With the men’s Junior Pan American Championship looming large in the eyes of the players and coaching staff of the eight teams participating, we hear from some of the people lined up to become sporting stars. In the first of three articles in which we talk to the players, we meet Jamie Wallace of Canada, and Christian DeAngelis and Jaspreet Gill of Team USA.
For Jamie Wallace, the Pan American Championships are new territory. The youngster only made his debut last summer, in a test series against the USA. It was a home game and as he says: “It was a very special moment as I was able to play in front of friends and family.”
Along with the rest of the team, Wallace is totally focused on the upcoming tournament in Toronto and his time is dedicated to training. He currently has three weekly pitch sessions with the national squad, plus two further club training sessions. This is in addition to two matches at the weekend and two-three gym sessions a week.
Wallace, who is still at high school, says that he has to be careful how he prioritises his time and this can have a big impact upon his downtime – when most teenagers would be out and about socialising. “It’s important to stay organized and to prioritize your time. Most weekends during our heavy training blocks, I need to stay in to catch up on school work.”
Canada’s opening match will be against Mexico, but it is much further down the tournament timeline that Wallace thinks the biggest threat awaits the North American team. “We definitely have our eyes on Argentina as there is always a rivalry between us in Pan American events. However, we are not underestimating any team as we haven’t seen any of them play except the USA, who we know are a strong team. I think if we stick to our game and play simple, consistent hockey we’ll have success.”
For Wallace, the strengths of this Canadian team lie in ‘the heart that exists within the team’. As a midfielder, he garners praise from opponents and coaches for his distribution, speed and vision, but when it comes to the success of the team, he sees the main strength as being a more intangible quality and one that comes from outside any coaching manual.
“Guys are willing to do whatever it takes to win games and will push themselves to their limits every chance they get,” he adds. “We also get along and trust each other very well, which I think is a tremendous asset going into the tournament. “
However, despite this being Wallace’s first major international tournament, the young player has a clear view of what his team needs to improve upon in order to prove a serious threat at the Pan American Championship. “I think improving our finishing and consistency will be key for us if we want to have success at the tournament. We can create lots of circle penetrations and goal scoring chances however we do not convert enough. We also need to work on playing a consistent match as we often have lapses throughout the game.”
In the past year hockey has become the main focus of Wallace’s life. He says that his selection for the national squad has had a big impact upon his plans for the future. “It has definitely changed my aspirations for the future. I have always wanted to study abroad or away from home but now I am thinking of studying in Vancouver in order to train full time with the national team.
“My aspiration is to play for the senior national team and to ultimately qualify for the Olympic games and not only participate but contend for the gold.”
And Wallace has based his sporting prowess on an interesting role model. “I admire and look up to Roger Bannister (an English athlete). He was the first person to break the four minute mile, a task previously considered impossible. His actions inspire me to believe that anything I do can be achieved even if it’s never been done before.”
Christian DeAngelis has been part of the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) for four years but, like Wallace, he made his debut in last summer’s test series between USA and Canada. He says that representing his country is “an amazing and humbling experience,” and being named part of the Pan American Championship roster was one of the best moments of his hockey career so far.
Becoming an international player has made DeAngelis a far more self-aware athlete. He says that head coach of the U21 team, Rutger Weise, is his role model because “he practises what he preaches,” and that for the young athlete, this means taking care of his health, fitness and nutritional needs as well as concentrating on improving aspects of his game.
DeAngelis, who hails from Doylestown, Pennsylvania, says that his dual ambitions for the future are to become a forensics scientist and to become a member of the senior national team. For the immediate future he plans to work “tirelessly and have a positive impact upon the team.”
Of the three interviewees, Jaspreet Gill is by far the most experienced. He has been part of the USA U21 roster for six years, making his debut in December 2012 – again against Canada.
His annus horriblis came in 2015 when he broke his arm, meaning he had to miss out on months of training camps and test matches. However, Gill bounced back from this and will be a key figure in USA’s battle plan in Toronto. “We are hoping for a top three finish,” says Gill, a result which would equal their highest ever finish - achieved in 2008.
Like both DeAngelis and Wallace, Gill sees hockey as playing a big part in his future. He is determined to make the senior squad and has targeted qualification for Tokyo 2020 as his hockey aspiration. For now he is juggling life as a student and an international sports player, a task made all the more tricky by his choice of eventual career – a medical doctor. “It certainly involves sacrifice,” admits Gill. “It is quite a juggling act, balancing school and training.”
With qualification to the Junior World Cup as the enticing prize for both these North American rivals, Canada and USA are pulling out all the stops in the final run-in to the junior Pan American Championship. The USA U21 team have just undergone a gruelling and challenging tour against various Dutch senior men’s and U-21 men’s club teams, with USMNT head coach Chris Clements declaring the team to be “playing with more and more energy and greater levels of team work.” With an opening match against Puerto Rico and just a 24 hour break before a crucial match against reigning champions Argentina, Team USA will need all those reserves of energy when it comes to tournament time in Toronto.
