With modern hockey replacing traditional command-style methods, former captain of the Indian hockey team Sardar Singh believes that the sport has now become more of a ‘subject’, which needs proper learning before achieving the desired results.
Now coaching the Indian U-18 hockey team, Sardar shared that playing hockey and coaching are opposite sides of the same coin — in which coaching perhaps is the more difficult job as it leads to more challenges, from managing players to learning new techniques with each passing day.
In Chandigarh to train the U-18 squad for the AHF Youth Hockey5s Asian Championship at the Panjab University campus grounds, Sardar shared his coaching tips with the Tribune team. After 51 years, the Panjab University campus ground is hosting a camp involving the Indian hockey team, which will train here for 12 days before playing the international meet in Oman from July 20 to 25.
“These days, hockey is played at the next level, and it’s not just limited to stamina. It needs mental strength, physical fitness, tactical data-driven analysis and positionless play. As a coach, I have to really update myself with what kind of opposition my team would face, what tactics are important and how to use the data driven technology. When we used to play for India, hockey depended on physical strength and on-field tactics,” said Sardar, the former Indian player who played nearly 314 international matches for India and bagged many laurels before hanging his boots after the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games.
He further said, “Having played in international clubs, I have seen the cultural change in hockey. The European style of play is no longer exclusive for certain teams, the pace of the game has witnessed a massive change, and these youngsters are coping with all the pressure. I mean, at the age of 18 or younger, many would dream of playing for the country, but this group has really made things difficult for the upcoming generation by raising the standards of Indian hockey.”
Under his guidance, the Indian team won the U-18 Asia Cup 2026 in Kakamigahara, Japan, last month. “Hockey India has mandated us to undertake three to four tours in a year, which are really essential for the young side. After all, these lads are the future of India and will represent the senior India team in coming years. Before Japan, the team’s Australia tour was very good, we played out a couple of draws, but as I said, every day is a new learning experience. In our time, we would play matches and plan for the next later,” he stated.
“However, with changing times, the support staff has to put in a lot of effort for these young boys. For instance, the team has nearly two-hour-long performance review meetings after every match, where the kids are shown video footage on how they could have avoided a mistake,” added the Padma Shri-decorated former player.
Sardar was also offered the post of assistant coach with the senior hockey team, but he preferred coaching juniors instead.
