New Indian Express: Moms ensure Las Leonas stick to different ball game

By Swaroop Swaminathan

LUCKNOW: ‘Soccer mom’ is a popular term in the US. It typically refers to a mother who spends a significant amount of time taking her kids to all kinds of sporting events. Replace soccer with hockey and you will get an idea of what it’s been like here the last week or so for a few of the Argentinian junior players. A number of mothers — former internationals themselves — have flown down to see their kids in action at the World Cup.

Soccer moms are sometimes used as a pejorative term but in the context of Argentina, hockey moms form an essential part of the playing ecosystem. Without them, the men’s grassroots programme could have already died. Given the country has always been associated with the likes of Diego Maradona and, recently, Lionel Messi, it’s fair to ask why a little boy will pick up a hockey stick while growing up.

Valeria Keenan, one of the mothers here, almost gets offended. “Hockey, too, is popular in our country,” she says. It’s a question she has heard before. Three generations of the Keenan family have played the sport for Albiceleste and Nicolas, who is a member of the junior squad, was expected to carry the flag. It took some cajoling from Valeria. “When I first told Nicolas to drop football for hockey, he asked me, ‘Isn’t that what girls play?’”

Nicolas’ assessment may not be entirely true but his sentiments have value. Before the men’s team captured bronze at the 2014 World Cup, the programme was riding on the coattails of the women’s squad.

Las Leonas have won six of the last seven Champions Trophies and two of the last four World Cups. Valeria doesn’t really know why the women are very successful but she gives an interesting peek into the life of an everyday middle-class Argentinian girl. “In Argentina more women play hockey. Most middle-class families send their kids to international schools where boys play rugby and basketball and girls play hockey.

“Apart from that, we (former international players) have all graduated from clubs. Most of our clubs had only that and it was a very important institution for us. We spent more time there than with our families.”

The fascinating thing is women’s hockey isn’t just popular among the fraternity. It’s highly sought after. Here’s an example. Luciana Aymar, one of the greatest players, beat Messi to be crowned the country’s sports personality of 2010.

The men have garnered attention thanks to their Olympic gold this year but popularity wise it’s still far behind. People have openly mocked them. “I have been asked whether I have a guitar in my bag,” Nicolas Acosta, one of the junior players who has made the trip, remembers. “When I showed them my hockey stick, I was asked ‘are you crazy? Seriously?’”

A few, though, are beginning to show love towards the men. “When I was walking down the street, people saw the crest on my jersey and wanted to know more,” Maico Casella, the captain of the junior team, explains.

All three — Maico and the two Nicolases — ooh and aah a lot when asked if that mindset will completely change. “It has to an extent. Thanks to Las Leonas.”