|
Background
The 2003 season
had been a period of reconstruction for the senior men’s side
with half the squad uncapped at the start of the year and, without
a win in the Celtic Cup and three defeats and a draw aginst Belgium,
results were poor.
Two of the newly capped players made themselves unavailable
for 2004 and one of our experienced players accepted a hockey coaching
post in South Africa. Compensating for this, several players who
had not been available for 2003 came back into the frame including
the experience of past captain Zak Jones.
We were also able to appoint a video analyst, a sport physiologist,
a sports psychologist and a physiotherapist.
The playing season
An extensive training
programme was developed and despite difficulties with the pitch
at WIS, preparation for the international games was more thorough.
It is always a problem to get training games of sufficient quality
in Cardiff and it may well be that the only way to overcome this
is to play gainst other international sides.
Our first game was a “one
off” aginst Trinidad and Tobago who were touring the UK in
preparation for the Pan American games tournament. The game was
played in Oxford and Wales won 3 – 1 with a first international
Hat-trick from Oliver Cooper.
The Celtic Cup showed that the
squad was maturing and starting to win games. A tough nil all result
against Ireland in the opening game of the tournament was a reasonable
start although personal discipline was a problem for us. France
were beaten 2 – 1 after we turned around at half time 0 –
1 down and Scotland were well beaten 4 – 0. Wales senior men
had won their first Celtic Cup having not won a match in this competition
for several years.
Two games against Belgium in
Brussels with a slightly weaker squad led to two defeats but were
highly competitive matches.
Support staff
Coach
Mike Williamson has developed his rapport with the players
steadily over the past two seasons and remains committed and enthusiastic
for next year’s European tournament. It is rewarding for him
to see the fruits of his excellent coaching skills and analysis
as he was disappointed that so many experienced players had dropped
out of contention at the start of the 2003 season. I feel that it
will be important to appoint an assistant coach so that Mike can
delegate some of his work load in what will be a very busy 2005
season.
Video analyst
Chris Marriott now has the tools to make this vital area of
player development work properly for the squad. Individual athletes
appreciate his hard work although they probably do not understand
how many hours of preparation each session takes!
Sports physiologist
Toby Nichols has made a tremendous impact in the short time
he has been with the squad. He has the trust of all the athletes
and has ptu in a huge amount of time in his area and in general
support as well. His 2005 planning has been set out and he is fitness
testing regularly. Athleticism is apriority.
Sports psychologist
Andrea Faull has joined the team and will be a vital part
of nay success we achieve as a group. She has a particularly difficult
job with one or two athletes who, despite their talent, have a self
destruct button that will hold both them and the team back if not
resolved. Again, Andrea has contributed above and beyond the call
of duty. She works well with the group as a whole or individuals
as necessary and holds the trust of everyone.
Physiotherapist
Although Chris Poole gave a commitment at the start of the
year, he resigned early on for personal reasons. We were very fortunate
to gain the services of Tom Bennett who works with Chris and was
able to provide good continuity of care for those with chronic problems.
Tom also has a good background in hockey physiotherapy with Teddington
HC at National League level. He gained the immediate respect of
all the athletes and is a very valuable addition to the team.
2005 season
Success this year has had immediate rewards and now we find
that fixtures are easier to arrange with a good variety of opponents.
With our focus on the European B division tournament in Rome next
September, we are negotiating fixtures against Canada, Belgium,
Scotland, Italy and England plus our commitment to the Celtic Cup
in Scotland.
A top 2 finish in Rome has to
be the ambition with promotion to the A division. There is no one
in that competition who we can not beat and if the same improvements
are made over the next 12 months, that is realistic. We understand
that promotion may lead to qualification for the World Cup qualifier
and would help in involvement in the Commonwealth Games 2006. If
we have the self discipline, we will succeed.
Acknowledgements
Alan Lints has always been a
source of good advice, expertise and optimism; my thanks to him
and all our best wishes for the future.
To all in the office, especially
Hilary who works very hard for us, a big thank you.
To Chris Bleach for his fund
raising efforts that will make life a little easier next year.
Andy Bevan (manager)
Top
|
