Coaching the coaches has been an area of concern in Indian hockey.
The sport has suffered due to the lack of good coaches in the country, prompting the federation to hire foreign coaches.
Hiring foreign coaches may not have yielded the desired results, but the Sports Authority of India (SAI) has taken note of this aspect and wants to make the best use of outgoing coach Michael Nobbs.
During his meeting with SAI director-general Jiji Thomson here on Wednesday, the Australian, who is serving a one-month notice period, was asked to share his knowledge with hockey coaches at NIS Patiala during the remaining period of his tenure.
“We want to make the best use of Nobbs’ knowledge. He will teach our coaches who are doing diploma courses at NIS.
Besides, he will conduct some coaching workshops for them. It will be a good experience for those coaches,” said Thomson.
Nobbs, who decided to call it quits due to health issues, hoped to wind up his job on a positive note and looked forward to a future association with Indian hockey.
“I have a coaching programme to attend at Patiala. I will also have a look at the Hockey India programmes to have a synergy,” said Nobbs, who would be in the country until the first week of August.
“I would like to come back here for some coaching job. I have great love for this place.”
Improvement
Nobbs hoped that Indian hockey would improve under the guidance of High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans.
“He (Oltmans) has worked with soccer clubs and the Dutch association and done a very good job. He is a fantastic man and will succeed here.”
