The talent pool is shrinking

Unlike my days where schools and colleges were the nurseries, these days the Sports Authority of India and academies nurture the sport. Small wonder the talent base has shrunk. There are no national championships, from the age group to the senior level, for state units to prepare their teams. So there is not enough fresh talent surfacing these days.

In my school days in Royapettah, my school kit mandatorily contained a hockey stick. These days, with no inter-school tournaments, the focus has shifted to cricket because things are a lot more organised in that game. Hockey’s curse is its officialdom which has found no time for the game. We don’t have a planned calendar for the age groups at the state and national level. We don’t have a policy of developing infrastructure in the states. Neither do we have the wherewithal to provide equipment to the players.

Unlike cricket, which is cheap at the basic level – all you need is a bat and ball – hockey needs equipment and infrastructure. Ground facilities are dwindling. Take the summer camps in cities. How many of them feature hockey?

I first noticed the fall in the mid ’80s. I realised that talent was coming more and more from academies and SAI. My doubts were reinforced when I saw, as a coach, that specialist talent was missing. I couldn’t find players of class in the left half, centre half and playmaker positions. That meant coaching standard at the grassroots level too had gone down. That’s natural because what are the rewards for good coaching?

Even as a head-hunter for Railways, it is not easy to find talent. Our criterion is good performance at the Nationals. With no Nationals in hockey, how can I recruit players?

SOLUTION:

There is only one solution to the malaise. Set up a professional body to run the sport. Cricket has shown us the way. Make age group competitions mandatory in every state, with all of them culminating in a national championship. Build infrastructure at the school and district levels. Once that happens, schools and colleges will automatically begin nurturing talent. Formulate a calendar devoting six months for the international season and six months for the national events. Form national teams at the age group level by identifying talent from the Nationals. Also, get the big stalwarts to play in every nook and corner of the country to popularise the game. For example, south India hardly has a nationallevel tournament. How will hockey stay in the minds of the people then?