Rajamanickam wants coaches to focus on developing youngsters

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia Hockey League coaches are more concerned about winning trophies than developing youngsters.

Kuala Lumpur Hockey Association (KLHA) secretary V. Rajamanickam claimed the league, which ended last week, did not showcase the young talents but instead relied more on beefing up their teams with national players and foreign imports.

“Our coaches are in the mood of winning at the expense of development. Coaches are not creating enough avenue for young players to show their talent.

“We need depth and this will come from the youngsters. If clubs do not develop these youngsters, what will happen to our national team in the future?” questioned Rajamanickam.

He added that clubs are also more concerned on the national leagues instead of state leagues.

“They want to participate in the national leagues but do not want to send teams in state leagues. Three clubs – Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL), Maybank and Tenaga Nasional – are affiliated to KLHA. When we hold the KLHA league, they do not take part.

“Is it because the league is not up to their standard? I think they should encourage their clubs to send teams for the lower leagues.

“This is where the youngsters can gain exposure and experience.”

Rajamanickam also said the influx of foreign players is killing the game.

“To win, they rely on these foreigners and youngsters are deprived of quality matches. To me, that is bad.

“In the 90s, clubs were only allowed to field two foreigners. These ruling helped hockey development and we qualified for the 1996 and 2000 Olympics.

“At that time, the national players competed in the state and national leagues.

“In Australia, clubs play in both levels. They have so many clubs and they consistently produce top talents.

“Clubs cannot say that Malaysia Hockey Confederation are not doing enough to produce talents when they should take the initiative.”

Rajamanickam also said if things don’t change Malaysian hockey will remain stagnant.