Hockey India helping FIH-certified Indian Coaches improve

The federation will be utilizing the services of the foreign Coaches/experts, including David John and Graham Reid.

Hockey India has shared that they are currently conducting specialized workshops for top level Indian Coaches who hold a minimum of an FIH Level '1' Coach Certification. These workshops are being organized online by Hockey India from July to August 2020, and will see six foreign Coaches/experts conducting various sessions for the Indian Coaches in order to further enhance their knowledge and skills.

These workshops enable Hockey India in perpetuating the whole process of the Coaching Education Pathway for the Indian Coaches and ensuring utilizing better the services of foreign Coaches/experts available, and also ensure that the top level Indian coaches are benefiting from these intense and thorough sessions to progress in their respective careers and turn into world-class Coaches.

The workshops include over 90 Indian Coaches divided across 6 subgroups and the Hockey specific topics such as Skills Acquisition, Interchanges & Rotations and Sports Science topics – Program Prescription for Youth and Female athletes, Initial Stages of rehabilitation etc. are being covered.

Among the conductors from these workshops are foreign Coaches/experts currently assigned with the Indian Senior and Junior Men's and Women's teams, including Graham Reid (Chief Coach, Indian Men's Hockey Team), Erik Wonink (Coach, Indian Junior Women's Hockey Team), Wayne Lombard (Scientific Advisor, Indian Women's Hockey Team), Robin Arkell (Scientific Advisor, Indian Men's Hockey Team), David MacDonald (Physiotherapist, Indian Men's Hockey Team) and co-educator David John (Director High Performance, Hockey India).

The first set of workshops took place from 20th July 2020 onwards and saw a very positive response from the participating Indian coaches. Indian Men's Hockey Team's Coach Piyush Kumar Dubey from SAI, who holds a FIH Level '1' Coach Certificate believes such workshops will strengthen the coaching structure from the grassroots level. 

He said, "I think it is a fantastic opportunity for all of us to work under such high profile coaches, and gain valuable inputs when it comes to technicalities and even the minute details of effective coaching." Meanwhile, FIH Level '1' Coach Neha from Haryana said regular communication with top-level coaches really helps in clearing doubts. "When I first started off with my coaching career, I would end up having a lot of doubts in terms of how to man-manage my players, or for instance, what to say to my players during good or tough moments. However, these workshops have ensured I can speak to people like Graham or David, and pick their brains," she said.

FIH Level '1' Coach Dr. Brij Kishor from Madhya Pradesh also echoed the positive reviews. He said, "I believe these workshops have been really helpful for me because they have given me the chance to learn about various aspects of coaching. Working under these top foreign Coaches who have coached some of the best teams around the world, these workshops have become one of the best exercises to make use of our time and stay connected with the sport."

Meanwhile, Graham Reid, Chief Coach of the Indian Men's Hockey Team, expressed his delight at being able to help a younger generation of Indian coaches. "It is a great initiative by Hockey India to utilize this spare time by ensuring the development process of the younger Coaches in the country is not hindered, and they can continue learning through online sessions as well. In my opinion, India has some of the best brains when it comes to hockey, and I think it gives me great joy in being able to help their bright, young minds in further developing their knowledge of coaching. Sometimes what we forget is that Coaching is also about psychology and I am trying to ensure that these fantastic young Coaches are able to consider and develop all ingredients which make a top coach," said Reid.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Twitter and join our community on Telegram.