THERE IS AN URGENT NEED for a developmental programme to be implemented by the Barbados Hockey Federation (BHF) if the standard of hockey is to be improved on the island.
That is the cry from former national coach Ralph Watson, who has dismissed the current system as “inadequate and in dire need of an upgrade”.
Watson, who also played for the national side, has proposed the implementation of a four-year programme, which would seek to address some glaring weaknesses.
“Right now in Barbados, we have a situation where our national hockey teams only train when a competition is approaching,” he told WEEKEND SPORT during an interview
“How can we expect to improve the standard of hockey and to compete on the regional and international stage when we only begin to train a couple weeks or months before the start of a major tournament?” he asked.
“We have to put a programme in place which will see our players practising on a regular basis, and at a certain standard.”
One point which he also argued strongly was that Barbados needed its own identity on the hockey field.
Foreign coaches
He said that with foreign coaches at the helm of the national teams, there was a sense that those coaches were trying to force the local players to adapt their style of play.
“Well, when you look at the fact that the last three coaches have come from highly ranked teams but it has not transferred into better results for Barbados, it would tell you something is wrong,” Watson said.
“We have had coaches from Germany, Argentina and Pakistan, and they are all ranked in the top 15 international teams in the world.
“But they seem to feel that because their national teams play a certain format or a certain style and are successful, that we must adopt that same style. But it doesn’t work like that . . . . We have to find a style that suits our players and our strengths.”
However, he maintained that the success of the national teams did not lie with the head coach alone.
He insisted that a bigger coaching staff was needed.
“One man definitely cannot do it alone. We need a full team of training staff, nutritionists, and several coaches who specialize in specific fields, such as a goalkeeping coach.
“This is where the programme would come into play because it would address all of these needs and deficiencies which are occurring in hockey right now.”
