BENGALURU: coach of the Indian men’s hockey team Graham Reid warned his players not to get caught up in the moment and advised them to take their game to the next level if they concede a goal at next month’s FIH World Cup.
Reid thinks a positive mindset is needed to play in a major tournament like the World Cup.
India will open their World Cup campaign against Spain in Rourkela January 13, the first day of the tournament.
“You (Indian players) kind of get caught up in the moment when you play an event of this magnitude (the World Cup). Don’t get caught up in the moment. It could get quite daunting when you lose the ball, or concede a goal,” said Reid, who was part of Australia’s squad at the 1990 World Cup in Lahore.
“It’s important to develop the ‘next thing’ mentality. You can’t change what happened, so you just move on to the next task at hand, stay focused on what needs to be done,” a- he added.
Describing how the Australian team prepared for the World Cup in 1990, Reid said closing the mind to “noisy spectators” and “playing quietly” had done the kookaburra a world of good during his playing days.
“During the preparation (for the 1990 World Cup) we played smaller games and played in silence – we weren’t allowed to talk. A recording of the crowd on loudspeakers played back -plan and we learned not to rely on the call out but had to get used to turning around and watching,” he said in a statement released by Hockey India.
“We had to learn to cover the sound. And this time in Odishait will be equally important for us to be prepared for the crowd.”
Reid admitted that due to the highly competitive nature of modern hockey, it was very difficult to choose the favorites for the mega-event, which will be jointly hosted by Bhbaneswar and Rourkela.
“It’s so difficult to choose a team. If I think about it today, I could choose Australia, Belgium and India, and tomorrow I could come back with the Netherlands, Germany and Italy. India,” he said.
“Of course, I would put India in the top three because if we play well, we have a good opportunity to get there. Any one of these top eight can win this World Cup. It’s up to the both intimidating and exciting.”
Reminiscing about the match against India in the 1990 World Cup, Reid said the goal he scored was special to him.
“I remember playing against India and playing against Jagbir. When we played each other at the start, I remember wishing him. We shared a good rapport.
“I happened to score a goal in that game and it was a highlight for me because scoring goals when you were playing as an inside striker back then wasn’t as prolific as it is now” , did he declare.
Reid thinks a positive mindset is needed to play in a major tournament like the World Cup.
India will open their World Cup campaign against Spain in Rourkela January 13, the first day of the tournament.
“You (Indian players) kind of get caught up in the moment when you play an event of this magnitude (the World Cup). Don’t get caught up in the moment. It could get quite daunting when you lose the ball, or concede a goal,” said Reid, who was part of Australia’s squad at the 1990 World Cup in Lahore.
“It’s important to develop the ‘next thing’ mentality. You can’t change what happened, so you just move on to the next task at hand, stay focused on what needs to be done,” a- he added.
Describing how the Australian team prepared for the World Cup in 1990, Reid said closing the mind to “noisy spectators” and “playing quietly” had done the kookaburra a world of good during his playing days.
“During the preparation (for the 1990 World Cup) we played smaller games and played in silence – we weren’t allowed to talk. A recording of the crowd on loudspeakers played back -plan and we learned not to rely on the call out but had to get used to turning around and watching,” he said in a statement released by Hockey India.
“We had to learn to cover the sound. And this time in Odishait will be equally important for us to be prepared for the crowd.”
Reid admitted that due to the highly competitive nature of modern hockey, it was very difficult to choose the favorites for the mega-event, which will be jointly hosted by Bhbaneswar and Rourkela.
“It’s so difficult to choose a team. If I think about it today, I could choose Australia, Belgium and India, and tomorrow I could come back with the Netherlands, Germany and Italy. India,” he said.
“Of course, I would put India in the top three because if we play well, we have a good opportunity to get there. Any one of these top eight can win this World Cup. It’s up to the both intimidating and exciting.”
Reminiscing about the match against India in the 1990 World Cup, Reid said the goal he scored was special to him.
“I remember playing against India and playing against Jagbir. When we played each other at the start, I remember wishing him. We shared a good rapport.
“I happened to score a goal in that game and it was a highlight for me because scoring goals when you were playing as an inside striker back then wasn’t as prolific as it is now” , did he declare.
