National men’s outdoor hockey team coach Sihle Ntuli feels the indoor team’s recent World Cup bronze medal will fuel their medal ambitions.
The men’s indoor hockey team secured a shock third-place finish at the recent FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup in Croatia. They were praised for their flair and ability to express themselves on court.
“It’s what I’ve always believed we can do. I think both the outdoor and indoor set-ups have got great depth,” Ntuli said.
“We’ve always known we have the talent in the country, so credit to the indoor coaching staff for finally being able to get that talent to come together and get that result.
“I’m not shocked about the result because I do believe we have the players for that.”
Ntuli feels that the achievement is extra special because it came against teams that boast the luxury of separate indoor and outdoor professional leagues.
This allows them to select teams geared specifically for each format, and to rest their star players in each.
By contrast, a number of the top SA players feature in both national teams, including indoor skipper Dayaan Cassiem and his younger brother Mustaphaa.
“If you look at the top indoor nations, you look at Germany who won it, you look at Austria and the other top nations, the two different formats are treated differently,” Ntuli said.
“The calendar is so busy that it’s really difficult for a set of players to play both hockey formats.
“We currently do have players – if you look at the Cassiem brothers – that play both indoor and outdoor. It has its challenges from the perspective of physical load on the body of players, time management and just tournaments clashing.”
However, there is an upside to having players feature in both formats.
“Technically the indoor game has always been good for the outdoor game,” Ntuli said.
“The skill set is more closed and it’s more limited, so you have to really express yourself on the indoor court. This allows you to be a lot more calmer on the outdoor field where the pitch is bigger and you have a bit more time on the ball.
“I see a lot of value in indoor, but right now it’s proving very difficult to align both codes and allow our players to play both formats.”
The national outdoor hockey team is gearing up for a four-day camp at the University of Pretoria featuring the local-based players.
It is Ntuli’s first as head coach.
It is also the first camp for the national team since last year’s Olympics in Paris.
The outdoor team created a milestone of their own at the Games. Their ninth-place finish was their highest a tournament that featured a win against the host nation.
“We’ve got some new players in the squad, some new talents, some young players that have been included. I’m looking forward to see them transitioning to this level of hockey, which I have no doubt they will,” Ntuli said.
“But most important is to just the players keen and excited about what lies ahead so that we can actually build on this camp so that when the full squad does get together in April, we hit the ground running.
“It’s a very important year for us. We have to qualify for the World Cup next year. In August we play our Africa tournament, which hasn’t been confirmed in terms of venue, so that’s what we’re working towards.”
The continental competition serves as the qualifier for next year’s FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup in Belgium and Holland.
The indoor team’s recent heroics will no doubt fire the team up for another medal shot.