Indian Express: Roelant Oltmans working on goal scoring tactics with India colts

Roeland Oltmans, chief coach of senior national men’s team, said that Indian colts are working hard on finetuning their game and scoring tactics.

Barely 10 days away from their tournament opener against Canada in the Junior Hockey World Cup, “upbeat and focussed” Indian colts are working hard on finetuning their game, especially goal scoring tactics, said team’s mentor Roelant Oltmans.

India will face Canada in their opening Pool D match on December 8 at the Major Dhyan Chand Hockey Stadium, and Oltmans, a hard task master, is leaving no stone unturned to prepare the team for the mega-event.

“We tried different tactics, including player positioning within the circle for goal scoring. The boys are upbeat and focused. We will be playing a practice match against Argentina on December 2 and further fine tune our game,” said Oltmans.

The Dutchman, who is the chief coach senior national men’s team, also added that the players are getting used to the new turf at the Major Dhyan Chand Hockey Stadium, the main venue for the event which will play host to all 44 matches of the tournament.

“We have trained on this pitch for the past five days and the boys are getting used to the new turf. It is similar to the turf back in SAI, Bengaluru where the boys have been based for almost 10 months,” Oltmans said.

India will play their second practice game on December 5 against Netherlands.