Mas need new training techniques

17/09/2002

NATIONAL coach Yahya Atan feels that if the present training structure is
not changed, Malaysia will find themselves in deeper trouble in a few
years time.
Yahya, who assisted chief coach Paul Lissek in the recent Five-Test
series in China, said the Chinese are dead serious about hockey and will
be a threat when they host the 2008 Olympics.
"China has embarked on a massive development programme which has
produced many talented hockey players. They are almost on par with
Malaysia right now and the only thing that separates both teams is
exposure," said Yahya after National Sports Council director-general Datuk
Mazlan Ahmad handed the Jalur Gemilang to 210-strong Busan Asian Games-
bound contingent yesterday.
According to Yahya, China lack exposure in top-notch tournaments and
once they get that, they could become even better than the South Koreans.
"The national players have the advantage of playing in numerous
international tournaments while the Chinese lacked exposure because the
last big tournament which they took part was the Bangkok Asian Games in
1998.
"But if they do well in Busan and take part regularly in big
tournamants, there will be no stopping the Chinese wave in hockey," said
Yahya.
China are in the same group as Malaysia in the Asian Games and after the
five Tests, where Malaysia scraped through with two wins, one defeat and
two draws, Yahya said they will have to be more careful in Busan.
"I did some checking while in China and found out that they have two
zones, North and South, which are actively promoting hockey at schools and
universities.
"The Chinese players receive a good grant from their Government and are
fulltime hockey players who receive a salary just to play. They do nothing
else, except train and play matches.
"If Malaysia keep neglecting the grassroots and the universities do not
play an active role in promoting hockey, we will be left far behind the
rest of the world."
Yahya feels that hockey is not being played seriously at the grassroots
level and it is almost non-existent at the universities.
"My personal feeling is that the Malaysian Schools Sports Council and
the universities should play a bigger role in promoting hockey because
eventhough we have good back-up squads right now, the player-base is too
small for a good selection process," said Yahya.
In China, they have a young squad training for the 2008 Olympics, while
the Asian Games squad also has a healthy blend of youth.
"They also have a good structure in the universities. Maybe the
Malaysian universities should encourage more athletes to play hockey and
MASUM should also look into fielding a team in the National Hockey League.
"Right now, MASUM did not even field a hockey team in the Malaysia
Games."
On their chances against China in Busan: "We will have to approach the
match with caution because the Chinese are super fast in counter attacks.
But their backline is still not solid enough and we need to capatalise on
that weakness to get goals during penalty corners."
Malaysia failed to score any goals off penalty corners in the five Test
matches against China.
(END)