Posts filed under ‘Hockey’
Patience and Planning Pays Dividends
On Sunday in Melaka, Malaysia, the host nation will contest the Junior Asia Cup Final for the first time since 1992. Malaysia has not fared too well in hockey in recent years having failed to qualify for the Olympics in their last three attempts, so this is a major achievement and understandably the whole nation is watching their performances with great interest.
Malaysia had failed to get past the last four stage on three occasions, in 1987, 2000 and 2004 and last night they had to overcome the defending champions India to make the final. A 2-0 victory means that they will meet Pakistan who trounced South Korea 6-1 in the other semi final.
The final will be justification in Malaysia for Project 2013, which was a five year plan to bring a group of players together and make them competitive on the World stage. A surprise win in the Sultan of Johor Cup in 2011 meant that going into the Junior Asia Cup many expected them to be a force to be reckoned with. Win or lose the vision has paid dividends so far, but the proof will be in whether the nucleus of this group can help Malaysia qualify for the 2014 Olympics in Rio.
Interestingly Pakistan is also a resurgent nation, when it comes to Hockey and the success of their team in these Championships, where they were slow to get going, as the squad only had five days together before the start of the tournament, has lead to huge interest back home. No doubt scoring 20 goals in their last two games will have helped; they beat Sri Lanka 14-0 before their game against South Korea.
Either way it is positive news for both nations and for the game of Hockey as a whole, and also shows the benefits in investing with a long term plan in your youth. IT may not happen overnight, but the rewards do come eventually.
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India Heading in the Right Direction
For years India was the home of Hockey, but the dawn of artificial pitches and a possibly British influences unwillingness to change their game to suit the new conditions has seen the nation fall well behind the emerging nations. Hockey, just as Rugby Union needs, Wales, New Zealand and South Africa to be strong, need India and Pakistan to get back to the highest level internationally for the game to take the next step.
Those offended by Australia not being mentioned in rugby teams need to understand that with the three countries mentioned, rugby is a more than a game,it is a way of life, and plays a major part in the community. Just as football teams do in England Germany, Holland and South America, and the teams in the AFL do in Australia.
The World Series Hockey Tournament currently underway in India has all of the right intentions. Its aim is to raise the profile of Hockey once again in India and at the halfway stage in the tournament it looks to be succeeding.
Nimbus Sports and Bridgestone are the two companies behind the tournament which is run along the lines of the IPL cricket league. Regrettably launching it now some of the top players in the world are needed in camps to prepare for the Olympics.
However despite those players not being present as the tournament progresses more television networks globally have signed up to air the tournament. Also essentially more sponsors have signed up to be a part of a competition that has captured the imagination of the Indian people.
The World Series Hockey Tournament is now the second highest ranking show on Indian Television after the cricket. It is pulling in more viewers than the English Premier League or the European Champions League, and by a fair margin.
The competition is not perfect, a lot of travel in very short periods of time and teams having to play two games in 24 hours, but it is proving to be a huge success. If ultimately it sees Indian Hockey back at the top of the World or even challenging for such a position it will have been worth it, and let us hope that the powers that be remember the visionaries who came up with the concept.
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Pretty in Pink?
Most sports fans are traditionalists, they do not like to see their game tampered with too much. Innovation is all very well as long as it is promoted as bringing new audiences to the game.
T20 Cricket slipped past the traditionalists because it brought the game much needed cash, although there are many who say it simply appeals to the fast food takeaway sports fan.
The Lanco Super 9’s Hockey Series in Perth was another innovation, that one would have to say was a success as a one off – which may well be repeated – alternative to the regular game. It was not vital to win, although all teams had that goal, and players could have a bit of fun, and more freedom than they would regularly have.
However how do Hockey Fans feel about the new pitch for the Olympic Games in London next year?
The Great Britain Players have no problem with the bright blue pitch with pink surround, or the fact that they will be playing with a bright yellow ball.
Richard Alexander is quoted as saying “I think the colours reflect that the sport has been revolutionized. The pitch makes it special. There will be a ‘wow’ factor when the crowds turn up.”
Let’s hope that it has the desired effect and the hockey is ultimately what wows the public.
Coach A Cut Above The Rest
We know that some coaches really care about their players’ welfare, but we heard at the weekend of one coach really taking that to another level.
Dr Rick Charlesworth is the current coach of the Kookaburras, Australia’s Commonwealth Gold medal winners, World Champions and Champions Trophy winning hockey side.
Jamie Dwyer is a four time World Hockey Player of the year, having won this accolade in 2004, 2007, 2009 and 2010. He also won Young Player of the year in 2002. He is a key component to the Kookaburras success.
In April this year it was decided that Dwyer would undergo surgery on a tear in his cartilage in the hope that he can make a full recovery in time for next year’s London Olympics. This was not an easy decision as Dwyer is a professional hockey player in the Netherlands, and although professional hockey players do not earn massive amounts, he has sacrificed that income to try and ensure that he is fully fit for the Olympics.
What may have surprised him was the extent that his coach went to, to ensure that all went well in the operating theatre. Rick Charlesworth is a qualified doctor, and requested that he be present during the operation to make sure that everything went according to plan. The surgeon granted him his request.
So with Dwyer under anesthetic on the operating table, his coach was bedside, scrubbed up and in his ‘greens’ to ensure that his star player received the best treatment.
That has to be a coach really taking his job seriously.
The Secret of His Success?
What is it about Ric Charlesworth that ensures that his teams end up successful? It is unfair to say he has a Midas touch, as no one gets the success he does by simply going through the motions as a coach. He must instil a belief in his players that other coaches somehow fail to with every squad member.
The Kookaburras World Cup victory over Germany in India at the weekend was Charlesworth’s third World Cup success having won with the female Hockeyroos in 1994 and 1998.
Even though the Australians overcame the Germans who had defeated them in two of the last three World Cup finals, thanks to goals from Eddie Ockenden and Luke Doerner, Charlesworth put the win immediately into perspective by stating that the team was only just beginning to find its feet.
Maybe this is why he is so successful, with that comment he has said that his own team can do better, so that they do not rest on their laurels, yet he has also dealt a blow to the teams they have defeated telling them, that this team has not even got close to reaching its potential.
Either way it is a remarkable achievement by the man who is only the second player to win the World Cup and then coach a winning team (Hans Jorritsma being the first). It was also a superb performance by the players to overcome the favoured Germans to win thier first World Cup since 1986, when Charlesworth was a player.
Well done My Son!
Hockey as most people who follow sport will know is big in Malaysia. It is therefore even more surprising then to hear that a team of schoolboys from Bukit Jalil are holding their own in a man’s world by topping the table after the first weekend of the Malaysia Hockey League’s Division One.
The fact that that 13 players from BJSS are Under-16, makes it even more special. However Malaysian authorities are trying to take the glass is half empty approach by saying it shows how poor the standard of the league has become. All credit to the boys they were apparently 3-0 down in one game and came back to draw 3-3, so they must have spirit as well.
25 Feb 1971: Boston Bruins set Ice Hockey Record.
The Boston Bruins set an NHL record for the fastest three goals scored in an 8-3 win over Vancouver in Boston. In a 20 second time-span in the third period the Bruins scored via John Bucyk, Ed Westfall and Ted Green. For more sporting facts that took place on this day listen to Not the Footy Show.
Continue Reading February 24, 2009 at 10:03 pm Leave a comment
