S2H Team

Thanks to a band of hardworking enthusiasts, hockey in Goa saw the light of day in Sattari, in the north-eastern region of the state.

As many as 35 trainees a day, mostly girls – another encouraging sight – took the mud pitch in a village called Morlem where they were initiated into the sport in a location where football, kho-kho and cricket were by far the only sporting activities.

Pioneer Hockey Camp was the organizer of the nine-day camp that concluded recently. It collaborated with Hockey Heritage Group Goa, Stars of Sattari and Hockey Kheluia to create a buzz for the game in the area. The Pilar Father’s Sports for Youth Development gave the effort a helping hand.

Mumbai-based Clarence Lobo, a Dhronacharya awardee, made a visit to the camp – a major boost to the effort – and watched the youngsters go through the drills.

Alexander Remedious who has nurtured talent in Goa for over three decades was head coach of the camp. “It was very encouraging,” he said. “The children aged 10-14 never saw a hockey stick before but picked up the basics very quickly.”

Remedious said the children were taught ball control, pushing and receiving and he was optimistic about the future. “These children will play for Goa U-14s in two years time if they continue training. “They are strong physically, living in a rural area and their abilities are natural,” he added.

Remedious imparted basic knowledge about warming up and cooling down and conducted theory classes in a classroom to educate the young trainees on the markings on a hockey pitch.

About the future, Remedious, who has often worked with children with no idea of the sport in distant reaches of the state, is hopeful of broad-basing hockey.

“Continuity is important,” he said. Remedious, however, is hopeful that it will be taken care of. “Stars of Sattari is the local club that plan to ensure the kids keep in touch with the sport. “On my part, I plan to send senior players-turned-coaches of my club Young Sports to join hands with the Stars of Sattari to sustain the effort,” Remedious said.

In the broader scenario, Remedious observes that with a small player base, he expects the reduced version of the game to pull in more youngsters and Hockey 5s is the way to go.

Hockey is struggling in Goa where football is touted the No. 1 sport and enjoys the status of State Sport and cricket is played in every nook and corner of the state. Even though migrant Goans have excelled in major hockey centres in India and abroad, the game remains obscure in the state.

Educating hockey

To make matters worse, pitches of reasonable quality are near impossible to find in the land. A beacon of hope, however, was provided by the installation of an artificial pitch at Peddem for the National Games that is in the state of limbo for years.

The Sattari effort, however, infuses hope for the game in the state where there’s every evidence that talent for wielding the stick comes as naturally as kicking a ball.