Confucious say....

If he was alive today, I bet he would have said so. This is a break from hockey, everybody needs one. Enjoy.

Last five minutes costly blunders

THE National Juniors were at the verge of snatching a draw against the Australian Under-20 side yesterday, but two quick goals in the last five minutes saw them lose 3-1.
The Juniors are in Sydney to play a series of friendlies and then compete in the Australian Youth Olympic Festival (AYOF) in Sydney from Jan 14-18.
“We were down 0-1 and equalised through a penalty corner goal from Faizal Saari and were looking good for a draw, but Australia scored two goals with five minutes remaining in the match.
“However, I feel this is the best match my charges have played so far, and the fact that they were all under-20, is a positive sign,” said Juniors coach K. Rajan.
In the under-20 AYOF, Malaysia will be up against the hosts, Great Britain and India.
The Juniors had seven penalty corners yesterday, and after Faizal scored the first, Rajan used Nor Hafiq Ghaffar for the other six, which were all direct flicks.
“We did not try and set-pieces, as we will be playing this Australian side in the AYOF. And the feeling after the match, is that we will do much better in the tournament proper.
Today is a rest day, while their third friendly is against Australian Institute of Sports tomorrow.
Malaysia also lost their opening friendly 2-0 on Friday against a senior Western Australian Institute of Sports (WAIS) team.

Coaching Committee forgive and forget

Former International Nor Azlan Bakar was given six months to obtain paper qualifications.

THE Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) Coaching Committee chairman Dr Balbir Singh bit the bullet when he met state chairmen for the first time, and in the end, closed ranks on a number of pressing issues.
The committee, who were not consulted before coaches and assistants were named for the seniors, juniors and under-16 teams, did not make any changes, but decided to add more to the list.
And two former internationals who did not have any paper qualifications, were given a six-month grace period to do so.
“Agreed that the procedure of naming coaches before the coaching committee could meet state chairmen and get feedback was wrong, but for the good of hockey, all the appointments were ‘endorsed’ and more names were added to the pool of assistant coaches,” said Balbir.
National juniors assistant Lailin Abu Hassan and under-16 assistant Nor Azlan Bakar do not have any paper qual ifications, but they were given a chance to obtain them.
“We will be conducting courses soon, and we have given Lailin and Nor Azlan Bakar a grace period of six months to obtain their paper qualifications,” said Balbir.
The Under-16, coached by K. Dharmaraj, will see more school teachers roped into the pool of assistant coaches.
But the kid-glove approached stopped here, as Balbir said they would like to have a hand in selecting and endorsing the foreign coach.
“It has always been a practice for the NSC (National Sports Council) to find and name a foreign coaches, but we hope to play a bigger role this time. We should be allowed to check the coaches credentials, at the very least, before he signs his contract.”
And the coaching committee also endorsed another strict guideline for club and state coaches.
“From now onwards, only Level Three coaches can handle teams in premier tournaments like the MHL (Malaysia Hockey League) and the Razak Cup.
“And coaches for other tournaments must at least have a Level Two certificate to be eligible to sit on the bench,” said Balbir.
Before this, any interested party could band players and call himself a coach, and even compete in the MHL.
The other drastic change was the implementation of report cards for players at every level.
“We distributed forms to state chairmen to distribute to their coaches. The coaches will keep a database on all their players individually, and this will help us determine if a player is progressing, and warrants more attention, or is just passing his time playing hockey.”
All this recommendations, will be forwarded to the MHF management committee or council for endorsement, and this would, in a loose sense, place the horse in front of the cart again.

Juniors lose 2-0 to WAIS

THE National Juniors lost 2-0 to Western Australian Institute of Sports (WAIS) in their run-up to the Australian Youth Olympic Festival (AYOF) in Sydney from Jan 14-18.
Malaysia are in Sydney to play a few friendlies, before the tournament proper, and today they will meet the Australian Juniors in a friendly.
In the under-20 AYOF, Malaysia will be up against the hosts, Great Britain and India.
“We were down 1-0 by the half-time, and WAIS scored in the final minutes to make it 2-0. The team played well, and my personal opinion is that a draw would have been a fair result,” said Juniors coach K. Rajan.
While the WAIS was a senior outfit, and Rajan tested all his players, he will field his best against the Australian Juniors today.
“I will have a better idea tomorrow (today) as both the teams will be of the same age. I will field the best, and it should be an interesting match.”
Malaysia have taken 26 players for the Tour-cum-tour nament, and will return on Jan 24, as more friendlies have been arranged after the AYOF.

Coaching Committee a rubber-stamp?

COMMENT
By Jugjet Singh
jugjet@nst.com.my

THE new Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) is only two months old, and acted its age, when it made a serious booboo in the coaching department.
Dr Balbir Singh has been appointed as the Coaching Committee chairman, and will hold his first meeting with representatives from every affiliate today.
But amazingly, the list of coaches for the seniors, junior and under-16 teams were released by MHF deputy president Nur Azmi Ahmad on Dec 28, just before the start of the Malaysia Hockey League final.
The only vacant spot left for the coaching committee to fill up today is posts for the National B team.
In other words the Coaching Committee has been turned into a rubber-stamp, with no respect for state affiliates’ views.
The correct procedure is for the Coaching Committee to recommend names, and the MHF Council endorses, or rejects.
This ‘cart before the horse situation’ could turn sticky today, if the state affiliates do not agree with the list of coaches released by their deputy president.
It was announced then that Tai Beng Hai will be the caretaker seniors coach, while Nur Saiful Zaini as his assistant until a foreign coach is signed, preferably by mid- January. The team manager was named as George Koshy.
As for the juniors, K. Rajan was named as coach while Bob Rajendran, Lailin Abu Hassan and Nur Saiful Azli as as sistants. The team manager named was Johari AbdulAziz.
K. Dharmaraj was named as the Under-16 coach, while his assistants are M. Gobinathan and Azlan Bakar and the team manager Mirnawan Nawawi.
When Dr Balbir was asked about this sticky situation, he said that the reverse was done because coaches were in urgent need, and he hoped that his state members, when they arrive today, will be understanding enough to close ranks on the matter.
But already, fingers are being pointed at several per sonalities who are said to have lobbied and placed their men in the list above, and this could turn into a burning question which will make closing ranks almost impossible.
So hastily were the names announced, that paper cre dentials for the coaches were also not checked at all, and will only be scrutinised today.
One understands that there is an urgent need for re placement coaches after Sarjit Singh, Gurmit Singh and Shahid Ali Khan’s contracts were not renewed.
But in their haste, the MHF forgot to consult their most valuable asset -- state affiliates.
One state affiliate said the meeting could turn ugly, as he feels his men have more experience and better credentials but were not even considered.
But it shouldn’t turn into a finger pointing and chest thumping exercise as what the affiliates, though procedure was not followed, must remember that Malaysian hockey is in dire straits.
The national team are ranked 15th in the world, will be playing in the third-tier Champions Challenge II and need all the help they can get.
The coaches and manager have been named and rather than rocking the boat, the affiliates must pledge their support and help take hockey out of the woods.