NSC prepared to help scout for talent

04/10/2001

THE Malaysian Juniors left for Tasmania, Australia, yesterday full ofconfidence for the Junior World Cup in Hobart on Oct 9-21. And as the last van ferrying the juniors rolled off towards the KLIAafter receiving the Jalur Gemilang from National Sports Council directorgeneral Datuk Mazlan Ahmad at the NSC office in Bukit Jalil, the wheels oftalent scouting were put into motion by Mazlan. NSC played a vital role, albeit silently, in selecting and grooming thepresent batch of juniors and they are ready to fund and assist theMalaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) to make sure there is continuity. "Personally, I do not want to see the junior squad miss another WorldCup or for that matter, fail to qualify for any tournament because we havegood players in the country and if we put in some extra effort, we willdiscover them," said Mazlan. The only time the juniors failed to make the World Cup was in MiltonKeynes in 1997, and by the way things look now, we should be thankful fornot qualifying. "I have been closely following the progress of the juniors and what wehave today is a solid team, and they will do the nation proud, if not now,when they join the senior team in a few years time. "We are looking at continuity from now and are ready to help MHF scoutfor talent," said Mazlan. This is where States play a big role in the initial process ofidentifying players and making them available when scouts visit theirbackyard, but by the look of things that is a tall order. Paul Lissek had a harrowing experience in the east coast recently. "It took me seven hours to travel by car and the roads were narrow andtraffic was exceptionally heavy, but I didn't mind because I was supposedto watch some promising players in action. "And when I finally reached there, no arrangements were made and I wasnot informed that the trials have been cancelled because the players werepreparing for an examination which was to be held in a week's time," saidLissek. Lissek returned to Kuala Lumpur empty handed but he did not loseanything, the big losers were the players whom he was supposed to watch inaction and the culprits were officials who failed to do their duty. When the NSC initiated the junior development programme in 1997, whichincluded the Under-15 and Under-18 squads as well, the budget was RM3.8million and the product that will be on display at the Junior World Cup isworth every cent spent. Coach Yahya Atan and his assistant Zulkifli Abbas have done all thegroundwork and now it is up to the players. "Like any teacher, I have been preparing my students for years for thefinal examinations, and when the test begins in Hobart on Oct 9, they willhave to come up with the right answers. "If they fail, I have failed too," said Yahya.