National Coaches should have been rested for Hero Hockey India League

EDITORIAL: Last year then national chief coach Michel Nobbs has been rightly rested from doing duty in the Hockey India League. The saner voice then came from his pay masters, Sports Authority of India, not certainly from casual Hockey India, which doesn’t seem to possess any policy approach towards coaching.

The decision to rest Nobbs was considered fair and professional by many. It was felt that as the head of coaching staff that oversees and trains national teams, Nobbs need to remain neutral in the competitive atmosphere and remain non-partisan — instead focus on the HIL matches, observer newer trends, scout new talents for the purpose of building or complementing national teams.

Micheal Nobbs despite his personal inclination to be working part of the HHIL, had to bow out last year.

A year seems to be longer in India.

When Michael Nobbs was denied permission then, now not only the reigning National Chief Coach Terry Walsh but also Performance Director – a post that was non-existent when the inaugural edition was held – have been prettily sitting with a Franchise each and working towards its success in the second edition, which unfolds tomorrow.

When Sports Authority of India raised the issue again, Hockey India over-looked the issue, or at least looked differently; seemed to have sided with the Franchise, its mulching cows anyway.
The details are not much important now, but the fact is that the pay masters had to restrict their action to just cut the salary for their contract-holders, Oltmans and Walsh, for a month for which the duo will be rendering HHIL services.

Am of the firm view that the view taken by SAI then was the right one that need to have been extended to this year too – and possibly every year as well.

Terry Walsh is now new franchise Kalinga Lancers’ chief coach. His focus will remain how to justify his new one-month pay masters, a conglomeration of State Govt. departments that own the franchise.

How nice it would have been had he continued with the duty of chief coach, and spent his time and energy to travel across the HHIL venues to watch matches critically, and note down proceedings with an eye on how the things can be incorporated to improve the lot of national team which has as many as five major assignments this year including World Cup, Champions Trophy, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games etc.

And then submitted a good report for the HI to introspect and execute, as this one month would have left them to have an overview of Indian hockey as it existed in different states and regions.

Instead he will be under pressure to deliver for his own team, national outlook and duty taking a backseat.

The same will be the case with Roelant Oltmans. This gentleman need to focus on larger issues that concern quality and best delivery at national level and for that to do necessary work to create roadmap for every area of hockey.

Instead he will be pressured now to deliver more than the surprise bronze his Lucknow Wizards won last year.

Another important factor is, he will be under tremendous pressure, actual or contrived, to do better than all other coaches in the fray, as he is technically above all of them being the overall boss and technical policy formulator of Indian hockey.

For instance, if his team fares below one of the assistant coaches of the national team, MK Kaushik, who now is at the helm of Mumbai Magicians, or below Terry Walsh, what will be his morale when he is supposed to command them a month later?

Tricky situation indeed.

Other aspects, which very much Indian ethos, pertains to team selection later on.
South African import Gregg Clarke led Ranchi Rhinos to title last year, and then he was invited to take up the mantle of Junior India team along with his deputy in the same franchise team Baljit Singh Saini.

No surprise therefore the World Cup team they selected for the home edition consisted mostly from this title winning Franchise. There need not be a basis for bias in the selection, certainly that is not my point, but instead I would say they went by the players they know best by virtue of being with them in the Ranchi Rhinos team, thus giving no perfect level playing field for the rest.

At least, the boys on the fringe of selection, but not got it, even now entertain a grudge of being left out due to not being part of Ranchi Rhinos.

Such things can be avoided with a policy to avoid all the national coaches in the HHIL teams, thereby allowing new talents across the globe to descend on us, which would have given more scope for scouting future coaches for India, and put the present national coaches under pressure to deliver.

A lot of concern has been expressed over the Junior World Cup team selection. HI stood by the selection, but the team failed at the event proper.

Whether the team selection and over-loading of one set of players from one Franchise is real reason for the team’s fiasco at Delhi event – India failed to reach the quarterfinals – is debatable but it gave such an impression.

Therefore, would not it be prudent to keep away the coaches who are doing the national duty away from HHIL?

I firmly believe so.