KUCHING: Sarawak women’s squad once boasted of being the best in the nation in women’s hockey when the late M Samy used to coach them to great heights.
Then, the Peninsular states still have not woken up even though they were strong in the men’s hockey in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Ever since, the state women’s hockey was on the decline while other states, including Sabah which has a national-type sports school had overtaken them.
Sarawak women’s team were the Sukma champions under coach Samy with many of the players forming the backbone of the national team. But one look at the national team nowadays reveal one thing — Sarawak is in deep decline.
The Peninsular states have built project schools and national type sport schools and all states, except Sarawak, have project schools.
Current head coach C. Sivasubramaniam or Siva has been calling for the setting up a project school, but the Sarawak authorities have yet to set up such a school.
Why the urgent need for a project school?
The main concern is the precious loss of talents who are already groomed and well drilled in the basics of the game at primary school level.
The players are mostly in primary schools where in places like Betong, Sibu, Mukah there are good under 12 programmes. Elsewhere, there are players found in places like Miri, even in Sungai Asap. .
“A project school is needed for the reason that the facilities are very poor in the schools where they are playing or have coaching programmes.
“Continuity or the lack of it is the main problem because after they received training in primary schools, the players will be lost once they moved to secondary schools for these schools have no hockey programmes,” he said.
Siva has gone out to rural schools like SMK Tebakang and SMK Bau, SMK Samarahan to do development and held programmes to bring in the players, even from Sungai Asap or Miri to come to Kuching for training camps.
“Schools in Sibu, Mukah, and Betong have under 12 programmes but once the players go to Form One there is no hockey. In SMK Paku, there are facilities like an astroturf and good hostels and there is a coach in former national player Catherine Lambor and if the players are transferred there, they can continue their hockey.
“They need to develop their skills and only a project school will help as advanced skills are difficult to learn,” he added. He said for Sarawak to continue its development to a higher level, there is an urgent need to establish a project school.
