Grzegorz Leśniak: Reaching the Play-off Stage is the Minimum Goal (interview)

The CELLFAST WILKI Krosno team will spend next year in the second division of the PGE Ekstraliga. In an interview for ekstraliga.pl, the president of the Krosno club, Grzegorz Leśniak, talks about sports and infrastructure plans for the upcoming season.

Łukasz Rusiecki (ekstraliga.pl): To start, a question about the schedule. To what extent is the current arrangement of matches in the METALKAS 2. Ekstraliga beneficial for CELLFAST WILKI Krosno? How do you assess this lineup?

Grzegorz Leśniak (president of CELLFAST WILKI Krosno): The general feedback from all clubs is that basically everyone is satisfied with how the schedule looks, so we also do not hide that this set appears beneficial for us, but of course, everything will show on the track. Before the licensing process, we requested the season to start away due to further modernization of our stadium. Those seven extra days in spring could be important in the context of finalizing infrastructural issues at the venue. In the 2025 season, we will compete without the main stand, which will start rising from January. Currently, the old stand and the MOSiR building have been dismantled, and from January this whole investment will accelerate greatly so that we have a new main stand from the 2026 season onwards. Returning to the schedule, we start in Ostrów. Right away, there are interesting circumstances. There’s a clear subtext regarding Tobiasz Musielak, who spent the previous two seasons in Ostrów. This time, however, he will again take to the Ostrów track in our colors, so it looks set to be an interesting match. On the other hand, regarding the league season opener in Krosno, we start with a hit, as FOGO UNIA Leszno comes to us, a meeting for which no special invitation is needed.

Is the planned stadium modernization a prelude to another attempt to fight for a spot in the PGE Ekstraliga next year?

In the coming season, our goal is to make it to the play-off stage, meaning at least the semi-final of METALKAS 2. Ekstraliga, and we know that anything can happen there. Recent seasons have vividly shown how unpredictable these competitions are, for we advanced to the PGE Ekstraliga in 2022 finishing the regular stage in third place, and this year INNPRO ROW Rybnik advanced, whom few bet on, showing how very unpredictable these struggles are. The new competition system has many traps and is very attractive for fans but simultaneously dangerous for clubs because it includes many novelties. A team that wins several matches and achieves a decent point tally finishing the regular stage in fifth place may fall from the league in the play-down phase. Similarly, the situation is for a team in eighth place, which can defend itself from relegation after winning two legs against a team from fifth place. Of course, these are just theoretical considerations, but sport has often shown that it’s a field where anything is possible, so such solutions should also be considered. The main goal is to secure a spot in the play-offs, and it doesn’t matter much from which place you start in the final round, as the winner of the regular round won’t necessarily have to choose the fourth-place team, but for example, a team from second place after the regular round. Regarding unforeseen situations related to injuries, a medical transfer is provided, where it will be possible to acquire a player from a lower league, provided it does not collide with his riding, for example, in the National Speedway League. A separate question is whether such a player will guarantee an appropriate sports level to properly replace an injured player. I think that this type of regulation is a good choice because it’s always a better option than desperately filling a gap in the lineup. In summary, I think the new system is extremely interesting but simultaneously full of dangerous situations and demanding for teams aiming higher but finding themselves in the lower four, as being in the top four will be decidedly more difficult. In previous years, teams from places 5-6 finished the season and could calmly settle and summarize the year, and now it may turn out that they leave the league. A huge plus is definitely the new, three-year TV contract, thanks to which all METALKAS 2. Ekstraliga matches will be shown live on CANAL+ Sport5 and in the CANAL+ Online app, which, for a second-tier league, is indeed a great prestige and the marketing value of these competitions is definitely increasing, as it is somewhat unprecedented on a national scale, considering other sports disciplines.

You mentioned unforeseen situations like injuries, which last season somewhat complicated the situation for the Wolves, as Dimitri Berge and Jonas Seifert-Salk were out for an extended period, and at the end, Václav Milik. Does the club, in the event of similar incidents, consider loaning a player or rather using the aforementioned medical replacement with a player from a lower league?

At the end of the last season, we were struck by enormous bad luck because in the first quarter-final match against INNPRO ROW Rybnik we won and were incredibly optimistic before the rematch in Rybnik. Unfortunately, we went there without the injured Václav Milik, and Jonas Seifert-Salk was also out. Sadly, the absence of two of the five key players in the starting lineup equaled elimination from the play-off stage. Fortunately, the current regulations open the door to using a medical transfer, which greatly saves such situations.

