D'Souza vows to put an end to tears in Indian hockey

HIS KNOWLEDGE of the game is acknowledged in the world of hockey. Cedric D'Souza, in his second stint as the national coach, acknowledges his mistakes of the past, and seems to be ready with the remedy for the revival of Indian hockey.

It will be unfair to dwell on the past, and the 45-year-old D'Souza, as energetic on the field as he has always been, was bristling with confidence as he chatted with TheHinduduring the camp in Ludhiana.

It is going to be a whole new attempt to get things right, and put Indian hockey where it belongs. D'Souza loves the game, the players, the job and what comes with it, the challenge.

``First of all, when you get the team, it is a challenge. Honestly, I am not just looking at it as a challenge. The attempt is to try and get back where we really belong. It will take a lot of hard work, commitment, not only from my part, not only from the boys' part, but from everybody. It is a joint effort in every way'', says D'Souza, as he emphasises the need to put every spoke in its place.

There is a positive response from every quarter at the moment, as everyone is trying to let the past be, and get on with the game.

``We have the total support of the SAI. The federation officials are all warm, very amicable and cordial. The relationships are really fantastic at the moment. Another fabulous rapport is going on between the boys and the coaching staff. All in all, it is such a beautiful setting that one doesn't think of anything negative. We are basically focussing on the game'', D'Souza says, as he paints a beautiful picture, where every line fits its role.

From someone who seemed to have got carried away by the weight of his knowledge in the past, D'Souza seems to have hit nirvana, thanks perhaps to the four-year penance when he was away from the limelight. There is serenity in his eyes, and clarity in his thoughts, as he says that he has rectified the problem areas in his mind. He has a vision. If you put everything positive there will be a positive result.

``The change in me is massive. I have made mistakes in the past. I have done a lot of soul-searching. But, I don't want to dwell too much on the past. I am going to take from the federation what is best from them, take the best from the SAI, best from the coaching staff, best from the team, and put the whole package together'', says the man, who will not compromise on what he believes would be the best for the team.

If anything, D'Souza is a tough task master. Watching him train the boys will make you fit. There is so much flow of energy, as he gets involved totally with the job, ensuring that everyone is on the same wavelength as well.

``I believe that the body language from our coaching staff is so positive that it rubs on the team. The boys have accepted me, my ways, and the way I work. They know that there is going to be no cutting corners. If it has to be done this way, it has to be done that way only. There is discipline, focus and commitment. There is no compromise on anything'', asserts the national coach.

Rather than being overconfident that he could guide the team to the higher echelons of the game, D'Souza categorically states that his attempt would be to make the players think for themselves. He knows that there is talent, desire, and what is left to be done is constant motivation, to keep the fire burning.

``After India played Australia in the Olympics, when the match got over, I was looking at some of the players and their eyes. Even after they drew that match, I could see the fire in their eyes. There are a lot of youngsters in the team, and there is a lot of fire in their belly. My job is to basically motivate and tap the intelligence of each player. I don't want to be a policeman. The key is to make them think for themselves'', D'Souza says, even as his own eyes bristle, spitting some of the fire he had seen in the eyes of the players during the Sydney Olympics.

He believes that there should be no communication gap between the coaches and the players. There should be a healthy mingling of ideas. During the video sessions, when the game is analysed, he stops and makes the players act as coaches, analysing the situations on their own.

``I want them to interact much more. Get their ideas, suggestions. I ask them to tell me what requires to be done. I am sure, we will slowly achieve the objective of making them think for themselves'', he says.

D'Souza concedes that Olympics was a touch and go affair for the Indian team. So close, yet so far.

``Basically there is no dearth of talent. There is fabulous talent in the country. It is a question of nurturing it, and putting the right inputs. I don't say that I am the be all and end all of giving all these things. I would like to put my concept of the shortcomings, inadequacies, to do certain things which I believe have not been done, without undermining anybody's efforts'', D'Souza says.

One of the changes has been ensuring that the players do not sleep during day time in the camps. There is active rest, but no sleep. The load is heavy, but the players handle it well, after facing initial difficulty.

``In the past, players would train in the morning, go back and sleep. Have lunch and sleep. Have an evening session, and then sleep. We said, no sleeping in camps, in terms of day sleeping. We have video analysis, psychological session, interactive session and the movie session, to get the mind off for relaxation. It has been going on beautifully. Old habits die hard. Once the mindset is changed, it becomes a normal way of life'', D'Souza observes.

