Summaries made by the 3C and 3F pupils after interviewing two professional hockey players

Summaries made by the 3C and 3F pupils after interviewing two professional hockey players Cody CAMPBELL [photo] and Braden WALLS from the Ducs d’Angers team on Thursday, February 9th.

Summaries made by the 3C and 3F pupils

after interviewing two professional hockey players

Cody CAMPBELL and Braden WALLS from the Ducs d’Angers team

on Thursday, February 9th

Cody Campbell and Braden Walls’ biographies

Cody Campbell is twenty-nine years old. He was born in Vancouver in Canada, and he moved to the USA to play hockey. He started hockey at four years old because every kid plays this sport there. Cody said that is very difficult to be a professional player today. He is not very popular in his country. He started his career in Gap, in France, before playing for Angers. He won the French cup with Les Ducs in two thousand and fourteen. He already broke his hand during a match but he has never had serious injuries. Apart from hockey, he likes playing soccer with his friends.

Braden Walls is thirty-one years old. He was born in Calgary in Canada. He began hockey at seven years old because it’s a popular sport there and his parents ice hockey. Braden went into a special school at fourteen years old up to seventeen and he became a professional player at twenty-four. Before Angers, he played in different teams like Calgary Flames and in different countries like the USA, Briançon or Alaska. For him, it’s pretty hard to become a professional player. Hockey became his job in two thousand and nine. When he plays hockey, he loves the game, the team and working together. He also plays squash. He has already had some injuries but not very serious ones like his knee or finger.

Their arrival in France

Cody Campbell arrived in France five years ago in 2012, his integration was difficult but the people were nice with him, so he made friends easily. For him the main differences between his country and France are the life style, driving, buildings and food.

What Cody Campbell likes best in France is the landscapes. He has already been to Paris, Spain, Ireland, Portugal, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Hungary and the first French city he went was Gap.

Cody Campbell speaks a little bit French, he studied French for one year when he was eighteen years old. The first word he learnt was «Bonjour». He understands French more that he can speak it. He finds it a difficult langage. Cody Campbell thinks that French people are joyful and nice. He misses his family. He didn’t know anybody the first year. French cooking is very similar to Canadian cooking.

Cody Campbell likes carpaccio and he misses a little bit the food of his country.

Braden Walls arrived in France six years ago in 2011 and his integration was difficult at the beginning in Briançon. He made friends easily in the team. France and Canada are a bit similar but people are more open-minded in Canada. He had a good impression of France. Braden Walls likes the food, the atmosphere and the French wine. He has already been to Paris once. He can understand, speak and read French. He had learnt French before coming in France. The first words he learnt were «merci, enchanté». He understands French fairly well. He thinks that French people are reserved, joyful and happy. He misses his family: he can only see them twice a year. He didn’t know anybody when he arrived. French cooking is different. He likes cheese cooking such as raclette, fondue and tartiflette. He misses the Canadian barbecue!

Hockey practices

Braden Walls has been playing in the Ducs D’angers team for five years. In a hockey team, there are twenty-three players and they play seven or eight matches a month. He plays three hours a day, twenty-five hours a week and before a match, Braden has a specific physical preparation : he goes cycling and plays soccer. In the team, there is a good atmosphere. The youngest player is eighteen and the oldest one is thirty-four. His coach speaks French to the team. Braden earns about two thousand and five hundred euros a month.

For his physical preparation, Cody rides a bike and runs before matches. He plays seventeen hours a week and has got twelve practices a week. Cody is a striker in the team. In the Ducs d’Angers team, there are doctors and physiotherapists.

Their food diet

Cody eats three meals a day and he doesn’t have any special diet. He eats few vegetables and little bread. He sometimes eats junk food. He eats much meat. Before his matches he eats chicken. He used to drink energy drinks but he doesn’t drink any more. He drinks a little alcohol.

Braden likes food, so he eats four meals a day. He sometimes eats food with added vitamins and proteins. He drinks six liters of water a day.

Their life styles and health

Braden Walls goes to bed at about 11 pm and is woken up by his son at 8 am, so he sleeps for about eight hours!

Cody Campbell doesn’t know how long he sleeps at night. He sometimes goes to bed earlier to rest for matches or competitions. He gets up at nine am. He has free time and he shares it with his team. He doesn’t have a child but he has a girlfriend. He visits his family in Canada in the summer. He doesn’t have another job.

How they plan the future

After his job as a professional player, Braden would like to be a hockey coach. He will stop in two or three years’ time.

Cody wants to stay in his team as long as possible. He is going to stop his hockey season in April and he wants to visit London during his holidays.