E-Paper
Slow and steady the way to go
NEW DELHI: It’s a hot and humid morning, and most of the regulars at the National Stadium have finished their day’s regimen.
NEW DELHI: It’s a hot and humid morning, and most of the regulars at the National Stadium have finished their day’s regimen.
The sun’s glare makes one look for shade, but seeing the ground staff move towards the main field gives the impression that work remains to be done. “Hamaare hockey team ka practice hai abhi (Our hockey team is yet to practice),” says a ground staff.
Chief national coach Roelant Oltmans descends with the Rio-bound team. “Get ready,” the shrill voice rings out in the empty stadium.
After a 10-15 minute warm-up, the boys get down to a series of high-intensity shuttle runs with short breaks. At the end of the session, everyone is gasping for breath.
“The drills are part of yo-yo fitness training, it’s challenging,” says Oltmans, pointing to the players lying flat with hands sideways.
Since January, every training session has been monitored to evaluate the players’ progress in the camp.
The results, says the Dutchman, have been encouraging. “As per the yo-yo system, 20 points are considered good. But the members of the team have an average of 21. More than 10 players have 23.2 points.”
This gives Oltmans an opportunity to focus on other areas. “Since fitness is not a concern anymore, we have been exploring other areas that would give us an edge over the others at Rio,” he says.
Perhaps this could be one of the reasons why India were able to test world champions Australia in the final of the Champions Trophy in London.
PEAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME
Improved fitness is just one component of the training system. “To win matches at the world level, marked improvement is needed in different fields. Training is meaningless if the players can’t control the ball at high speed,” said Oltmans.
To inculcate this, the support staff have designed special methods. After fitness drills, the focus shifts to shooting practice inside the circle. The drills are carried out at high intensity in different circumstances to test reflexes under pressure.
The coach has an answer to his critics. He was modest about the silver at the Champions Trophy, saying it is part of the build-up. He is defensive when asked about the team’s performance in the six-nation tournament at Valencia, Spain.
“People don’t understand that peaking at the right time is important. Our target is to keep our best for the Olympics. Results in other tournaments don’t concern me much as a coach. It’s an opportunity to understand the psyche of the players.”
Since last year, the team has been making an impression in major tournaments, including the bronze at the World Hockey League Finals at Raipur. “This shows the team is on the right path. That we have been successful in earning penalty corners shows the players are improving. Fitness without proper execution doesn’t make sense in modern hockey.”
Language is an area that is a concern for the Dutchman. The players are improving, but at times they need someone like Tushar Kandekar, a member of the coaching staff, to clarify things. “It does make my life a bit easy. It’s also important for me to understand the players.”
The physical parameters of the team will be evaluated again before the Olympics.
Mental training has helped the team gel, and reflects on the field. Positive results have given a fillip to the mindset, and the players know on a day they can score over teams like Australia and Germany. “The players are eager to perform,” says Oltmans before heading to the team bus.
