English tutors for Indian hockey players!

Roelant Oltmans with players during practice session in Bangalore.

BANGALORE: A remarkable turn of phrase may well dictate a hockey player's fortunes as much as his turn of speed if Hockey India's high performance director Roelant Oltmans has his way.

In a first-of-its-kind move that is hoped will change the way Indians respond to foreign coaches and game situations abroad, Oltmans's long-term plan to improve the game in India will necessarily include English teachers working on players right from the junior academies to the national teams.

Language skills will help them understand and express themselves better, he feels. Language barriers have racked the country's athletes for long with foreign coaches unable to get their ideas across effectively. Interpreters haven't been able to get the point across either with a lot lost in translation. Whether it was Gerhard Rach, Ric Charlesworth,Jose Brasa or Michael Nobbs, the dangers of improper communication were always there. Hence this move that plans to bring the coach and pupil closer.

Says Oltmans: "I believe it's necessary for our players to improve their understanding of English. It's not only because you need to interact with a foreign coach sometimes but also if you want to communicate with foreign players."

Oltmans pointed to an instance at the World League semifinals in the Netherlands recently where the Indian team found it difficult to put its point across to the umpire after seeking a video referral. "We had a situation in Rotterdam where the umpires did not understand why we had asked for a referral. Even if you want to ask for a referral, you have to make sure people understand you properly. It is important to make your question clear," he said.

Stressing that the language of the hockey world is English, the Dutchman said the exercise would help in personality development. "We need to do this to improve our performance. Players should not feel shy to speak the language. When you are training 4-5 hours a day, it is not difficult to have an hour of English lessons."

The English lessons are likely to begin after the Asia Cup as Oltmans felt he did not have enough time to focus on any aspect other than the game now. "In this camp, we will explain to the players our ideas, get them translated properly and ask them whether they really understood what we are saying."