Criticism is good if it's constructive

25/11/2001

Sunday chat with Paul Lissek
TIMESPORT: 1975 skipper Sri Shanmuganathan and K. Balasingam took you to
task for setting No 10 as our target for the 2002 World Cup. Would you
like to comment on that?
A: No. I am a professional and criticisms come with the job. I have
never met the two former internationals so I will not dwell on the matter.
All I can say is that people have a right to criticise my judgements or
decisions and I will not get offended by it.
Most of the time, I get constructive criticisms and it helps. I normally
do not reply with words because I prefer my work to speak for me. I have
been on the job for more than 20 years now, so I can take the pressure and
still perform well.
Q: You were appointed chief coach in April this year which means that
you have about 10 months to prepare the team for the World Cup in
February. Is it enough?
A: I have been with the team for eight months now and only have two more
months to go before the World Cup. So, from the start itself, time was not
on my side but I have done much to change the Malaysian playing style to
that of the German style.
Australian hockey officials, who have seen the team training, have
commented that the national players are disciplined and have a more
systematic playing style right now compared to when they played in the
Azlan Shah Cup in August.
Q: Have the players adapted well to the change from Asian to European
style?
A: The younger players were more receptive compared to seniors like
Mirnawan Nawawi who already have a set style of play. Mirnawan is very
quick and versatile so he is finding it harder to cope with systematic
play. But it is not a problem, because we do need players who can go on
their own from time to time by breaking the normal set of rules because
they are adventurous.
Q: Are you happy with the shape of the team right now?
A: I have taught them the tactical side of the game but, by no fault of
theirs, some of the players lack the basics because they are products of a
school system which is too loose.
Some of them make silly mistakes like not stopping the ball properly and
making hasty and atrocious passes. But that is being worked on right now
and some of the junior players have responded well to the changes that I
have made to their playing style.
I have also shifted the positions of some players like S. Kuhan from
fullback to midfield, Chua Boon Huat from fullback to right half and many
other players are being tried out in new positions.
Some of them adapted well while some found the transition tough.
When I was in Rotterdam to watch the final of the Champions Trophy
between Germany and Australia, I counted no less than 50 substitutions
made by the German side in the run of play because they had depth in the
bench.
At times, the German coach substituted three or even four players at one
go eventhough the players replaced didn't do any mistakes. It was a
tactical move which disrupted the Australian style of play.
But in Malaysia, when I substitute a player, he feels that I do not like
the way he plays or that I am punishing him. I am trying to change that
mindset because once they are recalled into the team on the run of play,
they normally take some time to get back their confidence.
Q: You said that the school system is too loose to produce good players.
What can be done to improve the situation?
A: At the school level right now, serious hockey is not being taught and
as a result a whole generation of players are being lost because they do
not have the basics to play proper hockey when they grow up.
I have come up with a plan to counter that and will be meeting the
National Sports Council director general Datuk Mazlan Ahmad to put forward
my proposal.
The gist of my plan is to get parents involved in the sport in a big way
like they do in gymnastics and swimming in this country. I am going to
propose to Mazlan to create a programme which we can call the father-son
plan, to teach basic hockey to children from the ages of 10 to 12.
For a start, I have received favourable response from parents in
Malacca, where hockey once used to be played in a big way, to kick-start
the plan.
For the plan to succeed, I need to have a few strong hockey supporters
in each State so that they can start the ball rolling by playing fun
hockey with their children, maybe for a few hours during the weekends.
If all goes well, the programme will begin in Malacca in April next year
and I hope parents from other states will also support it. Interested
parents can E-mail me at paullissek@hotmail.com. I am ever willing to help
them set up similar programmes in their areas.
Q: How will this help the sport in the long run?
A: We will hold six-a-side tournaments on a small scale where a team
will be made up of three fathers and their sons but only the boys will be
allowed to score while their parents provide the support. This will be
played on a smaller pitch and on a fun basis.
Once we have enough teams at each State, I propose that we have an
annual tournament once a year in Kuala Lumpur where fathers and their sons
will take part in a carnival sort of tournament.
This will teach the aspiring hockey players the basics of the sport and
with the snowball effect, Malaysia will have a bigger pool of players for
the under-15, under-16 and under-18 squads in about five to six years
time.
Q: It has often been said that you are more of a grassroot man in
Germany but have been thrust into the mainstream in Malaysia. Which
department would you prefer to handle after the 2002 World Cup?
A: I was in charge of junior development in Germany from 1979 to 1989
where I formed the base which the Germans, who won the Champions Trophy
recently by beating Australia 2-1, are still enjoying the fruits.
To tell you the truth, this is the first time that I feel like a real
coach where I start work at 7.0am everyday and it is non-stop until 9.0pm
with gym, videos, and training sessions and numerous meetings to sort out
matters relating to the team.
I have never enjoyed myself like I am right now but when the World Cup
is over, I would like to go back to developing juniors. That is what I do
best and it is a legacy that I want to leave Malaysia with when I retire
from hockey in say, four or even 10 years from now.
But I do not want to totally lose control of the juniors that I develop,
so maybe I will still like to play an advisor's role in the future.
Q: You have been a regular in Malaysia since 1994 and coaches Stephen
van Huizen, Yahya Atan, Zulkifli Abbas and Ariffin Ghani have one time or
the other been your assistants.
Do you feel that the handful of hockey coaches that Malaysia have right
now is enough?
A: I am not selfish when it comes to imparting my knowledge to the local
coaches attached to me in the past and I see no change of that in the
future.
I am personally grooming Yahya, Stephen, Zulkifli and Ariffin to replace
me when the time comes. But four or even 10 coaches of calibre are not
enough to sustain long-term development.
We need more coaches at the State level who can help me identify and
groom youngsters so we have a programme where some level three coaches are
being groomed towards this cause.
In the long run, I hope to have a larger pool of coaches who can help me
take Malaysian hockey into the Champions Trophy level because only then
can we start dreaming about making it big regularly at the world stage.
(END)