“We Need To Work On Scoring Field Goals”: Indian Women’s Hockey Team Coach

India’s women’s hockey team chief coach Sjoerd Marijne believes the side’s FIH Nations Cup triumph is a step in the right direction, but the team still has areas to address, with converting chances into field goals being the biggest focus ahead of the World Cup and Asian Games later this year. India defeated hosts New Zealand 2-0 in the final to win the FIH Nations Cup and reclaim their place in the elite FIH Pro League for next season in Auckland on Sunday. However, Marijne, who guided the Indian women’s team to a historic fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics, knows the road ahead is tougher and wants his players to keep improving.

“You always need to improve in every area. We created enough opportunities in every match but we don’t score too many field goals, and that’s something we need to keep working on.

“I am very happy with the way we played in the semifinal and the final. Of course, in the semifinal we scored a lot of goals, but in the final it’s never easy. We had a few big opportunities, but we were still able to score two goals,” the Dutchman said in a virtual interaction on Wednesday.

He added, “We hardly gave away anything to the opposition, and that is the foundation of the game. Defensively, we were very disciplined, we were very structured, we were very strong, and I was really happy with that. That is something we need to keep improving.” Marijne, who took charge of the Indian women’s team for a second stint in January this year after replacing Harendra Singh, said constant improvement and consistency will be key to success.

“You always want to improve. It’s all about scoring goals, but in women’s hockey, it’s not easy to score. I am happy that we are able to create opportunities, but now it’s about finishing, it’s about skills, and these things need time.

“It is also about staying calm in the right position and having awareness about positioning. If we keep working on that, the chances of a positive outcome become higher,” he said.

“One of the things we are doing well is intercepting balls.” Marijne also pointed out that maintaining a consistent level of performance has been a positive sign for the team.

“In the past, what I noticed with the Indian women’s team was that one day you could play nine out of 10 and the other day six. But in the semifinal and final, we had a consistent level, so that was very positive.”

Focus on your game, not opponents’

Marijne said his message to the players is to focus on improving their own game rather than worrying about the opposition.

“I told the girls it’s important to learn and also to win. You always have to learn from things that don’t go well. It’s always match by match. Our first official match will be against China (at the World Cup), and that’s important because of many reasons, as we will play them in the Asian Games as well.

“We want to do well, and it’s about ourselves — what do we need to improve, what do we need to do really well — and that’s the most important thing at this moment.” The Dutchman added that the team will use the upcoming training period to prepare for the major assignments lined up.

“We now have a big block of training for four weeks before we go to Germany, and we can evaluate what went well and what we need to improve against teams in the World Cup. From there, we go to the World Cup. It’s a step-by-step process. Every match will help us improve.” “The focus is really on the Indian team, not on China, not on other teams. What we need to do, how we want to play well — that’s what we are focusing on,” he added.

Camaraderie and unity

The coach said the camaraderie among the players and the unity has been phenomenal.

“I can’t judge the years before me because I wasn’t there. I do know now there is connection between players, openness, people are open for feedback to each other. If you see the last match there was unity inside the field, they are really coaching each other it doesn’t matter whether you are senior or junior. I see a lot of connections in helping each other outside the field.

“There is very good leadership from senior players. These things are really big positives. We also have a great connection between staffs. You need to enjoy what you are doing. You have to be yourself. That’s one of the important things for rebuilding the team,” he said.

“I always tell the leadership starts from yourself, you start with an example, exactly how you want to bee treated. I think there is a positive atmosphere in the team.” He said one of the positives was that 90 per cent of the players can now understand and converse in English.

“In the past less girls spoke English, but now 90 per cent of the girls speak English, so it’s also easier for me to work together.” He also emphasised the importance of the players’ mental aspect.

“Mental side is very important part for me. We did small things with this, that is working with profiling of the players. I know what kind of person they are, what kind of preference they have, how to approach them under stress.

“But helping each other inside the team works the best. A younger player was struggling in the semifinal and Savita was on the sidelines and I asked her to talk to that player. A senior player helping a junior works wonders.” PTI SSC SSC AH AH

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