Hockey: Level One Coaching Course |28 November 2023

The course participants in a family photo with their instructor and guests

13 Physical Education teachers attempt Level One coaching course

In its endeavour to disseminate and promote the sport of hockey locally, especially at grassroots level, the sports local governing body, with the support of the with Seychelles Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (Socga), is presently hosting a coaching Level One training programme, targeting Physical Education (PE) teachers from various schools across the country.

The training, launched yesterday at the Olympic House at Roche Caïman, is gathering 13 PE teachers and is being conducted by technical director and International Hockey Federation (FIH) academy educator Maggid Abu-Talib.

It was president of Socga, Antonio Gopal, who launched the training in the presence of secretary general Alain Alcindor, chairman of the Seychelles Hockey Federation (SHF) Georges Sicobo, acting director for competitive sports within the National Sports Council (NSC) Steve Hoareau, and sports officer for hockey Dominic Pillay.

Speaking to Sports NATION, Mr Sicobo explained that the training is a repeat of a previously-held phase one, due to the small number of participants, adding that once they receive a larger attendance, they will proceed with the second phase of the training.

He said the aim of the course is to re-launch hockey in the country and the perfect way to begin the process is by boosting the capacity of the instructors.

“The sport is not that popular in the country and many would think that we are dormant,” noted Mr Sicobo, adding that the SHF is working hard to bring hockey to new heights, starting with the youngsters from primary schools.

He said they are facing a huge issue in terms of venues for training and to hosting tournaments.

Mr Sicobo further noted that they have received a plot of land at Perseverance, but they are lacking in terms of funding to develop the land into a proper hockey field, and that in the meantime they are knocking on doors, both locally and internationally, for support.

As for the training, Mr Sicobo said it will greatly benefit the local instructors, enabling them to better teach hockey at school.

“We have received many invitations at international tournaments, but we cannot participate due to our level, and this is why we are focusing on developing the sports among the youths, guiding, assessing and monitoring their growth and development towards the future of the sport locally,” concluded Mr Sicobo.

Neil Sirame