Sport

He talked about the power of Třinec, work with the psyche, motorbikes or representation: Hopefully it will work out sometime

2024-05-07 19:00:00

You won the prize for the best goalkeeper of this year’s extra league for the second time. What does that mean for you?

I really appreciate it. It is the biggest award that a goalkeeper can achieve in the Czech Republic. It’s a bit of a surprise to me because I didn’t win any individual stats this time. But it’s true that my role in some of the playoff games was successful. Above all, it is incredible what we have achieved. The team comes first for us. That I didn’t have a single shutout in the playoffs this year and didn’t break the record? This is inferior. The title is much more valuable and individual trophies can come thanks to it.

How much are your teammates behind your success? Steelworkers pride themselves on tremendous dedication.

The chemistry between the goalkeeper and the team is amazing in Třinec. It happened to me in my prime. The guys helped me tremendously and blocked great. I admire them. If I were them, I wouldn’t go to the blocks with their equipment. (Laughs)

Photo: Vostárek Josef, CTK

Ondřej Kacetl from Třinec intervenes with concrete

What is the team’s greatest strength?

There is a fixed system and the team has its pillars. The staff is always supplemented appropriately, and whoever comes has to submit to the collective performance, even if someone may not like it. But it can be seen that our way works. That we always create a beautiful picture from all the pieces. None of us lacks a little heart. We stick together, we trust each other. I think we were tighter than Sparta or Pardubice. In addition, there is certainly not as much pressure on us as on them.

How did you enjoy this year’s celebrations?

The best ones are always right on the ice and in the cabin, where I also had my wife and son. But this year’s journey to the title was incredibly difficult. As the play-off ended, great physical and mental fatigue fell upon us, which was also reflected in the celebrations. They might probably be bigger, but the most valuable thing is the inner feeling that we did it once more. In addition, I once once more scalped Sparta and Pardubice, two giants. This may never happen once more.

Třinec–Sparta, home team Voženílek equalized in the last second of regulation timeVideo: Tipsport Extraliga / BPA

Have you ever stopped believing that the Třinec dynasty will continue this year?

It is true that three seconds before the end of the sixth semi-final with Sparta, I had already put my head down and accepted the fact that it was over. So I didn’t even see how Vožuch (Daniel Voženílek) found the smuggler there and equalized two tenths before the end. (laughs) That was a fantasy, it kicked us around and knocked Sparta down.

And in the extra time of the decisive duel, you pulled off an incredible save once morest Spartan captain Řepík.

Probably the most important action in the playoffs, we might already go on vacation. Then I heard the guys from the switchboard cheering me on, “Wow, unreal!” I didn’t even know how I did it. But when I saw the replays, I was able to appreciate the beauty of this procedure. The whole match was incredibly physically, but mainly mentally demanding. Then I sat in the cabin completely empty and the guys asked me if I was okay. Then I had to do interviews and it was really hard for me to find words.

Kacetl caught Řepík with an incredible saveVideo: Tipsport Extraliga / BPA

The big theme of the final series was attacking the goal area, which the Pardubice team used a lot. How did you see it?

I don’t mind a little provocation. I live in my own world in the goal and when I’m pushed, I retire to the corner. But when someone follows me there or arrives in the goal area four seconds following the whistle, that’s too much. So maybe I just put my hands in front of me. Attacks on goalkeepers have some limits, in the second game it was already way over the line.

Don’t you ever get tired of the “phantom playoff” label?

On the one hand, it is wonderful to beat the records of such legends as Petr Bříza or Roman Čechmánek. I value this nickname. But it’s true that if an article like this jumps out at me even before a match, I’m a little scared. But now I remember with a smile how Lukáš Radil told me that I was no phantom when he chased me out of the goal in the fifth final. It backfired like a boomerang. (smiles)

Třinec–Pardubice, home team Kacetl caught Radil fantasticallyVideo: Tipsport Extraliga / BPA

Why is it that you personally managed to time your form perfectly once more at the most important stage of the season?

I often get this question and ask myself. Maybe it helps me that the matches go by quickly, I don’t train as much and I feel more and more confident. And of course there is more pressure in the playoffs. I learned how to work under stress under coach Varaďa. Now I’m benefiting from it.

How do you prepare for the biggest duels?

