Hockey: David John gets cracking on players’ fitness

By Vivek Phadnis | Place: Bangalore | Agency: DNA

The men’s hockey team, training at the Sports Authority of India Southern Centre here, got an additional member in the support staff.

Exercise physiologist David John, who landed here on Monday, got cracking on Tuesday. He has worked with cricketers and Australian Rules football players in the past and this is his first stint with a national team. Indian hockey teams have probably never had people like John and it should help coach Michael Nobbs in the scheme of things. That is considering Indians’ reputation for being good with hockey skills but lagging in the fitness department.

On Tuesday afternoon, John put some players through fatigue tests and over the next few weeks, he says he will design fitness programmes for each player.

“The focus will be on speed, endurance, agility and flexibility. I think speed and endurance are essential in hockey,” he said. “I have not assessed the players yet, but Michael says they have good skills. I don’t know their flexibility against teams like Pakistan or Australia. I will conduct 40 different tests and assess them by the end of the month.

“It is going to be very thorough and we will know what each individual needs. The fitness regimen will be specific to field positions also. Each player will have to continue with his individual programme even when there is no camp. Once they are back, they will be tested again to see if they followed the routine.

“We will assess and compare them against other international hockey teams. It will not be possible to increase strength and aerobic fitness in a short period of time,” he added.

John feels it will need about eight weeks for a good programme to emerge and said that they were looking at a long-term one, something like five years. “We would also like to work with the junior players because they need to be at a certain level. I have not been briefed about that yet, but we need to do that,” he said.

John will also work on the nutrition aspect and also assessment of the support staff. “My nutrition programme and supplements will be restricted to oxygen delivery and not strengthening,” he said. In reply to a specific query about the food intake habits of Indians, he said: “It’s not about the spiciness of Indian food that is a problem. It is about the carbohydrate versus protein balance.”