step, that everything is not going to turn out perfectly and the way we want, all at once,” he added.

He was once an Olympic champion no less or bronze in a World Cup as a player. But the scrolls of the past no longer interest Lucas that much. No one can take away his enthusiasm to once again go out of his way to leave Argentina at the top. Now as technical director and with the first shout to the heavens of victory under his belt.