‘Indians need to focus on flexibility’

BANGALORE: In two weeks of his stay with the national hockey team, David John has realised that flexibility is one of the crucial factors which may hamper Team India’s running and posture on the field.

Only two or three players pass muster, leaving him with a mountain to climb. But the exercise physiologist from Australia is unfazed. Flexibility exercises will be ongoing, he says, till the boys reach acceptable levels. Of the lot, John rates midfielder Gurbaj Singh highly. “He has been outstanding in all the tests that we performed,” he says. Excerpts:

Assessment of players: Most of the players have completed their fitness testing. I’m happy with their endurance. The main group of 20 has reached good levels in some areas and every person has an area to improve. Now we work on their speed endurance and agility, especially their speed over 20 metres and their ability to repeat that 30-40 times in a game. That is what is required in an international game.

The tests conducted: One of the tests done is to assess their fatigue over 30 metres. That is an area that we need to improve. Before I got here, the players did a beep test, but the most scientific ones were done on the treadmill earlier this week to test their aerobic fitness. Eight players are very good, 7-8 acceptable and 2-3 need improvement.

We did speed endurance to test their fatigue over 30 metres, agility tests for all including the goalkeepers as also the running posture test. All of them need to improve on their flexibility. Around 2-3 players off the 48 are acceptable. Obviously, it is not an area that has been worked in the past perhaps. As a result we do a one-hour stretching routine after practice to improve flexibility.

Correction of posture: A lot of their running style has to do with their flexibility. We need to improve that. Flexibility exercises are ongoing but we will make some headway in two weeks.

Improvement until the China tour: The players’ workload increases next week. During the weeklong break, each one would be given a specific programme to work on. When they return, it would be speed endurance and flexibility. We are also trying to reduce injuries among the 48 players. We have to make sure that the core group does not get injured. Part of the assessment was to highlight the possible areas where injury could occur in the future and eliminate the possibility of injuries.

His inputs to chief coach Michael Nobbs: I can provide that from a fitness perspective and not from a skill perspective. He may choose a specific player for a certain position, but he may not currently rank high in fitness. It’s my job to ensure that the player reaches a higher level.

Numbers game: It depends on the area. In terms of aerobics, 9 out of 10 are very good; in terms of flexibility there are only three players who are adequate and the 45 need improvement. Gurbaj Singh has been outstanding in all the tests. Many others have their own good and bad points. Goalkeepers need to be more agile.

Strengthening exercises: Currently we do two biometric and two agility tests per week. The players use their own body weight at the moment. Later in the programe they will start using the gym.

Fitness levels: I am happily surprised by the fitness levels. I had to spend a lot less time on endurance. Often that is the most difficult aspect to improve. We are educating them on the drills. They are new to it and have to do them properly.