An Interview With Yousif Abu Saada
You were awarded Man of the Match last night (and we agree with the choice), you seemed to put yourself in front of every puck, how’re you feeling today?
Yep there's no denying I'm feeling a little sore in places but nothing major! To be honest, up to now the only time I've ever had a serious injury blocking a shot was on one occasion years ago that I actually tried to get out of the way of the puck!
Last night’s game wasn’t the prettiest the Raiders will play this year, especially in the first two periods. What would you say was the turning point that led to the victory?
You're right it wasn't a pretty game and we didn't perform anywhere near as well as we know we can. Throughout the season you're going to have games like that, no team in any league in any sport plays to their full potential every single game, but it's about finding a way to win those games. We have an awful lot of character in this team, and it's these battling wins that will ensure we'll be in the hunt for the league title right til the very end.
For me the turning point was simplifying our game and playing more effectively as a unit in the third period. To a certain extent I think the way our forwards ripped through Streatham's D in the last game lead to us over complicating things in the first two periods of the Cardiff game; once we got back to what we're good at the Cardiff D really struggled to contain us.
You’ve formed a really solid shutdown pairing on defence with Ben Lock; you seem to bring out the best in each other, why do you think that is?
I'm really enjoying sharing the blue line with Lockey so far, he's still young but has a mature approach to the game and always listens/wants to learn. I'm really hoping I can pass on some often become fan favourites but never quite get the plaudits of my experience this year and help him develop his game further.
I think we work pretty well as a shutdown pair because we both tend to play a very simple game; block shots, clear the net and move the puck up to let the forwards go to work. I think it's fair to say that neither of us are majorly offensively minded so it allows us to concentrate on taking care of our own end.
You were on the Raiders line-up a few years ago during their time in the EPL, what made you choose to come back this year?
To be honest it came out of nowhere; having played in NIHL2 for Swindon last year I had almost fell out of love with the game and was seriously considering quitting the sport. I eventually decided to play another year in Swindon, but when Ozzy mentioned that Jeremy was looking for another D I just couldn't turn it down! For sure it's meant a bit more travel time etc, but the chance to play in NIHL1 again for a team that has a serious shot at silverware was an opportunity I had to take and right now I'm loving playing more than I have in years!
How did you first get into hockey? You came up through the system at Swindon, was there anyone there who was a particular influence on you?
A friend of mine had his 7th birthday party on a public skating session; I really enjoyed it so I started going every week. After a while I met some of the under 10's team and decided to give it a go! My first memory of the learn to play sessions are of being coached by Swindon Wildcats legend Daryl Lipsey, as a young fan of the team it didn't get any better than that!!
There were a number of great coaches in the Swindon set up, none more so than Mark Beggs who coached me from under 12's right through to under 19's. In terms of my senior career I'd have to say Ken Forshee and Gareth Endicott were big influences; they both gave me a shot and believed in me at all times.
Are there any players you’ve lined up with in the past that you’d love to play alongside again? If so, who and why?
This is a horrible question as there's been so many over the years! I'd love to play alongside Mark Richardson, John Dewar and Shane Moore again simply because of all the great times we shared as Juniors at Swindon. A line of me and Andrew Shurmer on D, Joel Petkoff, Gareth Endicott and Ken Forshee as forwards would also be great!
Anything else you’d like to add Yousif?
Just that I've got a really good feeling about our team this year; it should be an exciting season on the Island!
Many thanks to Yousif for giving up his time! You can keep up with the team throughout the season at @wightlinkraider - look out for Facebook TV coming soon on the Raiders page!
We'd also like to thank Nicky Craft for the use of her photos. You can check out her work here.
If you’ve got any feedback, you can tweet me @MattMerritt. I’d love to hear from anyone who takes the time to read the blog.
If you’re a hockey player/coach/team manager in a competitive league, I’d love to ask you some questions too, please get in touch either here or via twitter!