Hockey India, SAI collaborate to conduct online Coaches Development Sessions for hockey coaches across the country

Bengaluru, April 18: In a bid to make use of the lockdown period to good effect, Hockey India and Sports Authority of India (SAI), on Saturday announced the introduction of the 21-day Coaches Development Sessions (CDS), as part of SAI’s MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) workshop for coaches, which was launched by SAI on April 16.

These online education Sessions will be aimed at providing high level knowledge to Hockey Coaches around the country through video conferencing. Since these Coaches are present at various levels, the Coaches Development Sessions will be classified into two Coaching Sessions - Level 'Basic' Coaching Sessions and Level 'Intermediate' Coaching Sessions, and will be conducted by Hockey India's Foreign National Team Coaches, Scientific Advisors and Director, High Performance.

The Level 'Basic' Coaching Sessions will be conducted by Erik Wonink (Coach, Indian Junior Women's Hockey Team), and will feature candidates who are non SAI-accredited Hockey Coaches. These Coaches have been given the opportunity to get enrolled for the Sessions regardless of their qualification, and will be registered by Hockey India on the Hockey India Online Academy Platform. The Level 'Basic' Coaching Sessions will be held from Monday to Friday between 0900 – 1000 hrs IST.

The Level 'Intermediate' Coaching Sessions will be conducted by Graham Reid (Chief Coach, Indian Men's Hockey Team), Sjoerd Marijne (Chief Coach, Indian Women's Hockey Team), Chris Ciriello (Analytical Coach, Indian Men's Hockey Team), Janneke Schopman (Analytical Coach, Indian Women's Hockey Team), Robin Arkell (Scientific Advisor, Indian Men's Hockey Team) and Wayne Lombard (Scientific Advisor, Indian Women's Hockey Team). The candidates for these Sessions will include SAI-accredited Coaches who have successfully passed the Hockey India Level '1' Certification (or above). The Level 'Intermediate' Coaching Sessions will be held from Monday to Friday between 1430 - 1530hrs IST.

Expressing his delight at the joint initiative by Hockey India and Sports Authority of India, Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad, President Hockey India, said, "With the world having come to a stand-still due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hockey India along with SAI, is delighted to be making use of this lockdown period to good effect by conducting these sessions for Hockey Coaches around the country in order for them to gain high-level knowledge from our Foreign Coaches, Scientific Advisors and Director, High Performance. These Coaching Sessions shall be conducted over video conferencing and reiterates Hockey India's policy of ensuring that the functionality of our National Federation is unhindered."

Speaking about the initiative Sandip Pradhan, Director General, Sports Authority of India, said, "This is the first time that an online workshop for coaches of this magnitude is taking place. In a conscious effort to use this lean period to upgrade the knowledge of coaches, Sports Authority of India has collaborated with 16 NSFs, including Hockey India, to devise online coaching opportunities for our coaches from around the country.

“On Day 1 of the online workshop 4700 coaches participated and the numbers are growing every day. I am really happy that Hockey India devised the online curriculum within such a short time. Through these regular online classes conducted by Hockey India's Foreign Coaches, Scientific Advisors and Director, High Performance, I believe our Coaches will get essential insights and a fresh perspective of ways to train their athletes better."

Source: Hockey India Release