Times of India: Quest for medal – Smells like team spirit

By Manuja Veerappa

BENGALURU: A little before 1pm on a particularly hot day, India hockey team physio Shrikanth Iyengar walked into the SAI South Centre cafeteria for a meal. Having missed breakfast, Iyengar was looking forward to a hearty lunch when something struck him – lunch time for the day was 1.30 pm. A famished Iyengar walked out saying, “We eat together.”
Later at 1.28 pm, the entire team walked in for lunch and the players and staff carefully chose their seats, each individual keeping in mind his place at the table the previous day. High performance director and chief coach Roelant Oltmans isn’t running a boot camp at SAI in the run-up to the Rio Olympic Games. With the aim of team building on his mind, the routine is part of a carefully planned process the Dutchman put in place when the team qualified for the Olympics at the 2014 Asian Games.

With the team comprising players from different states, coaches in the past have struggled to fully dissolve barriers of language and culture. When he took over two seasons ago, Oltmans began paying special attention to this issue and the results are showing. Apart from putting in the hard yards on the turf, the players also spend time bonding with each other off the pitch. Their mantra: A team that stays plays together, stays together.

BEHAVE OR YOU’LL BE FINED

The men’s hockey team works by the clock – whether it is for a meal or practice, the players always have an eye on the watch. Come late and you have to cough up a fine of Rs 500.
“We don’t see it as a fine,” goalkeeper PR Sreejesh said. “It is a reminder of our responsibilities. It is about discipline and it really works. There is no grace period. We have to pay a fine if we skip a meal and even if we forget to bring towels or water bottles to the gym. In each camp, we have a collector who keeps a track of the defaulters.”
The money collected is often ultilised for team dinners, refreshments during long transit hours and to tip maintenance staff. Leading the contributers’ list currently is midfielder and local boy SK Uthappa.

EATING TOGETHER

Players are expected to mingle and are not allowed to sit with the same group for two straight days. They have to come in and leave together even if it means having to wait for the slow eaters to finish their meals. “Earlier, players from Karnataka would sit together and likewise people who come from the same region would have meals together. But not anymore,” says ace striker SV Sunil. “As a result, I believe our on-field understanding and communication has improved.” Language barriers, too, have been broken, says Uthappa. “When we sit for meals together, we mingle with everybody .There is no language barrier since we are allowed to speak only in English or Hindi.”

TEAM OUTINGS

From going bowling to watching movies and dinner outings, Oltman’s boys are spending a lot of off-field time with each other. “Our off-field bonding is very important for our on-field communication and the various team-building activities have played a huge role,” says dragflicker Rupinderpal Singh. VR Raghunath chips in, saying, “We also play cricket and have fun activities such as treasure hunt, where we are divided into three groups and the team management leaves clues for us across the vast campus.”

POST-IT MESSAGES AND MAKING NOTES

The team hostel’s lobby sports a drawing of a tree, which is dotted with post-its of players writing about what they like about each other. A part of the mental conditioning programme, the players express their thoughts anonymously. The players are also expected to keep notes from team meetings and sessions with the psychologist.