Over the next few months, the future of India’s two biggest sports will come into the hands of two Australian men. First Dav Whatmore will take over as the head of the National Cricket Academy, just months after being a certainty to take over the national team. The National Cricket Academy has been in very poor condition of late and has been plagued with problems such lack of vision and continuity and Whatmore’s appointment might just be the tonic required to revive it.
But more interestingly (at least to me!) Australian legend Rick Charlesworth will take over as the technical director of Indian Hockey. The move has largely been driven by the efforts of the International Field Hockey Federation (FIH). The FIH believes (rightly) that the success of the Indian team is crucial to the future of the game and has launched a program to promote the game in India. Part of the program is trying to improve the game at the grassroot level in India and hence the appointment of Charlesworth.
Who is Rick Charlesworth anyway?
Charlesworth comes to India with probably a coaching resume that is on par with the best in any sport. After a stellar career as a player in the 1970 and the 1980s, Charlesworth took charge of the Australian Women’s Hockey team in the early 1990s and made them into the sort of dominating force that is now associated with the Australian cricket team. The womens team went to win the Olympic gold medals in 1996 and 2000, the Champions trophy in 1993, 1995, 1997 and 1999 and also the World Cup in between. Before the current role, Charlesworth was performance consultant with the New Zealand cricket team (did I mention he was a state cricket player too?) and has been in demand with the English Cricket board interested in hiring him. Oh, and he was also elected by the people of Perth to the National Parliament and was in the Parliament for 10 years.
Hockey Renaissance?
Since 1983, India’s national game has had the misfortune of being overshadowed by India’s obsession- cricket. To be honest, Indian Hockey teams haven’t exactly covered themselves in glory over the past two decades- a few bright spots (such as the Asian Games Gold in 2002) not enough to erase other failures, especially the ones in the Olympic Games. Frankly, Indian Hockey lost its way thanks to the inability to keep up with technology changes and the transformation of Hockey from a skill only sport to a sport also dependent on pace and power.
Administrators and former players have long complained about the lack of interest in the national game but a good performance in the Beijing Olympics will definitely bring the interest and money into the game. The Indian Hockey team seems to be on an upward trajectory under Joaquim Carvalho (winning the Asia Cup in Chennai and finishing third in Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia) and is playing good attacking Hockey. (the team is yet to qualify for the Olympics though and needs to win the qualifying event in Santiago, Chile)
Potential Pitfalls:
Charlesworth’s road in Indian Hockey is going to be full of potholes. One, there is bound to be inertia from current coaches and former players. Two, Charlesworth (unlike Whatmore) has only worked in a system where everything has been methodical and systematic from the age-group levels. Three, Charlesworth has a reputation for being forthright with his views and this may not go well with the IHF. ( I am looking at you Mr. Gill). Four, people are expecting results far too soon and I get the feeling he is going to be judged prematurely.
Also, what exactly is Charlesworth’s role in the current setup going to be. All parties involved have made it clear that he is not going to be involved in the activities of the national teams but is going to be working behind the scenes. Again, this will require clear co-ordination on the part of the IHF, the state bodies and organizations like Indian Airlines (which hire the players) and our Hockey hasn’t exactly been famous for organization.
It would great if Charlesworth gets involved in the youth structure and looks at improving the technique, the strength and physical aspects of the players who are emerging on the national scene. Also, he is expected to be involved in training coaches and this could have a significant impact on Indian Hockey as well. According to reports, Charlesworth is set for the long haul and is coming with his wife and kids to settle down in December.
India is yearning for heroes (of any type) and if Mr. Charlesworth can help in any way in producing a few on the hockey field, this entire exercise will be quite worth it.
An article on Dav Whatmore’s appointment will appear here later this week.
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Tags: Hockey
Charlesworth sounds like a flippin legend… the Champions Trophy is held every two years, right? which sort of makes him the hockey equivalent of a Ferguson or Buchanan. Scary.
Still, he won’t be coaching directly, which sort of leaves him with an administrative /infrastructure building role – which is just as crucial these days.
That was a really interesting post. Given his experience, I am sure he can turn around Indian hockey. However, knowing IHF, I would not be surprised if differences soon crop up. KPS Gill and the IHF needs to get behind this guy and offer their full support. Moreover, the central government should chip in with sufficient funds for the development of infrastructure and sophisticated training facilities. Only then, our national sport will be able to regain its stellar position.
Oasisboy: He is a legend and yes that team practically won everything! But also has a reputation for being a taskmaster a la Mr. Greg Chappell. So how he gets along with the people here is going to be really interesting.
Lucas: I agree with you 100%, Mr. Gill and his cronies really worry me, also, Indian Hockey has been really set in its ways for over 2 decades and Charlesworth is definitely going shake things up, i just wonder how much resistance he is going to face.
There is absolutely no doubt that Charlesworth is going to face obstacles from the same guys who appointed him. But the one good thing is by not putting him incharge of the national team, you have kinda made sure that he isn’t going to be judged by every match that happens. But the flip side is, what is going to be the yardstick to measure his effectivness? And if it is going to be the number of players he manages to churn out for the national team, will he be given enough time to actually prove his worth?!
[...] Carvalho who is committed to playing fast and attacking hockey. Further, having a man such as Ric Charlesworth providing his inputs should [...]
[...] the way hockey was being run by the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF). When the experienced Ric Charlesworth was appointed as technical director of Indian hockey, it was expected that he would turn out to be [...]