Cuban Moreno loves Peruvian experience
HAVANA, Cuba, April 6, 20 20 – After eight years since her first
contact with the game at the National School of Volleyball the
Cuban Gretell Moreno tasted the experience of playing in a
foreign league, one the 22-years old setter considered very
positive.
Moreno is now back in Cuba with seven other compatriots who
played in the shortened Peruvian League because of the ongoing
pandemic coronavirus but optimistic about how this first chance
to play overseas will contribute to her development into a more
seasoned setter.
“I know that the playing level in Peru is not comparable to the
European leagues but it is a good way to start and see how the
professional teams work and the tools put within your reach,”
commented Moreno of her season with Club Regatas Lima during an
interview with JIT Magazine of Cuba.
Moreno recognized the importance of the technical, physical and
psychological aspects involved in a match but underlined what
the technology brings to the game.
“As a setter all the data you receive before the matches
provides you information about the way to distribute the game,”
Moreno commented. “Also you know the effectiveness of the
attacking opponents and their tendencies during a match.”
Gretell also gave importance to the balanced level of the
opponents she faced during her time with Regatas Lima.
“Back there we faced different opponents of more or less the
same level and volume of play which was very important in
perfecting your overall game, especially the technical part,”
she said.
Moreno is taking the Peruvian experience as a launching pad to
move to Europe if the chance arrives in the future.
“You have to crawl first and then walk before running,” she
said. “Obviously, in a few years I would like to move to Europe
but it all depends on the strength and discipline that I impose
on my work.”
Moreno commented that when the Peruvian league stopped in the
first week of March all the Cuban and foreign players were
lodged in apartments except her who was invited to stay at the
home of teammate Jimena Vallejo Villar, whose parents are
members of the private Club Regatas Lima.
"I am very grateful for the gesture of Roberto and Estela, the
parents of Jimena, for taking all the measures and dedication to
make my stay in Peru the less traumatic possible and to make
sure I would not be alone during those difficult days. They are
a family with close ties with the Peruvian sport,” she said.
She added that her other compatriots were also in safe places,
well taken care and in constant communication between them and
also with their families in Cuba.
Besides Moreno, the other Cuban players who spent a quarantine
of 14 days in Peru before traveling to their country for another
similar period away from their homes were: Claudia Hernandez and
Jessica Aguilera of Alianza Lima, Yelennys Díaz and Carmela
Massip with Tupac Amarú, and Diaris Pérez, Laura Suárez and
Regla Gracia with Jaamsa.
Finally, Moreno invited all the people in Cuba to follow all the
government rules put in place to preserve everyone’s health.
“It is essential that all of us contribute with discipline,
avoiding unnecessary social contacts and crowds,” she said. “We
must have a perception of the danger of this pandemic so we must
behave with responsibility.” |