Compared to last year, the Wolves’ lineup has been, at least on paper, strengthened, especially in the national formation, and Piotr Świderski has also become the coach. Are these changes a foundation for potentially moving up a tier, so to maintain the backbone of the current team in a higher league?

When building the team for the upcoming season, we primarily aimed to thoroughly rebuild the national formation, which we managed 100%. Both Jakub Jamróg and Tobiasz Musielak guarantee a high level in METALKAS 2. Ekstraliga. Negotiations with Jakub Jamróg have been ongoing for a few seasons, but something always got in the way of finalizing these talks with a contract. This year, it was known that if this player didn’t ride in the PGE Ekstraliga with INNPRO ROW Rybnik, he would choose our team. We are thrilled he chose our club and it seems we have reliable players who fight to the finish for points and never give up. Additionally, contracting Piotr Świderski is the result of efforts to introduce the so-called new broom effect, which will positively influence our young riders, namely Szymon Bańdur and Piotr Świercz, but also those entering a new, one could say league category – Oskar Kręglicki and Arkadiusz Kordek. These riders are our trainees and have so far scored very well in the Team Speedway Cup competitions in the 250cc class, and at the season’s end, they passed the 500cc class license. They currently form, together with Miłosz Grygolec, the direct backup for our main juniors, and we want the new coach to also work with them. Regarding Ireneusz Kwieciński, he very much enjoys working with the youngest, so he will primarily conduct training with boys entering this sport, in both the pit bike class, through mini speedway, and the 250cc class, which directly leads to obtaining a 500cc class license.

It’s worth noting a marked progress in youth training in Krosno thanks to the CELLFAST WILKI Krosno Academy. Will local fans soon be able to enjoy the presence of trainees in the league lineup, considering the upcoming year will be Piotr Świercz’s last in the youth category?

That is exactly the plan. In the past, training in Krosno wasn’t at a high level. It’s a very time-consuming and expensive process, where two or three seasons are too short to rear a trainee. We’ve been conducting this training full steam since the 2023 season and our participation in the PGE Ekstraliga when we participated in the PGE Ekstraliga’s training pyramid, and not just following the requirements set by the Polish Motorcycle Federation, so we were obliged to implement both training programs simultaneously, which was a huge challenge for us. If we look at the list of our trainees, or what our workshop looks like and the equipment there, it clearly illustrates our training progress. This process is incredibly difficult and time-consuming, so raising a player who will score in league matches is a big deal, but I hope that in the coming years, with time, our trainees will replace Piotr Świercz, and later Szymon Bańdur.

Grzegorz Węglarz has left the position of track-master. What are the preparations for the Krosno track looking like for the upcoming season?

For the coming year, the surface has been supplemented with over 500 tons of granite. We’ve been doing this cyclically, for six seasons in a row, to improve the consistency of our track. This autumn, everything was overseen by Piotr Świderski, Ireneusz Kwieciński, and Michał Finfa, with the work being carried out by our new track master. The surface has plenty of time to hibernate and degas, so that in spring it can be used as soon as possible to effectively compete in the METALKAS 2. Ekstraliga. Last year, we were one of the first teams in Poland to hit the track, as we started track training as early as March, which hadn’t happened for a while. It’s worth mentioning that in the past year none of the visiting teams or the commissioners or referees had any complaints about the condition of our track. I spoke about this, among others, with Krzysztof Buczkowski after the match with ABRAMCZYK POLONIA Bydgoszcz, who also highly praised our track. I’m sure next year will be similar.

I understand that Norik Koczarian will fulfill the role of mental coach at the club. How important are mental aspects in today’s speedway and does this collaboration only cover being present during league matches, or might it also involve working with the youngest members of your team?

Norik Koczarian is the second new figure in our staff along with Piotr Świderski. The field of psychology is now an inherent element of professional sports. What, years ago, seemed unnecessary, is now the norm. It’s extremely difficult to find the right person for this position. We reached for a person we are confident about in working with speedway riders, i.e., athletes practicing a very specific discipline. Norik Koczarian has been in this sport for years and is very familiar with this discipline, having been in the pits during various matches and tournaments hundreds of times. He is definitely not someone just getting to know this sport, but has experience also from working in our club at the end of the last season. He is now officially our mental coach and will be present at all league games, but will also conduct separate sessions with our leading juniors or interested seniors.

Łukasz Rusiecki