AMSTERDAM: Dutchman Michel van den Heuvel, coach of the Pakistan hockey team spoke of Pakistan’s deep rooted hockey culture and says he is determined to bring the decaying sport back to the level where it once was and help restore some of the nation’s lost pride.
“There are a few countries that make this sport so great, Pakistan is one of them. At the moment, they rank worlds number twelve. That is not a place a team from this country should be at,” he told Radio Netherlands in interview on Tuesday.
Following the Asian Games win last year, the Pakistan team is now in Europe. Last week they joined England, Germany and host country The Netherlands in the Four Nations Cup.
Heuvel’s focus is on the game and he believes that the expectations on his team are unrealistic.
“They lack sense of reality here. From the moment I was hired they expect us to win every game. During the Commonwealth Games we had to play against host country India which is absolute number one hockey nation at this moment. Then within 24 hours we had to play Australia. Still they expect us to win easily.”
He disagrees with those who criticize decision to select a foreign coach instead of a Pakistani.
“I can put it this way; some of senior players would not have remained with team if they hadn’t selected a foreign coach. The team requested a coach from abroad long ago. They realized that things would have to change if they wanted to get back to the world top”.
“First thing I did when I became coach was take a team picture and put all staff members in the middle, to show them there is no hierarchy in sport. We are one team and all working towards the same goal. They had a system of junior players carrying bags of senior players - almost treating them like heroes. Luckily that is not an issue anymore since my arrival. They know I expect everyone to work equally hard,” coach said.
Heuvel feels that working with Pakistani players is very different than working with the Dutch squad.
“My players come from everywhere in Pakistan. I try to communicate with them through the internet, to keep me posted on progress of their training schedule. Some of them have to walk for two hours to reach an internet connection.”
He continues saying, “I saw a documentary about one of my players. They filmed his house as well. Seeing that I had to think about all of top level accommodations we offer them during tournaments and practice camps. All to make sure they play well, but I realize that when they come home some don’t even have a bed to sleep on.”
