Johari: No need for long training sessions

KUALA LUMPUR: The new Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHC) frontman is cracking the whip, telling the national team to start getting used to not having extended centralised training sessions.

Secretary Johari Abdul Aziz said the demands of the national team have often compromised the local calendar, and he’s not about to allow that to continue.

Whenever national coaches insist on having long centralised training sessions, the domestic competitions such as the Malaysian Hockey League (MHL) and Malaysian Junior Hockey League (MJHL) are forced to be played in a hurry. Fixtures are often cramped to cater for the national team.

“We need to teach the players and coaches not to depend long centralised training. That’s a luxury,” said Johari.

“The coaches must accept that this is not the way forward. This is not practiced anywhere else in the world. This is just not about hocky alone, but about other team sports.”

Johari has been in office for three weeks now and this stand will surely ruffle feathers, especially of those in the national team.

Not one to mince words, Johari pointed out the players must get away from the mindset that there has to be organised training to get them fit. Instead, he said, the onus is on the players to keep fit and ready to answer national call-ups so that coaches can get into tactical training immediately.

“They should work on their fitness and technique on their own. Centralised training should only be for the team to work on tactics and for players to familiarise themselves with each other,” he added.

The MHL last year was a mockery as the teams played a single round of matches in just over five weeks to determine the winners, instead of the usual home- and-away format.

The same was done in the MJHL early this year, though the season lasted slightly longer as it was played over six weeks. Only the knockout stages were played on a home-andaway format.

Similar scheduling was drafted for this year’s MHL but according to Johari, the calendar will be looked at again to provide for a more interesting league.