Graham Reid may rope in psychologist for Indian hockey team
India men’s hockey coach Graham Reid has hinted at bringing in a psychologist for the Indian players in the coming days. The former Australian international has also added that in modern hockey, there is a need for players to stay mentally stable and tough to deal with different pressure situations.
With the Indian team playing at the FIH Series Finals in Bhubaneswar, the newly-appointed coach looks a bit worried about India’s habit of crumbling under pressure in important situations. Graham Reid is well aware of India’s habit and he has now hinted at a new appointment in the Indian support staff to address this issue.
“In modern day sport, every player needs to be mentally stable and tough to deal with different sort of pressures,” Reid told PTI.
“I am still trying to work out how best to do that because the last thing you want to do is bring someone (psychologist) in who doesn’t really get on with the team. Over the next month or so we will work on the best way forward on the mental side. To me it’s a really important part but I also understand we have cultural differences. So those things have to be balanced,”
After replacing Harendra Singh at the helm of the Indian team in April, the Australian has stated that he has a passion to get Indian hockey back at the place where it was. The FIH Series Finals is the first major event for the new coach and his first target will be taking the Indian team into the Tokyo Olympics which will be played in 2020.
“I do have a passion to get India back up at the top and that is what I will be focusing on,” the 56-year-old former Australia coach said.
“When I was coming through I always played against India and Pakistan. They were always the teams that we heard about. There is an Anglo-Indian connection between India and Australia. The Anglo-Indians formed a big part of Perth hockey. There is a deep history there and may be that’s where my passion comes from.”
When he was asked what will he do if the Indian team failed to make it to the Olympics, Reid answered, “At the end of the day, I don’t have a choice. For me, I try and get people to understand it takes time. This team needs stability and I will try to provide that as much as I can. The boys need confidence to flourish and get them understand how good they can be. The biggest thing that I want to bring to the team is consistency in performance.”
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