I know I can’t afford to make a mistake. On the other hand, I always remind myself, “Give it your all. Concentrate as much as possible on every puck and it will work out somehow.” But for example during the seventh game, I mainly thought to myself that it was not the seventh game. So that my hands are not tied. Of course I had to learn this. I feel that I have moved the most in the two years since winning the first Law Award. I am much calmer.

Třinec goalkeeper Ondřej Kacetl in a picture from the seventh final

Have you ever used the services of a mental coach during your career?

I’ve tried it, but I don’t have a very good experience with it. I’ve always been able to manage with my own confidence. She is the most important. When I doubted myself, I remembered some intervention, some successful moments. This in turn gave me back my confidence. But I used other specialists, I cooperated with the eye clinic.

How did it help you?

I found out how quick my reactions are or how long it takes for my eyes to get tired. And I was trying to find some excuse as to why I had conceded so many half-court goals in previous years. But unfortunately I can see perfectly at a distance, so it won’t be. (Laughs)

What is the best way to relax from hockey worries?

I love motorbikes. Since ten years. I had a pioneer since I was fifteen. Now I own a naked KTM Super Duke. Such a road beast, a hooligan, I like to ride it on the back wheel.

However, when you were injured on a motorcycle in August and missed the start of the season, the club was not exactly enthusiastic.

They weren’t, injuries off the ice are always a problem. But I didn’t have any punishment for it. That incident was a terrible coincidence. I drove from the winter to the restaurant. I wanted to brake with the rear wheel, it bit me a bit and I flew sideways over the handlebars right onto the shoulder. Although it was a small speed, I ended up being stupid. I picked up the bike, drove to the restaurant, but it still hurt. I looked at my shoulder and saw the bone pop out. I ruptured ligaments, had to have surgery and was out for seven weeks.

Ondřej Kacetl with the extraleague champion trophy

Do you also ride during the season, or are you afraid of similar injuries?

You can’t ride much during the winter. But I sometimes went out between playoff games. And I often clear my head on the Internet, where I look at motorcycles or things for my motorcycle. I also like to watch motorsports. Or I go to the garage and forge, weld, I enjoy it.

Your seventeen-month-old son, Filip, certainly helps you switch off from hockey, doesn’t he?

Definitely, I always look forward to it. He’s not talking yet, so he’s not asking me regarding hockey, ideal. (laughs) But it will come soon. When he wakes up in the morning, he takes the hockey stick and immediately starts hitting the puck. I like to fool around with him, it’s fun, but sometimes also quite challenging. I admire women that they manage it at home with a child.

So will he follow in your footsteps?

So far it seems, I will definitely not defend him. But don’t force him either. If he doesn’t like hockey, that’s fine, maybe he’ll like another sport. And if not even that, then he will do something else. He has to figure that out himself.

Did you become a Třinec patriot following four years in Silesia?

Hard to say. Of course, my family and I are very happy there. Such fantastic facilities and comfort cannot be found anywhere else in the Czech Republic. I come from Znojmo, but Třinec is already my second home.

Are you tempted to stay there as long as possible, or would you like to try an assignment abroad?

Good question. It would not make sense for me to go elsewhere in the Czech Republic. I am in a team that is fighting for the top and I believe that it will achieve even more success. On the other hand, I have never been abroad, and I would like to try it sometime in order to learn English perfectly.

Moments from the 4th final match following the actions of Třinec goalkeeper KacetlVideo: Tipsport Extraliga / BPA

Have you ever wondered what you will do following your career?

The wife is an orthodontist, she does braces. Maybe I might help her with running the surgery, with things around. And of course I would be tempted to do something with cars and motorbikes. But I don’t think much regarding it yet. I don’t care when the end of a career might come. My health is good, my physical condition is not bad, the results are not bad either.

Despite your performances, you have never caught on in the Czech national team. Are you sorry?

I won’t lie, at least once in my career I would like to have a photo in the national team jersey. I have already been asked this question several times, it has been discussed several times in the media. I was close once during my engagement in Hradec, but I got sick. Of course, I’m a few years old now, and my form always came in the playoffs. We end the season at the end of April, a few days before the championship is not the time to try new faces. In addition, the competition for goalkeepers is huge, for example this year three great goalkeepers flew in from overseas. But maybe it will work out sometime.

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