Indian Hockey Coach Michael Nobbs aiming to groom national squad in 18 months – Hockey News
Michael Nobbs, the newly appointed Indian hockey coach is quite optimistic for making the national squad as one of the world’s best force in just a little over a year. He believed that they will try to get their aims to what the Kookaburras had earned in
20 years.
The newly inducted coach though failed to understand the convoluted system of Indian Hockey. However, he has had no doubts about potential of the players. He is currently working to upgrade the level of the team in order to make a victory in the Olympic
Qualifiers. However, he has firm belief that he will make the Indian squad into one of the world’s leading line-ups.
The trainer remembering his first day said that it was quite confusing situation when he saw more than a hundred players. He blushed in the situation as he recovered himself after starting to handle the chaotic situation right away.
It is worth mentioning here that the Australia-based trainer has taken the charge of the training camp and wanted players to prepare themselves for the future assignments. He was of the opinion that task is much higher than his hopes.
He said, “I have always said that Australian hockey is a lot like Indian hockey and so we can stick to the Indian style and still be on top. What I didn’t say is that in the past 20 years, the Australians have taken Indian hockey and modernized it so much
that it has become a completely different style.”
Michael Nobbs commented that everyone passes through a process to reach the climb and similar has done by the teams from Australia, Germany and Netherlands. He believes that his job is to take the Indian team to the top.
On the other hand, the Indian coach was surprised by the five-year contract with the team. In his view, five years will be more than an enough period for polishing a team and improving their position in the world ranking. He opined that he used to take charge
of the squads and move forwards after identifying the issues and providing appropriate solutions.
Giving weight to his claims, Nobbs stated that no trainer could spend more than three to four years. However, he is quite obvious about the expectations of the Indian national side. He maintained that if an understanding has been developed between trainer
and players, everything would be achieved comfortably.
The Asian Champions Trophy is scheduled to be held in Chinese city of Ordos in September 2011 where India will have to prove their worth. Nobbs stated that the next strategy will be formulated after observing the team’s performance in the regional tournament.
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