In the Bangkok Asian Games, coach M. K. Kaushik showed how a team can be brought together as a close-knit unit to play at its best. The key was to get the players together and get them involved, putting their hearts on the job.

``I think coaching today, the days of fear psychosis should be over. The coaching staff's most important job is to motivate. To keep motivating every single day. Of course, there has to be tactical acumen and all that. But the main thing is to motivate and stimulate to higher levels of performance. Once you do that you will see a different scenario'', he says.

A coach has his limitations, the power that he can wield. D'Souza assures that the selection would be purely based on performance.

``No matter what happens, there are always the ifs and buts in life. I say that without undermining these players, or those players who think they should be in the training camps and are not there. There will be a time and place for everything. You shine and you are there. You don't perform, you will be out'', D'Souza says.

The national coach is confident that there will not be a situation, because of the sound understanding between the various agencies, when he has to fight for the inclusion of a player.

``I don't think it should come to such a stage. I think the federation is the policy maker, the coaching staff are part of the federation. Once there is a healthy rapport, there is no question of a fight. They believe in us, and that is why they entrusted us with the job. And when we see that these are the players we require in terms of our game- plan and strategy, I don't see there should be any problem'', D'Souza says with confidence.

If selection is performance based, how did Ashish Ballal get selected as a coach after an exemplary fare in the national championship. What does the chief coach want from Ballal, a coach or a goal-keeper.

``It is not a question of what I want him to do. There is a decision as far as his coming into the coaching staff in terms of goalkeeper coaching. He probably had a chat with the federation officials. He was given to understand that he can kind of do both roles here. He felt that it was better for him to do one thing and he is handling the coaching part. As I said, if he wants to play in the goal, and if he performs better than the next person, I don't think the federation is going to say no to a person, or something that is for the betterment of the team. I think the federation is having the same thing in mind that everybody else in the country is having, which is to see that the country does well, and puts together the best available talent. I don't want any controversies. There is harmony, and there is so much of it that I am enjoying in the second life'', says D'Souza.

Of course, D'Souza points out that the question as to why Ballal was selected as a coach should be addressed to the federation as he himself was not a party to the decision.

``When you don't have communication problem, you have no problem. When you have a healthy rapport, and you have a commitment, and they see the kind of workouts you are doing, there should not be a problem'', says D'Souza, when queried about the say he would like to have in team selection.

D'Souza not only loves Indian hockey, but also adores it. He firmly believes that without India and Pakistan there would be no hockey in the world. Well, that is the image that Asia has in the world of hockey.

``India is among the elite nations in hockey today. It has been a question of hiccups here and there. The most important thing I am concerned about is the consistency at the top level. If you play as a parabola, up and down, you don't get the acknowledgement that you are part of the elite group. Consistency has not been our trademark or hallmark. But once you have a couple of victories under the belt, which has been eluding us due to various reasons, everything will fall in place. I believe that we are there and are working very hard towards that'', he says.

What does this Indian team need to do to excel in the international arena ?

``The physical aspect is very critical from my point of view. You need to be very fit, physically and mentally. We tend to choke at times. It has happened when I was there also. Tactically we need to be working harder, in terms of overall tactics of the team. And once we overcome these three areas, we can concentrate on other aspects that may crop up. For a complete hockey professional, you need three aspects fine- tuned to perfection - physical, skill and mental'', he says.

It is going to be a busy season, but the priorities of the team are clear. Although there will be eight tournaments this year, the team cannot be expected to peak for every tournament.

``We have certain targets. First is the World Cup qualifier. I would like to put my neck on the block and say, yes, we will definitely qualify. There are seven teams qualifying, if we don't qualify in the first seven, we need not play hockey. The second target is the Champions Challenge trophy in Delhi in December. The winner of that will go to the Champions trophy, which we haven't played since 1995. I think we will get there'', hopes D'Souza.

From being a commentator, D'Souza is thrilled to get back to his first love, coaching.

``I enjoyed doing commentary, it has its own thrills. I am still involved with junior projects. I enjoy sharing my thoughts with coaches in India and abroad through mail. I believe in communication flow. We all have our shortcomings. I will take the positive from everybody, put it as a package, and give it my best shot'', concludes the man on a mission.

There were tears in some eyes, when India failed to qualify for the semifinals in Sydney. Cedric D'Souza vows to put an end to the tears of sorrow and sadness in Indian hockey.

It is time to have tears of joy, he feels. Only time will tell.

KAMESH SRINIVASAN

New Delhi

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