Maciej Kuciapa: I don’t need to motivate my players (interview)

Maciej Kuciapa, the current coach of ORLEN OIL MOTOR Lublin, has the opportunity to lead his team to its fourth consecutive Polish Team Championship. What is his mindset as the PGE Ekstraliga season approaches?

Łukasz Rusiecki (ekstraliga.pl): What are the team’s plans for the next two months? How are the club, players, and coaching staff planning the pre-season preparations?

Maciej Kuciapa (coach of ORLEN OIL MOTOR Lublin): Our team is mainly composed of players from outside, so each of them prepares for the season individually with their personal trainers. Their preparations have been faultless for years, so we operate according to proven systems. As for the club’s plans, we meet for a pre-season training camp, as every year in Spain, where there will be a cycling camp aimed at maintaining the previously developed form. The trip is the final stage of preparations but is largely intended to be integrative, and we spend most of our time there cycling. Then we meet for pre-season training in Gorican, after which we begin test matches and scrimmages.

Is it harder to defend each consecutive gold medal, and do the club and players feel increasing pressure because you have accustomed your fans to winning?

Certainly, year by year, it is harder to maintain a high level, and winning a gold medal does not come easily. Looking at other teams in the PGE Ekstraliga, one can conclude that their personal rosters are strengthened, but we focus on ourselves. We mainly want to focus on our form to stay in the medal zone, but what will the season bring? We will see in due course. We will do everything to fight for the highest honors, and it is known that every athlete has the ambition to achieve the most important goal, which is the gold medal. As always, the season will verify everything. Soon it will become clear what form we are in, but the goal remains unchanged.

Is it difficult to extract motivation from the players after so many victories, especially when the team composition has remained unchanged, and when there have been changes, they were cosmetic?

These are players who are always hungry for success, and I don’t have to motivate them specifically. I can see this by observing their training, which we may not have much of, but competitiveness can be seen in them. I have the comfort of working with professionals who strive for perfect preparation for the season and winning, so I don’t have to influence their motivation.

What is your opinion on the new competition system, which is supposed to be more interesting for fans? How important will each match be in the regular season in relation to the play-offs?

When six teams advanced to the finals, it was slightly easier than with four teams. Last season we won the regular season with a large advantage, but we will still make efforts to win every match. We do not intend to calculate because we must take each match seriously. I believe that at this level, there is no joking, especially if only four teams will compete for medals. As always, time will tell if the new system will be more attractive, but I think it will be.

If your team wins the regular season, it will have the right to choose an opponent. On what basis and who makes the choice of the rival? What in the case of radically different opinions on this topic?

We try not to talk about such topics just yet. I think we first need to fully focus on winning the regular season, but I assume that any team can find itself in that position. If we turn out to be the best and have the right to choose an opponent, it will not be solely the decision of the coaching staff, but will result from detailed talks with the players and, based on that, we will make the choice. Of course, we first have to find ourselves there, so this topic is currently set aside for later.

Currently, ORLEN OIL MOTOR Lublin has a strong pair of youth players. What is the outlook for the future? I mean players like Bartosz Jaworski or Dawid Grzeszczyk, and younger ones like Dawid Cepielik or Karol Szmyd?

As you mentioned, we have Bartosz Jaworski, Dawid Grzeszczyk, and Dawid Cepielik in the squad, who are preparing thoroughly for the season in general development training. The club provides them with excellent conditions for development, and I hope they will catch up with our core juniors. We are doing everything to have one of the local youths in the main squad in league matches in the future, and that’s what we’re largely focusing on.

Are there already any decisions regarding possible loans to other clubs for Bartosz Jaworski or Dawid Grzeszczyk?

The loan of Bartosz Jaworski is currently out of the question, as he will be the first reserve for the first-team players. As for Dawid Grzeszczyk, he will be loaned to one of the teams competing in the National Speedway League to be able to combine these appearances with riding in the U24 Ekstraliga and gaining valuable experience that may benefit in the future.

Łukasz Rusiecki