They came from as far afield as Argentina, Australia, Tanzania,Japan and Ireland, but all with a common goal – to develop their own hockey knowledge and to promote the sport in their own country.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) Hockey Academy courses ran alongside the 2016 Hockey Champions Trophies in London in June and it soon became clear that this was going to be a hugely successful initiative.
With 64 participating coaches, representing 27 nations across five continents, it was a totally global event, where the opportunity to share ideas and good practice was seized upon by all involved.
Gathered together in one venue were High Performance Coaches, Coach Educators, Umpires Educators, Technical Official (TO) Educators and the first FIH Event Management Educator, Geraldine Heinen.
It was also a star-studded occasion as nine of those on the courses were Olympians, now working as hockey coaches.
The coaches divided their time in London between Loughborough University, which is partnering the FIH in much of its development work, and the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre.
The course was run by educators and course organisers from the FIH Hockey Academy and partnering organisations, such as hosts England Hockey and Coach Logic – who have recently partnered with the FIH Hockey Academy and were on hand with advice about video feedback.
Talking about the global nature of the Academy, former Argentina goalkeeper and silver medallist at London 2012 Laura del Colle, said: “We came from all over the world, representing 18 different countries. This is the first time FIH has tried a course on this scale, with so many different nationalities working together. We have had workshops, theory sessions, video analysis as well as watching many of the international games taking place. We were kept very busy: for example, while watching the games, we were given a topic to analyse, which we then fed back to the group later via a presentation.”
Jorgelina Rimoldi is also a former Argentina player. She added: “We also had some ‘surprise’ topics, which taught us to really think on our feet. One topic we had plenty of time to prepare, but for the other topic, it was sprung upon us to test our ability to react to a situation. That was tough. I had to analyse Netherlands, with and without the ball.”
She explained that she loves the Netherland’s system of play, so spending time watching and analysing was a real pleasure. ‘They make squares all over the pitch,” she says. “So they defend as a unit and then, when they win possession, they pass the ball around in these tight formations – it is so lovely to watch. I also watched New Zealand, they work on a pivot to put pressure on the ball. It is really nice to see the contrast between Argentina – which I know very well – and the other teams.”
One of the coaches who was able to benefit from working alongside such high quality players and coaches was Valentina Quaranta. The Italian has been working with the Tanzania Hockey Association for the past three years to develop hockey at grass roots and elite level in the African country, particularly for girls and women.
The FIH Hockey Academy invited Valentina to attend the coaching course in London, as a way to support her development work in Tanzania and to give her access to a high performance coaching environment, which she might not easily access otherwise.
The FIH Hockey Academy’s work with coaches, umpires and officials is at the heart of one of the four main goals of the FIH 10 Year Strategy - to increase the degree of professionalism within the game. To read more about the Hockey Revolution, click here.
