The road to the Indoor World Cup started last weekend.
Shankar Premakanthan, assistant coach of the Indoor Women’s National Team, said the number of people in last week’s camp was an excellent measure of the quality of the team’s start. The multi-stage plan developed by Program Leader Louis Mendonco and Premakanthan is designed to increase profile and participation in indoor hockey in Canada and set the stage for the team to qualify for the World Cup. .
According to Premakanthan, the camp had a large number of participants and went very well from his point of view.
« We brought together 35 players. It’s now a question of acquiring the skills and tactics of indoor play, « he says. « We have a wide variety of age and skill levels and we are trying to set some basic standards for all players before moving on to the next phase of the plan. «
Alison Lee, captain of the team in 2017 who did not qualify for the Indoor World Cup in 2018, said the early start of the cycle is preparing the team for long-term success.
« Starting early certainly provides a huge advantage. This is already very promising for the program and this early departure and a focus on more competition can only lead to more success for the future, « said Lee.
Lee added that the young team’s participation in Pan American qualifying in the fall adds more international experience to the group for the future. Lee and Premakanthan argue that the traditional version and the indoor version offer several transition skills that make each version complete the other.
« I think the greatest asset that players can transfer from indoor hockey to outdoor hockey is to work in tight spaces and make decisions under pressure, » says Premakanthan. « Things happen much faster in theaters so you have to make quick decisions and have the talent to perform. «
Lee added that while tactics are different in the hall and in traditional hockey, refined skills open a player’s options significantly.
« In the ballroom, you can not lift the ball so you have to be good at trapping it and very good in the basics of dribbling, » says Lee. « This is very well transmitted to traditional hockey. «
Lee is an example of a player who focused on indoor hockey early in her career and was selected to the National Field Hockey Team. That said, the objectives of the indoor program are double according to Premakanthan.
« Of course, the program is working on success for Pan Ams and then for a World Cup qualification, » he says. « But we are also proud to develop players so that they can be selected to the National Hockey Team and possibly compete in the Olympic Games. «
The coaching staff composed a group of 27 players for the first phase. Click here to consult the list.