In his case, accepting the call from EnergyTime Spike Devils Campobasso was an opportunity to get closer to home.
Twenty-eight year old born in Foggia and 183 centimeters tall, Gabriele Calitri will retire as a libero with the ‘little devils’, adding another important stop in a career which has seen him, in the last two seasons, always in the A3 Credem Banca series in Garlasco, after two years in Aversa (where he had been a teammate of the rossoblù central defender Stefano Diana), a season in Palmi and a journey also made of A2 in Matera and B (or B1) between Ugento, Cosenza, Lucera and Cerignola.
«I am preparing to start this Campobasso adventure with a lot of enthusiasm after the two seasons in the North with the possibility of almost staying at home. I will be part of a club where, thanks to last season’s treble, there will certainly be no lack of enthusiasm, on the contrary. Precisely for this reason I can’t wait to get started and get to know the club, staff and teammates first hand.”
Precisely the applause path of the rossoblù last season will in some ways be a responsibility of no small importance for the players involved with the team this season.
«When you have won everything – agrees Calitri – you have to do everything to maintain that level, which is why we will have to try to win as many races as possible. This must be the mood that we must inspire ourselves during the season with the aim of aiming to give our best.”
As a libero, the Apulian player has a very precise way of understanding his role.
«I like to take the field in reception – he argues – and this emerged even more strongly in my two years in Garlasco and, in general, also in defence, I love responsibility, trying to help my teammates both with the first touch and in the reconstruction phase. I like this last aspect quite a bit because it puts you in the heart of the action and makes you feel like an important part of the group.”
Moreover, responsibility and management of any errors are two aspects that this type of role must constantly deal with.
«Compared to the laterals, we risk perhaps touching a few balls per set, but we have to demonstrate that we are there in those. Precisely for this reason it is necessary to work hard in the gym, thinking about always being ready, even more so having greater concentration on the next ball when, perhaps, the previous one was not too happy with the intention of always being ready”.
