India needs a genuine professional, Performance Director

It’s almost a good time lost without making much visible progress on the question of retaining or appointing a new coach for the Indian national teams (Senior, Development, Junior & Sub Junior).

Some people do not want Jose Brasa to continue for the senior team, others advocate their own Indian choices, legendary Indian players express their wish to take up the assignment. Most of them are experienced and a few are raw.

Hockey India, at least on the popular perception, delegated this job to Pargat Singh, a player of great standing.

Some requisites that are essential before the process gets into motion is fixing targets, assessing previous coaching staff, performance analysis etc etc.

The way we handle such things have not been satisfactory. Each segment involved in the process keep their own interests above the technical ones.

Hockey India will see the past or present coach will do them a good PR, take their own choices in the team etc. This secgment always recommends choices to government.

Government, which always pays for the foreign coaches, by and large go by ‘Observers’ it appoints, who normally sing the song they would like to hear, and sometimes coaches and officials get into ego problem.

The former players, who normally shape the public opinion, mostly pitch for themselves or for their friends. We have not seen a genuine concern for common good of Indian hockey.

Therefore, for any country not necessarily ours, will face such problems when the resources are aplenty but the performance of nationals teams are below par.

It is very difficult for any one sector in the whole scenario to do justice to Indian hockey. Secondly, technical matters need only technical expertise to move forward.

World over countries adopt a model wherein the first hand to look every technical matters including need and choice of coaches, is done by a Performance Director. He is always a father figure for the team, staff and the Federation.

In England (David Faulkner, USA (Terry Walsh), Germany and The Netherlands they first appoint a Performance Director and it is his job to suggest and select coaches and supporting staff, get the targets delivered from time to time and keep a tab on planning and execution.

I think Pargat Singh should now seek a foreigner of proven talent as our Performance Director, give him a month to suggest his own choices and vision. Otherwise, the routine approach will take us no where. Performance Director will be the eyes and ears of teams, coaching, progress and everything technical. He will evaluate performance of teams which will be by and large acceptable to all.

Because, now we haven’t even genuinely analysed, and made it known, whether team progressed or not under the duo of Brasa and Harendra, who were in charge of the teams after Chile Disaster. Now, our knowledge and views depend on which side of the fence we are.

Genuine Performance Director will be accountable, non-controversial, and will deliver the goods