The Hindu: ‘Need to learn tactics from the Europeans but also back our strengths’

By S.Dipak Ragav

In a bid to improve the hockey scene in the state, the Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu has invited Indian-born Canadian FIH Hockey Academy coach educator Shiv Jagday to train coaches and players from Sunday till December 24.

Jagday coached Canada to its first Pan Am Games gold and developed a national team programme that resulted in Canada qualifying for two successive Olympics and World Cups.

In a chat with The Hindu, Jagday speaks about Indian hockey, coaching in general and his plans for the camp.

What is your agenda for the camp here?

I am here to run a coaching course. One is a basic level and the other an intermediary level. The objective of the course is coach education and player development.

From the coach education point of view, we will focus on what to coach a young under-12 and under-14 hockey player, what the technical and tactical components to cover are and how to teach them game sense.

What are the areas you will be working on with the coaches here?

The whole objective is how to develop elite hockey players. The key focus is on technique and how to execute the skills correctly.

From my experience, we have technical skills, be it stick work or ball control but we struggle in match situations when executing. That’s where I will concentrate.

Why do we struggle in match situations?

After the 80s, we did not keep up with times while the European and Australian teams advanced very much in the tactical areas and worked hard on fitness which has put us back.

Another problem is we don’t have an elite youth development programme. We concentrated on short-term gains instead of focussing on short-term pains for long-term gains.

You have been a regular to India. What is your take on Indian hockey?

The Indian team at the national level is doing well, and you can see the progress; we are doing well against the big teams.

But when we look at the grassroots level, I don’t see a systematic coaching and development programme. We need a proper feeder system.

Player development happens between the ages of 10-14 and not at the elite level.

The key period is between the ages of 12-14, and that is when you make or break a player.

What’s your view on India’s chances at the Rio Olympics?

It is very hard for me to say. We beat the Dutch in the World Hockey League, which is good. But a lot of these big teams send developmental teams before a big event which can gives us a false sense of the pecking order.

There is also a burnout factor with our players, and they hardly get any rest.

Your opinion on the constant chopping and changing of coaches: does it help, especially so close to a major event like the Olympics?

It is difficult for me to say. It depends on how soon the coach adapts to the players and how the player-coach relationship is. The foreign coaches have the biggest challenge of understanding the culture.

An Indian coach will be very successful in motivating the players. And with the foreign coach, sometimes it is my way or the highway and it doesn’t help. It is a delicate thing.

Are Indian coaches capable of training the senior Indian teams?

Absolutely! Michael Nobbs said a few years back that Indian coaches are ready and he knows it well. Frankly speaking, the foreign coaches have not delivered, and we are too hard on our Indian coaches.

The European and Australian coaches are good in tactical areas but not so much on soft skills like individual flair, dodging and doing everything on the run — things which are our strengths. We seem to have lost it.

We should learn the tactical areas from Europeans but also back our strengths. With foreign coaches, we give them everything they want in terms of support staff and trainers but we don’t back our Indian coaches the same way.