epinions

2013 09 20

We open up or close the gates on the road ahead or the road behind

Ernst Baart E'pinions coach, dream, English, epinions, hockey, inspiration, sport, storytelling, success, talent, teamsport, victory

“Don’t whine, don’t complain and don’t make excuses. Just get out there, and whatever you’re doing, do it to the best of your ability.”

How’s that for an intro… It’s a quote from one of my favorite TED talks…

If you have not yet been introduced to TED, please take the time to get acquainted some time this fall or winter. Take your time for it, there is no rush for once… “he” will still be there in a couple of weeks, months or even years. But he’s a great companion for some of the cold, rainy days that lay ahead… when it’s too cold and wet to go outside and for when you have some time to spare. Because when you take the time for TED you’ll be introduced to some rare pearls of wisdom, pure genious, motivational & inspiring thoughts. He’s got some for all people from all walks of life…

John Wooden was my ticket into the wonderful world of TED.com… I’m passionate about people, communication and sports and he offered me so much of his wisdom accumulated over many decades on these topics in less than 20 minutes. We’ve all shared the experience of patiently listening to older people sharing their thoughts. Usually by the time they’ve finished their first sentence we would have sent out 4 text messages, answered 1 whatsapp, befriended 2 more people at Facebook, retweeted 3 tweets and checked out 7 new instagram pics…. However forget about that during this talk. He might have been in his early nineties during this talk, but if you want to follow his train of thoughts during the next 20 minutes you better fasten your seatbelts and hold on tight…

John Wooden, aka “Coach” , is considered to be the most successful basketball coach, ESPN even named him the best coach ever in any sport. He coached and teached for 40 years (!) at UCLA in the US and taught many generations about the difference between winning and succeeding. Don’t forget to turn on the subtitles if he’s going to fast for you ;)

2013 09 18

The field hockey game @ Kickstarter

Ernst Baart E'pinions crowdfunding, English, epinions, game, hockey, kickstarter, sport, video

Kickstarter is thé reference when it comes to crowdfunding worldwide… Strike the right chord, add some great promo video stuff, be creative with your rewards for backers and if your idea came at the right time to the right people it could take off in a way you never would have imagined, not even in your wildest dreams. The Pebble watch of course being the best example of this. Of course, crowdfunding providers will always show off their successes and remain silent about the thousands of projects that did not make it, maybe the idea wasn’t good enough, maybe their promo did not get through or maybe they were too much ahead of time (or too late).
However being the field hockey enthusiast I am, I could not resist helping out with some promotion for the project they’re promoting these days: a field hockey game for PC, Mac & Linux + XBOX 360 PS4 OUYA iOS Android which is set to be released just before the World Cup next year.
Watch the video here…

Visit their Kickstarter page (click here) and get your wallet out to back them! Remember you do not risk losing your money since it will only be paid when they reach their goal. If they won’t make their goal the guys behind this have said they will continue on their own (with less resources of course) so in that case their ambitions will have to be turned down a notch or two and they won’t make the deadline of the World Cup next summer.

They still have a long way to go, being at 1% of their goal as I write this and have some 20 days to go to reach their goals. Let’s all pitch in and promote this idea to help promote the sport we love…

But of course, should they make it and you or your kids will start playing it…. Remember it will never be as good as the real stuff out there ;)

2013 09 05

Confirmation is topsport

Ernst Baart E'pinions confirmation, English, epinions, hockey, sport, teamsport

It will be a difficult hockey year 2013-2014. Mostly because it will be the year confirmation is needed… Confirmation for some of the succesful surprises/innovations of recent times in our game of hockey. But let me start by reassuring you… I’m an optimist, I think confirmation will follow… for most anyway!

Belgian hockey

Those who were able to attend the European championship last month in Belgium will confirm the enthusiasm for our game has risen to new heights in Belgium. Both Belgian national teams, men & women, reached their goals: final for the men and semi-final for the women. Even more so, the positive vibe our game got from the best EC ever (!) is the true winner.
However now comes yet another challenge: confirmation of their new position in the picking order of international hockey.

Our Belgian women still have some years of catching up to do but are well on their way of reaching for the same stars their male counterparts are aiming at.
At this moment I believe the Belgian men belong in the top 5 of the world ranking (read my previous article -written before the EC- about this). Now comes the next challenge of maintaining that level in order to prepare for the jump into the top 3. I do believe they have what it takes to maintain their sub top position, although nothing is certain in sports. The jump into the top 3 of the world by Rio 2016 for example is possible but a heck of a challenge. And then again comes the renewed challenge of maintaining the same level (= growing at least as fast as your competitor). Confirmation is topsport… No wonder these Germans are so good at it… ;)

HIL & the (inter)national calendars

Some months before, the inaugural edition of the Hockey India League (HIL) was an amazing success story. One that could well revive the sleeping hockey giant India to challenge our Belgian Red Lions for this spot on the top 3… With the support of some great sponsors the first ever professional tournament has seen the light. Where else but in India! This is a set up that not only will be able to get India behind their national sports of the previous century once again but it also allows those top players living for their sport to finally make a decent living out of it. Forget about retiring after a couple of years at the highest level like in football, tennis, cricket or golf… But they’re making decent wages finally…
They also are gearing up for a huge challenge. Can they keep the momentum going and grow the HIL to more teams and a consistent yearly event? I think they can but they will need the help of the FIH who will be fixing all major international events for the following years in a couple of months. Can the FIH find a balance between the needs of the European club competitions, other national hockey events around the globe and this amazing HIL? And maybe even a female counterpart for this in Argentina? Why not?
We can only hope they will be given the opportunity for confirmation ! However 2014 is starting of in difficulties with a World Cup disrupting needlessly almost all other competitions and calendars because of poor timing.

Rule changes

Our sport has grown and is the better for it because of the innovation in rules these last couple of years. Two major changes in rules of earlier days were the abolishment of the off-side rule and the limitation of changing players during the game. The best of more recent changes is the self-pass of course, originating from the EHL. I’m somewhat less enthusiastic (read more here) about changes such as the own goal rule and the blue pitch and sceptical about the testing of Hockey 5’s instead of 11 vs 11. The latest change to allow the controlling of a ball above the shoulder however looks very promising to me. In these cases too we have to wait for the confirmation if they add to our game. If it were up to me the own goal rule has not confirmed, nor did the blue pitch but I’m afraid they will be confirmed by the FIH none the less…

2013-2014 will be a “Grand Cru” season for hockey

I’m looking forward to a very interesting new hockey season with top national competitions starting all over the place this month, the EHL next month and in April and the AHL down under.India will be in the centre of attention early 2014 with the Junior World Cup in December, the World League Round 4 in January and topped of by the HIL in February. Spring will bring us new national champions in our domestic competitions in Europe and to finish it all off an amazing World Cup in the months of May & June.

Let’s celebrate hockey !

2013 08 26

Durf te dromen!

Ernst Baart E'pinions droom, epinions, hockey, Nederlands, sport, teamsport

Groeien doe je stap voor stap… Dat is een van de weinige zekerheden in het leven, zo ook in sport. Groeistuipen horen daar ook bij. Soms maak je ineens en onverwacht een grote sprong en soms val je even terug…

Red Panthers Het is niet anders voor de rode panters, de Belgische nationale hockeyploeg bij de dames, die in eigen land voor tribunes met overenthousiaste supporters weer een stapje gezet hebben. Vierde op het EK dat afgelopen weekend tot zijn aptheose kwam. En het vuur kunnen leggen aan de schenen van de subtop landen. Maar laten we ons nog niet rijk rekenen. Er is nog een flinke weg af te leggen, maar het positieve is dat we dankzij de afgelegde weg bij de mannen weten wat er nog moet gebeuren

Een van de belangrijkste elementen die nu in handen genomen moeten worden om te blijven groeien is het niveau van onze dames competitie… De clubcompetitie is de motor van het nationale team. Bovendien kan het veel tijd besparen bij een nationale ploeg als hun spelers niet enkel op niveau kunnen trainen bij de nationale ploeg maar ook op de respectievelijke clubs. Maar hier is nog erg veel werk… Het niveau van de club competitie bij de dames is nog bedroevend laag en het is aan de clubs om hier verandering in te brengen.

Clubs moeten meer aandacht geven aan de dames 1 teams en hun beste trainers niet enkel voorbehouden voor de jongens teams in het jeugd hockey. Het betekent ook dat er keuzes gemaakt moeten worden en dat er met gewoontes gebroken zal moeten worden. Altijd een moeilijk proces, maar het is het moment om door te pakken nu.

Concreet betekent dat onder andere:

Geen trainer/coaches meer die eigenlijk in de heren 1 van de club spelen en waarvan een deel van hun budget afgeschoven wordt op de dames. Nee, de dames verdienen gespecialiseerde trainers en coaches waarvoor zij prioriteit nummer 1 zijn.
Daarnaast moeten we ook af van de ouderwetse visie dat het “gezelliger” is met meer clubs in de hoogste divisie. We zouden moeten evolueren, en wel zo snel mogelijk, naar een eredivisie met 8 clubs. Als het echt niet anders kan eventueel 10 clubs, maar meer clubs is voorlopig zeer contra-productief voor het niveau van het dames hockey.
We moeten nu per direct een duidelijke keuze maken op welke dag de competitie gespeeld wordt. Zondag lijkt de meest aangewezen dag, maar dan wel vlak voor de tijd voor heren 1. Niet in de ochtenduren… Laat ons leren van wat werkt bij onze noorderburen. Elke club die groeit ervaart dat ze zaterdag hun velden nodig hebben voor de jeugd. Elke club die consequent hun dames op zondag laat spelen zal ervaren eens iedereen het gewend is dat het zal bijdragen aan de sfeer op zondag, de bar-omzet, etc. … Het zal clubs tevens dwingen af te stappen van de coach die “het er even bijdoet” naast zijn prioriteit als speler of coach van de heren…
Clubs hebben de afgelopen jaren geïnvesteerd in buitenlandse versterkingen voor hun heren. Het voordeel van deze versterking te zoeken in het buitenland is dat je de competitie als geheel sterker maakt want spelers of speelsters weghalen bij je buren of andere clubs in dezelfde divisie maakt de competitie juist zwakker. Je hebt sterke tegenstanders nodig om te kunnen groeien. Dus haal de benodigde versterkingen in het buitenland, vanzelfsprekend met mate en binnen de financiële mogelijkheden van je club. Zo draag je als club bij aan het sterker maken van je eigen speelsters, je eigen team, je eigen club maar ook de gehele competitie die de toekomstige Red Panthers moet voortbrengen. Bijkomend voordeel als je slim “inkoopt” is dat de voorbeeldige sportmentaliteit van spelers/speelsters uit andere culturen als inspiratie kan dienen voor je eigen talenten…
…. (ongetwijfeld kan dit lijstje nog verder uitgebreid of gecorrigeerd worden – laat maar weten…)

dare to dream We zijn allemaal erg trots op de groei die onze hockeysport doormaakte de afgelopen jaren. We moeten beseffen dat deze groei voor (verreweg) het grootste deel voor rekening van het dames- en meisjeshockey komt. Ook de toekomstige groei zit grotendeels bij de meisjes… Laat ons ervoor waken de dames te vergelijken met de heren. Zoals in de meeste sport disciplines hebben we het eigenlijk over een andere sport. Het valt te betwijfelen of onze dames ooit op dezelfde publieke belangstelling zullen mogen rekenen als de heren. Maar langs de andere kant waarom niet? In Argentinië zijn de topspelers van Las Leonas, hun nationale ploeg, media sterren en qua publiek (aantal en volume) overstemmen ze daar moeiteloos hun zelfs toch ook niet onsuccesvolle mannen. Dichterbij huis hebben we mogen meemaken dat een tweetal supersterren in het damestennis er ook in geslaagd zijn de massa te beroeren.

De les die we dan ook mogen trekken uit de opkomst van ons dameshockey en dit EK is zonder enige twijfel: “Durf te dromen” !

2013 08 06

Familie, vrienden en de topsporter

Ernst Baart E'pinions epinions, familie, hockey, kids, Nederlands, Olympics, ouders, sport, talent, teamsport, vrienden

In het kader van het Europees kampioenschap hockey dat later deze zomer hier “om de hoek” georganiseerd wordt zette de organisatie Topsport Vlaanderen een aparte website op ter promotie van dit EK. Mijn eerste bijdrage aan hun blog “de insider” werd vandaag gepubliceerd: http://www.topsportvlaanderen.be/blogpost/familie-vrienden-en-de-topsporter

2013 07 22

Innovation in sports is a good thing, but…

Ernst Baart E'pinions English, epinions, hockey, innovation, Olympics, sport, teamsport

I do admire the officials at the reigns of our hockey sport. Their innovation in different areas is one way to guarantee the attractiveness of the sport and to prevent it from becoming obsolete. However another quality should also be the ability to not be afraid and turn back on decisions that have proven to be not so much an added value to the game. The most prolific example here would be the “own goal” rule of course…

Apparantly no one in the world understands how a shot from outside the circle, ending up in the goal, is not counted. Well I’m sorry, the rule wasn’t that hard to understand: “a ball had to be touched by an attacker inside the D (or circle) in order to be a valid goal”. If people think this is too complicated I feel sorry for them… But since some other more wel known ball-sports allow scoring from anywhere on the pitch that seemed to be a problem for spectators. So we could have changed the rules so any shot from anywhere on the pitch entering the goal should be counted and the sole purpose for the D would be the area for the keeper to use his whole body to play the ball and the area where faults would be sanctioned with a penalty corner. The “D” from our hockey game would be very similar to the “box” from football for example in that case. This would be a valid choice… I still would not like it, but it would make sense.
However since the material our ball is made off and the speed at which it travels this would make our game a whole lot more dangerous, so they came up with some rule change in between. The ball still had to be touched within the circle, but now when a defender is the only one to have touched the ball within the D before the ball enters the goal it now counts a a goal scored where before this would have been a long corner. OK, I’ll admit the rule where any touch within the D is a goal is more simple than it has to be the attacker who touches the ball within the D. But seriously… is this going to make our sport more spectator friendly? Hardly… It will make it more dangerous again. That’s for sure… Please listen to your players/coaches and change this rule back to what it was before…

Speed & size of the ball

The only real issue for spectators from outside our sport or even those who do know hockey is the combination of the higher speed of the game and the visibility of the smaller ball. That is what makes our sport somewhat harder to follow on TV or from the stands. So let’s address these issues instead…

Two rule chages where tried out at the London Olympics to make it a more spectator friendly sport with regards to the issues stated above. They turned to the game of tennis where the speed of the ball and its size where also issues for TV and grand stand spectators at times… So they tried out two tennis-recipes for curing this :

change the colour of the ball from white to yellow;
change the colour of the pitch to blue.

Allthough a great idea, if only for marketing because the blue & pink smurf turf really stood out in the Olympic Park in London, the proof of the pudding is always in the eating. Spectators on the stands around the pitch, as well as those behind the TV or any other screen, soon came to the conclusion this blue colour may have worked for tennis ( a dry surface) but in combination with the water needed on the pitch was not the best of ideas. The blue colour, the sun and the water on the pitch resulted in a glare even worse than on the traditional green pitches. The yellow ball however was an improvement. Still very small and very, very fast sometimes but clearly more visible than the white balls before.

