Maister on defence

Press, 29 May 1985, Page 44

Maister on defence

By

KEVIN TUTTY

Establishing a suitable defence has been a constant worry for the New Zealand men’s hockey team for the last nine years, and the problem is not likely to correct itself in the near future, judging by the comments of the coach of the New Zealand junior team, Barry Maister.

Maister and his fellow selectors, his brother, Selwyn, Keith Gorringe (Auckland) and Pieter Jongejan, the national director of coaching, announced a New Zealand junior team at the end of the P. 0.5.8. national colts’ tournament in Wellington on Saturday.

“The lack of defenders was our major concern. If they are not coming through at this level (colts) they are not going to come through into the senior team in a few years.

“There were some very good forwards available for us to select, but when it came to defenders it was much more difficult.”

Auckland and Wellington played in the final of the Page Trophy section, and provided 12 of the 16 players in the New Zealand junior team. Both had centre halves who, before the tournament, had been playing as forwards and had been switched to centre half, said Mr Maister. He is concerned that many players do not have the dedication necessary to become top hockey players, but believes that is partly because they are not being told what is required.

Mr Maister will have one coaching week-end in July with the team before it plays the Japanese national team in Wellington in August.

The team is scheduled to make a 10-day tour of Australia next Easter. This was made at Mr Maister’s request. “We think it is important that the players have something to look forward to, and once we get them out of the country and travelling as a team we can do a lot more with them.” Many of the matches at the tournament were played on the artificial surface and Mr Maister said that from a selector’s point of view games were much more interesting to watch.

“The artificial surface is fantastic for the sport. Players from small provinces around the country thoroughly enjoyed playing on it.”

The surface did pose problems for many players. “The thing that was most noticeable was the inability of players to pass the ball along the ground. Throughout the week we saw guys hitting bouncy passes which

made it difficult for their team mates to trap the ball,” said Mr Maister.

“Some players didn’t realise the problems they were causing their team mates by chopping their passes. When we get the junior team together in July we will have to get them on the surface, hitting 100 balls if necessary, to make sure they learn to hit the ball along the ground.” Many teams did not realise the value of using the full width of the field. “It is absolutely imperative to use the full width and be able to switch the ball from right to. left with hard passes and move the ball around congested areas.” One positive aspect of the tournament was the stickwork shown by players on the artificial surface, but before players could become fully effective with that stickwork the other areas of the game had to be improved, said Mr Maister.