RECENTLY while going through certain comments by officials of Pakistan Hockey Federation regarding the preferred style that the national team needs to adopt in order to succeed at the international level reminded me of an interesting episode that I wish to share here with the readers because I hope it will provide the required context to the whole debate and enable a lot of people — officials, players and the public alike — to have a better perspective of the issues involved in such a key debate. Here it goes:
As the team was about to embark on its Olympics assignment sometime last year, Pakistan Television invited me to interview Roleant Oltman, the Dutchman who at the time was the coach of the national team. There was considerable interest in what he might say regarding the team because he was a high-profile coach who had been hired by the then PHF administration despite serious reservations voiced by many a quarter. He was a great player and had big-time credentials as an international coach as well, but there was little hope that he would be able to turn things around for Pakistan chiefly because of the different styles of play in practice in Europe and Asia.
During the interview I asked Oltman what was his strategy for the team and if he had prepared the boys for the European style, the Asian style or the free style. He smiled, and said none of the above was the case. “I have my own style,” he remarked. When I asked him to elaborate a little for the benefit of all concerned, he simply advised the nation to “wait and see”.
Being a humble Pakistani that I am, I also happen to be part of the nation, and so I also followed Oltman’s advice and waited and saw the Olympics on my television set at home. The Olympics ended in due course of time, Pakistan came fifth which was a demotion by one step from the previous Olympics, the team returned home, but I could never figure out which style of play was actually adopted by the team. In good time, Oltman also returned to his homeland without, as was feared, bringing about any positive change in the Pakistani side, but my wait is still not over. I still don’t know which style of play Oltman had in mind when he said he had his own style.
Frankly speaking, I have no doubt about the professional capacity of Oltman. He could have been a great influence on Pakistan hockey had the PHF administration used him properly at the grassroots level, and not at the Seniors level. Any change in style has to be first tried out at the lower level and gradually taken to the higher level. In doing so, one ensures that the change is brought smoothly and as the young lads, who are first exposed to the style in their teens, grow up and move up the ladder, they take the style with them, and in a few years time the style, or any meaningful deviation from the existing style, is adopted across the country.
The manner in which the PHF administration at the time decided to handle the affair, it became a jerky initiative where the players had to unlearn a lot more than what they were supposed to learn from Oltman. As a result, confusion prevailed and helped no one’s cause, not the national cause by any stretch of imagination.
Now that the style of hockey is once again under the spotlight, my sincere hope is that Tariq Kirmani, the new PHF boss, would avoid the temptation of going for the short-cut. It is very easy to get cut-off from ground reality in the face of rampant sophistry and soft-soaping in the PHF corridors. It takes some doing to keep ones eye’s open and feet on the ground in such an atmosphere. Will Kirmani be able to do that? I don’t know, but I wish him luck because if he succeeds in doing that, it will lead to the success of Pakistan Hockey the cause of which is very close to my heart.
RECENTLY while going through certain comments by officials of Pakistan Hockey Federation regarding the preferred style that the national team needs to adopt in order to succeed at the international level reminded me of an interesting episode that I wish to share here with the readers because I hope it will provide the required context to the whole debate and enable a lot of people — officials, players and the public alike — to have a better perspective of the issues involved in such a key debate. Here it goes:
