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Nobbs narrates Indian hockey's Olympic journey
CNN-IBN | 27-Feb 23:20 PM
The coach of Indian men's hockey team, Michael Nobbs, drafted the blueprint for India's return to the Olympic Games - a dream that India realised on Sunday by qualifying for the 2012 London Games. Nobbs' tactics have been perfectly complimented by his backroom approach. In a country that had seen the headmaster-like attitude of foreign coaches such as Greg Chappell and Jose Brasa falling prostrate, Nobbs did well to sit back, instruct and let the boys take centre-stage.
But to bring India back to its attacking roots, a structured approach was needed. Nobbs tells CNN-IBN how he made it happen.
First impression...
"When I first came, I was a little disillusioned. The Indian team has its aura of magic about it, and when I got here, the players were overweight, they were slow, they were not trying hard, not thinking. I was thinking what I have landed into here. But I worked with David John, the physiologist, on fitness levels, biomechanics and exercise physiology, and things started to improve.
The inaugural series...
We then looked at the first series, which was the Asian Champions Trophy. Then I said where we are. Are we any good or terrible? If we are bad, we would fix it. If we are good, then we are on the right track. The fitness levels started to improve.
On reminding India of its attacking prowess...
You [Indians] taught us [Australians] how to play hockey. All I have done is repay the favour back again with what we have learnt over the last 30 years.
Inherently, the Indian hockey players are fast and skillful.
Rising fitness levels...
We have been working on fitness for the last six months. We have got a group of players working really hard on it. We have the services of physiologist David John. He is really world class. He is also our nutritionist and our sports scientist as well. We have the advantage of all the things we have learnt over the last 30 years. Controlling the diet of the players, [of which] goalkeepers are the perfect example. By controlling their diet, we improve their reflexes and their hand-eye coordination.
The selection process...
There is a group of us. So we discuss things as to what we are looking for, what particulars patterns we are playing, what style of play we are looking at. I am not perfect in any of these things. They know the players probably better than I do in some cases. But I am looking at [team selection] from an outside point of view as well as to the type of players we are looking for, for the style we are playing.
On taking the hard calls with seniors...
You look at cricket. Australia had a really old team at one stage. You are never going to win with an old team, and you are never going to win with all youth. It's got to be a mix. It's critical that you pick players that are going to fit the style you are playing. Every player gets dropped. It's rare they retire.
When you get old, you finish your career. It's really simple. Every player who gets dropped says. 'I should not have been dropped; I deserve to be in the team'.
How good is this Indian team?
We are going to be a great team. It's only a question of time and how quickly we can get to that. The next phase of fitness is going to be a difficult phase. The style of play won't change a great deal, but we have to improve on our fitness leaps and bounds. The players have done a great job so far.
If India can win an Olympic medal...
I need more time to tell what are India's medal chances at the Olympics. It takes years to prepare for Olympics and we have only worked for six months, and there are only four months left. We have made more progress than I expected but cannot say anything right now.
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