NEW DELHI: Craig Fultonhead coach of Indian men’s hockey teamunderstand the high expectations on the squad as they prepare for the future Paris Olympics. His advice to the players is straightforward: focus on the game and don’t get caught up in the magnitude of the event.
“I agree that expectations are higher after the Tokyo bronze, but the most important thing is that the team has progressed well. They are in the top eight and from 12 in London (2012) to 8 in Rio (2016) to bronze in Tokyo (2020).
“My mantra to the players is to play the game, not the event. It’s still a hockey match and the rules haven’t changed,” said the former Olympian who has represented his country in the 1996 and 2004 Olympics.
As a coach, he emphasizes that his approach is process-centered. Now, all attention is focused on their opening match at the Paris Olympics, where they will face New Zealand.
“We are training for it and we are taking it one game at a time which is the most realistic way to do it,” said the 50-year-old who was the assistant coach of the Belgium team that won the 2018 Men’s Hockey World Cup in India. .
Despite not having the full four years to prepare the team, he remains content and has no complaints about the situation.
“Yes, you usually have a four-year cycle from one Olympics to another to prepare. It’s not an excuse, but that’s how it is. I feel good in three months to qualify for the Olympics through the Asian Games gold. The team is confident. and playing well,” said Fulton, a former FIH coach of the year award winner.
Coaches have strong faith in athletes who are willing to sacrifice for their teammates. His approach to fostering team unity has proven to be effective. To strengthen the team’s bond, they organized a trip to South Africa where the players did various activities such as mountain hiking, surfing, barbeque on the beach, etc.
“I believe that if someone doesn’t play well, you have to cover them. In the end, if you want to do something special on the big stage, it’s all about the chemistry between the players and how much they care. .
“The bond and the trust have to be there so you can give 100 per cent to each other,” said the coach who has guided Ireland to Olympic and World Cup qualification in 2016 and 2018.
Fulton remained undeterred by India’s performance at the FIH Pro League, where he finished seventh. Despite the team’s current position in the world rankings, which places them in seventh place, the coach maintains a positive outlook. He believes that the team has the potential to improve and get promoted in the future.
“We are struggling a little bit in the Pro League but the main goal is there is a selection so there are a lot of rotations and changes and that’s okay. Our main goal is to get the right team for Paris,” he said.
“It doesn’t bother us about the ranking because we try to increase the depth of our squad, so we give new players a chance. We try to win every game with any team we play and this is not an excuse. We have six draws and five wins and 10 points is the difference between 7th team and the championship, so it was really close,” Fulton said.
Paddy Uptonmental conditioning coach with extensive experience collaborating with elite cricketers, is believed to have an important role in the success of his team, according to his opinion.
“Paddy has worked with top cricketers like Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli who also encouraged the players to open up to him. Mental skill is one thing we need to improve but the real challenge is doing it with the back and that is what we are focusing on,” he said. .
His focus is to create a good defensive structure because that is an area where teams often make mistakes.
“The focus is on the basics like PCA (penalty corner attack) and PCD (penalty corner defense). In hockey today, anybody can beat anybody on any given day. So a lot comes down to goaltending, PCA and PCD where you make it a lot of mistakes. This is an area where we are trying to make technical and tactical improvements, we have a good offense, but we have to continue to improve our defensive consistency,” he said
“The number of field goals has improved from the last Pro League to this. But in the last Pro League, the PCA number is higher. So it’s like a zig zag and we’re trying to combine it in the Olympics,” he added.
On India getting a ‘Pool of Death’ with Australia, Argentina and Belgium in the same group, the coach said, “We need to win five matches to be in the top four. The first match against New Zealand is very important.”
“I agree that expectations are higher after the Tokyo bronze, but the most important thing is that the team has progressed well. They are in the top eight and from 12 in London (2012) to 8 in Rio (2016) to bronze in Tokyo (2020).
“My mantra to the players is to play the game, not the event. It’s still a hockey match and the rules haven’t changed,” said the former Olympian who has represented his country in the 1996 and 2004 Olympics.
As a coach, he emphasizes that his approach is process-centered. Now, all attention is focused on their opening match at the Paris Olympics, where they will face New Zealand.
“We are training for it and we are taking it one game at a time which is the most realistic way to do it,” said the 50-year-old who was the assistant coach of the Belgium team that won the 2018 Men’s Hockey World Cup in India. .
Despite not having the full four years to prepare the team, he remains content and has no complaints about the situation.
“Yes, you usually have a four-year cycle from one Olympics to another to prepare. It’s not an excuse, but that’s how it is. I feel good in three months to qualify for the Olympics through the Asian Games gold. The team is confident. and playing well,” said Fulton, a former FIH coach of the year award winner.
Coaches have strong faith in athletes who are willing to sacrifice for their teammates. His approach to fostering team unity has proven to be effective. To strengthen the team’s bond, they organized a trip to South Africa where the players did various activities such as mountain hiking, surfing, barbeque on the beach, etc.
“I believe that if someone doesn’t play well, you have to cover them. In the end, if you want to do something special on the big stage, it’s all about the chemistry between the players and how much they care. .
“The bond and the trust have to be there so you can give 100 per cent to each other,” said the coach who has guided Ireland to Olympic and World Cup qualification in 2016 and 2018.
Fulton remained undeterred by India’s performance at the FIH Pro League, where he finished seventh. Despite the team’s current position in the world rankings, which places them in seventh place, the coach maintains a positive outlook. He believes that the team has the potential to improve and get promoted in the future.
“We are struggling a little bit in the Pro League but the main goal is there is a selection so there are a lot of rotations and changes and that’s okay. Our main goal is to get the right team for Paris,” he said.
“It doesn’t bother us about the ranking because we try to increase the depth of our squad, so we give new players a chance. We try to win every game with any team we play and this is not an excuse. We have six draws and five wins and 10 points is the difference between 7th team and the championship, so it was really close,” Fulton said.
Paddy Uptonmental conditioning coach with extensive experience collaborating with elite cricketers, is believed to have an important role in the success of his team, according to his opinion.
“Paddy has worked with top cricketers like Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli who also encouraged the players to open up to him. Mental skill is one thing we need to improve but the real challenge is doing it with the back and that is what we are focusing on,” he said. .
His focus is to create a good defensive structure because that is an area where teams often make mistakes.
“The focus is on the basics like PCA (penalty corner attack) and PCD (penalty corner defense). In hockey today, anybody can beat anybody on any given day. So a lot comes down to goaltending, PCA and PCD where you make it a lot of mistakes. This is an area where we are trying to make technical and tactical improvements, we have a good offense, but we have to continue to improve our defensive consistency,” he said
“The number of field goals has improved from the last Pro League to this. But in the last Pro League, the PCA number is higher. So it’s like a zig zag and we’re trying to combine it in the Olympics,” he added.
On India getting a ‘Pool of Death’ with Australia, Argentina and Belgium in the same group, the coach said, “We need to win five matches to be in the top four. The first match against New Zealand is very important.”