Standing on the shoulders of giants

DESPITE Ireland picking up the wooden spoon in both the men’s and women’s competitions at the second annual Setanta Sports Trophy in June the Irish Hockey Association (IHA) have every reason to be delighted with themselves.

The bar has been raised immeasurably this year, with the IHA taking full advantage of this summer’s Olympics in Beijing as some of the world’s top teams pencilled in Dublin on their warm-up itinerary.

There was some scintillating hockey played at Belfield this year, particularly in the men’s section where only Canada’s willingness to win ugly has spoiled the feast of attacking hockey served up by Ireland, Pakistan and Great Britain.

The inclusion of world number six Pakistan has been particularly beneficial off the pitch, where they have received stellar support from Pakistanis living in Ireland.

On matchday two, they cheered on their team riotously against Great Britain, then stayed in the stand to cheer on the Irish against Canada, joining swathes of schoolgirls singing hockey-tailored versions of Ireland’s Call.

Pakistan's Shakeel Abbasi, right, believes Ireland need more games against top-level opposition to improve their world standing.

Given the hosts were the only team competing not heading to the Beijing Olympics, the tournament appeared to go true to form. According to some of the international stars gracing the National Hockey Stadium this week, both our teams are typical of an all-too-familiar Irish sporting stereotype – good enough to beat anyone on their day, but lacking one or two elements that differentiate the pretenders and the champions.

“The biggest difference between Ireland and the other teams here is the technical side,” explains Pakistan forward Shakeel Abbasi. “There isn’t enough skilful attackers in their team.

“We drew with Ireland a few years ago in a World Cup qualifier, and they were very good that day, but they have a younger team now. They’re solid in defence and good on short corners, but they don’t play enough matches against better teams.”

Abbasi knows all about the benefits of regular, top-class international hockey. He has amassed 181 caps at the age of just 24, and is a firm believer that practice makes perfect.

“You have to play a lot of matches to give your players confidence. To do that, we have brought 12 or 13 younger players with us to Europe who have got game-time against Belgium, Germany and France, and the teams here.”

Such experience was certainly in evidence at Belfield in June. Pakistan never panicked when two goals down against Ireland and three in arrears to Great Britain, salvaging results from both games. By contrast, Ireland blew two-goal leads in both their matches, and men’s coach Dave Passmore can’t have been happy with the way his side unsettled by some roughhouse Canadian tactics.

“It was disappointing to concede two goals from almost identical situations, and as a young group we have to learn quickly from these situations to prevent us repeating our mistakes,” he said.

Passmore can rightly point to the fact that his side are in transition, following the retirements of four of their most experienced campaigners. But the exposure to top-level teams will have done their youngsters the world of good, particularly rookie strikers Mitch Darling and Alan Sothern, who both chalked up their first goals in a green shirt.

Abbasi’s point is echoed by South African women’s captain Marsha Marescia, who is one of the best midfielders in the game, as evidenced by the World Hockey All-Star award she claimed last year.

“You just have to look at the progress America have made in the past four years from competing against teams ranked above them,” she says. “They’ve come on leaps and bounds, so the Irish should look at that. Ireland have a good team, but not enough outstanding individuals.”

Marescia also points to a highly-competitive schools structure that has a conveyor belt of hungry young players ready to replace the older ones when the time comes for them to focus on their careers.

By contrast, most of Ireland’s players emerge from a relatively shallow pool of 10 or 12 top nurseries in each code. The signs are nonetheless encouraging, with Leinster producing a raft of talented boys, while both the eastern province and Ulster have a golden generation of girls bubbling under, as evidenced by 2007′s bronze medal at the U16 European Hockey Championships.

But for the moment, there are a few causes for concern. Ireland women’s coach Gene Muller this week stated his belief that his side can break into the world’s top ten. However, he must first unearth an out-and-out goalscorer, decrease the reliance on Nikki Symmons and Louisa Moore at short corner time and harness the dribbling talents of Jenny McDonough and Shirley McCay.

Increased pitch-time against quality opposition will help, but the flipside of the coin for both Ireland’s teams is the commitment required. The country’s elite players have all played on at least four continents as part of an 11-month season – a necessary evil as Ireland put more resources into getting to the Olympics than ever before.

All of Ireland’s players are amateur, and their professional and academic lives can suffer from being away for months at a time.

Counteracting this is the ASPIRE (Athletic Support Programme Ireland) venture, now in its second year, which helps ensure players aren’t out of pocket. Three elements comprising corporate sponsorship, employer support and philanthropy give the financial assistance to help players reach their potential, and the IHA are hoping the benefits will be reaped on the pitch in the coming years.

“Our teams were the best prepared they’ve ever been for the Olympic qualifiers, and the increased professionalism has sparked a belief in our players that they aren’t just there to make up the numbers,” says the IHA’s Katie Roche. “However, given the age profile of our squads, the 2012 Olympics represents a more realistic target.”

In the meantime, the precocious talents of the likes of Pembroke Wanderers’ Stuart Loughrey, Hermes starlet Chloe Watkins and Irish Examiner Junior Sports Star Award winner Amy Stewart are being groomed for greatness. If they can observe the technical lessons from this year’s Setanta Sports Trophy, Irish hockey has much to look forward to.

*An edited version of this article was first published in the Irish Examiner in June.