Nor Saiful to realise dream in Holland

16/08/2003

NOR Saiful Zaini left for Holland yesterday to realise his dream of
becoming a full-fledged coach, but he did not go under the Malaysian
Hockey Federation's (MHF) banner.
Instead, his trip to Amstelveen, Holland, the venue of the Champions
Trophy, was sponsored by his employers Tenaga Nasional Bhd.
The former national skipper underwent his first FIH coaching course in
Kuala Lumpur during the 2002 World Cup and then at the end of the year, he
attended another course in Perth during the Women's World Cup.
He passed with flying colours and the FIH offered him a ticket to attend
the Final course which will make him only the fourth person in Malaysia to
have an FIH Coaching Certificate.
The others are Stephen van Huizen, Wallace Tan and Collin Sta Maria but
all three have been left out of the national circle at the moment.
The former international was offered a place during the first MHF
attachment stint, where Sarjit Singh, Arul Selvaraj and Tai Beng Hai
graduated, but he declined because of work commitment. But he was not
considered for the second attachment stint involving six more coaches.
Nor Saiful, after completing his FIH course in Amstelveen, is looking to
handle an under-12 team.
"I am not looking to handle the big boys, all I want is to conduct
development work because most of the players lack basics. I can help by
setting the youth on the correct path, and then it will become easier to
teach them the technical side of matters when they graduate into the
senior ranks," said Nor Saiful before heading for Holland.
Nor Saiful, who plays for Tenaga Nasional in the Malaysia Hockey League,
still has the most powerful hit in the country and he was among the most
technically sound player that came out of the middle of 80s era.
Nor Saiful has the credit of featuring in all the major internationals
like the Barcelona and Atlanta Olympics, and the Utretch World Cup as well
as the only time when Malaysia played in the Champions Trophy.
"I have gone the full circle, have played at every level and now this is
one way that I can contribute to the sport which I love most," said Nor
Saiful.
And up till today, other than K. Gobinathan who is still trying his
best, no other Malaysian has been as accurate as Nor Saiful during penalty
corner hits.
So, the MHF must not leave him out of the picture after he completes his
coaching course because then, the number of FIH qualified coaches in
Malaysia will increase to four, but the number involved with the national
team will be zero.
(END)