A View From the Side
A new monthly feature from Andy Jackson, our Coaching Guru. Please tune in to read the "Great Ones" words of wisdom.
Sun “n” drenched in Manchester – GB Super League 2007
Spending two sun “n” drenched days at belle Vue watching the Cats of GB hockey, with the Wessex Leopards, Caledonian Cougars and Pennine Pumas, makes you appreciate the top level of hockey. Three things stood out about the games -
- Team commitment – the sides play as a unit, if they lose the ball they sprint to get it back or cover team mates;
- Individual skill – a shelled ball hitting a player below the knee is not viewed as dangerous but blown as feet…. ……the expectation is the player either controls the ball or gets out of the way!!!!
- Lack of a whistle – stick tackles are merely a warning the defender is near. If the attacker has the ball then the umpires call is simple “get on with it.”
For us simpleton’s in house cat land then we could learn a lot from this level of the game.
- Speed – the game is played at pace. Speed of thought and action. A free hit is won and the ball is moved on in seconds. Players are nearly always at full sprint.
- Ability – every player can control a ball (flat or bouncing), hit it (hard), sweep, play on reverse and do an aerial. The result is team mates trust passing them the ball.
The AGM is round the corner and thoughts of the future are on people’s minds. The buzz word must be commitment. Without this Huddersfield will become more Jerry or Tom and not ever get to Silvester level in cat land. Huddersfield needs a fresh start, with the athleticism and core skills being the focal point for training………… as observed at National level. But if you want this then the only way to achieve it will be by committing to support and develop Huddersfield HC.
Finally, if you want to see the cool cats perform, not drinking milk and gnawing on bones, then watch –
- County Championships @ Doncaster on 12 / 13 May
- European Championships @ Belle Vue from 18 August
- National League – starts mid-September
Or check out World Hockey TV or Push mag (as this also has recordings of hockey matches / skills).
