Clear View: Something is wrong as we repeat same mistakes

Few years back, I heard from a Hockey aficionado, “If our Hockey is in shambles to such an extent, there must be something wrong right from the grass-root level and in each and everything thing we do.”

It’s a strong statement but not a wrong one. Examine the same argument along the following three dimensions.

1.POOR EFFORTS TO IMPROVE VISIBILITY OF COMPETITIVE HOCKEY:

“Lack of tournaments has reduced the visibility of the game,” is what I hear often.

Fine, that’s the basic. Broadly speaking, there is no dearth of Hockey tournaments in this country. But still Hockey’s popularity in the young generation is declining, alarmingly.

To substantiate this point, check out the recently concluded India South Africa Test Series. Leave aside the technical side of the game, one of the lessons from the series is conducting tournaments and international matches don’t popularize Hockey. It merely keeps the sport alive.
Empty stands and poor visibility of the sport in the city where it is being hosted is only a reflection of the tunnel vision of people at its helm.

This is not only about International matches; it stands true at all levels. Barring one or two exceptions – in World Cup die-hard Hockey fans thronged the stadium only for their passion; for the commoners, the publicity was pathetically poor – there aren’t many stadiums that are even a quarter-full during a Hockey match.

Even when such stars as Dhanraj Pillay, Sardara Singh and others play on the turf, the stand position is same: near empty.

Administrators fail to take an innovative approach to fill the stand with spectators. They have their usual answers:

“We have invited a few schools to watch the finals.”

“We have kept the entry free for spectators.”

“We have kept a few games under floodlights.”

Public Announcement System, Jazzy display Screens in the stadium, Loud Music, good facilities for viewers, banners around the city, ads in the newspapers, proper television coverage with prior advertisement, it’s all absent in almost all the tournament that we host.

Then, even if public shows up at a stadium, there are hardly any facilities – drinking water, clean toilets, refreshments, cleanliness of the stands, seats, etc.

Our officials hardly do anything to make Hockey lively from being alive.

It’s time we move on from the thought: More and more tournaments will broaden the base of Hockey.

2.“OUR DEFENCE IS WEAK”:

That’s the most effervescent statement from anyone who watches Hockey.

Ask another question to Hockey lovers: Name a few quality defenders India has produced?
If you are able to name only Dilip Tirkey, then you know where the problem is: Indian Hockey hardly produces or grooms potential defenders.

Unfortunately, we don’t address the basic problem in our defense line-up – lack of seasoned defenders and drag flickers as defenders.

Indian porous defense has been a problem for donkey years now. In the last 6 years or so, Carvalho, Harendra, Brasa, and now Nobbs, have all sung the same tune. Brasa was valiant enough to try out Sardara, Chikara, otherwise midfielder and forward respectively, in the defense line. It did show some signs of improvement.

But the point to remember is, Brasa knew he hardly had any options for the defense line-up. He did what he could do with the available lot.

We lack specialist defenders, for sure.

If one may take technical cue from Cricket – traditionally speaking, the sport which one has to hate if you love Hockey – at one time, the technical think-tanks of Cricket came up with a concept that a wicket-keeper can’t be a wicket-keeper alone; he has to be a front-line batsman too. They pioneered the idea with Rahul Dravid and the rest is history now.

Our drag-flickers occupy an expensive slot in the team and are often placed in deep defense because mid-field and forward line has no dearth of talent at any given time.
The drag flickers have worked hard to improve their defense skills, but it should be reverse. Good potential players should be groomed as a drag flickers.

Hockey experts have often argued with facts and figures that top-ranked teams lay less emphasis on penalty corner goals and rely more on Field Goals. That’s more efficient and effective.
World Hockey is about Field Goals, Forwards and Mid-fielders working as defenders whenever required and a strong defense line-up.

So, it’s high time we think forward; beyond appointing our former Olympians as national coaches for Defense, Goal-keeping, drag-flicking, etc. It’s time to address the recurring problem with a more generic and sustainable solution.

There should be a special hunt for potential Defenders and the Blue Jersey should be given to a player keeping an eye on his drag flicking capabilities, not the other way around.

3. OUR POOR INCENTIVE SYSTEM:

Leave aside the argument of who should give the incentives.
Whereas the intentions of the MP Chief Minister are noble and beyond doubt, considering the fact he has kept up with word (of rewarding Hockey players) that many other State Govt. didn’t bother to do, I beg to differ on one perspective, i.e. Incentive system to the former players.

It’s sheer wastage of money, a wrong precedent and a poor message to younger generation as we seek to establish a wrong legacy.

Unfortunately, honoring former players is impact less when you think of budding (or current) players.

Helping needy former players, who were never given their due, is fine. But cash-awards to former players (in herds) with decent public sector jobs and a decent life, is mindless.

Taking forward his initiatives of honoring the current Hockey team, why not hunt various academies working at grassroot level to nurture Hockey in the country and honor them? It will definitely take forward the game the Chief Minister clearly loves.

It’s not about one particular State Govt. Check out other felicitation functions; the former players always outnumber the current players.

There are many things wrong in our system. One can’t correct everything in one go. But when the same mistakes recur, it’s a time we get our act together, take a broad view of the situation and question each and every thing that we do; why we do it in a particular way and if at all its current impact is the same as the one for which it was conceived at the first place?

The author is a Bangalore based hockey volunteer