So allthough I’m a little bit dissapointed the yellow ball still has not taken off as the improved successor of the white ball, I was happy to see the organisation for the World Cup as well as other major international tournaments abandonned the idea of a blue pitch. Most of them returning to the usual green, so unfortunately not testing other options. The World Cup scheduled for 2014 announced a darker shade of green which makes sense to me. Then, out of the blue -no pun intended- I heard the choice has been made for a blue pitch once again in Rio for the Olympics in 2016… Why? We’ve tried it… It was no improvement…
Another recent test of the colour of the pitch was held at the recent World League for women in the UK. The test there was changing the colour of the D only. So the pitch was a regular green, but the circles were blue. I did think it was a good idea, at least worth a test to have a more distinctive circle or D. However the conditions in which it was tested were far from ideal. Anyone with some experience in these matters could have told you it is a bad idea to replace only a part of the pitch with some new turf. The new patches of turf will always be different regarding ball handling from the older existing turf and the idea behind an artificial turf is having the exact same ideal conditions of play all over the pitch. You’ll never have that if you replace only a certain part of the existing pitch, which is what they did for this World League tournament in the UK. So unfortunately this could not be a valid test for this idea. Next time the opportunity is there they should replace the entire pitch when trying out different colours for the D only.
I do think testing different colours for the pitch could be worthwhile, but the true innovation would be a pitch similar to today’s waterbased pitches without water. That would be a major breakthrough that would also be beneficial for promoting the artificial turf and our sport in regions of the world where water is very costly… maybe the blue colour could work without any water on the pitch, but forget about it as long as we need the waterbased pitch to play modern hockey.

Some (very) good changes

However we did see some recent rule changes that have proven to be a plus for our sport or have the potential of proving their worth. The best example of great rule changes since the abolishment of the off-side rule and the rule allowing for continuous changes has got to be the self-pass. The innovation rich EHL came up with this one and it has been embraced by all in our sport at every level of the game. It doesn’t make it easier to follow for referees nor for the spectators, quite the contrary. But it has been a wonderful addition to our game, making it more fair (intentional faults are not rewarded anymore) and more competitive. I think all agree here…

showoff The latest test already seen in action shows some promise as well: allowing the raising of the stick above the shoulder to play the ball. They’re testing it in the EHL and have been testing it in the Wolrd League as well. Unfortunately the test seems not be prolonged to the European Championship this summer.
Again a rule that was a little bit hard to follow sometimes for spectators from outside our sport. So allowing the stick above the shoulder would simplify the game for them and add something extra and spectacular for the players as well. Of course the interpretation by the referee for what would be dangerous remains… But think about those beautiful goals smashed in that had to be disallowed because of the old sticks rule. I truly hope this one makes it into the regular hockey rules soon !

Another change in the making is the up and coming Hockey 5’s… The FIH will be testing this new format of our game with 5 against 5 on the next Youth Olympics and has conducted tests in Asia recently as well. Changing the rules for indoor hockey last week by dropping a player and so aligning this variation of our game to the Hockey 5’s outside seems to indicate a keen interest in developping this new format. However I can’t really tell if I like it just yet… I do think it could be an interesting addition to our sport but I can’t really decide if it would be beneficial to our regular game of hockey or if there’s a risk of it would taking it’s place in the Olympics maybe? Did the game of volleyball suffer from the rise of beachvolley?
I do think there should be room for different kind of variations in our sport, such as indoor hockey or beach hockey. However, I’m not sure about this one yet…

2013 07 10

My own World Ranking

Ernst Baart E'pinions change, English, epinions, hockey, ranking, sport, teamsport

fih The international hockey federation FIH published their new world ranking today. As usual and expected a document without surprises… In a sport such as tennis the fluctuations in the ranking are somewhat more visible because players can only accumulate points for one year. Because every year the same important tournaments are being organised and points can be defended, won or lost. In most team sports the cycles tend to be longer, usually 4 years. Either based upon a World Cup every 4 years, the Olympics every 4 years or both as is the case for hockey. So nations, because I’m talking about the ranking of national teams, accumulate their points over 4 years but only the points won in the present year are counted for their full value (100%). The points for older years suffer from devaluation every year, 75% after 1 year, 50% after 2 years and only 25% after 3 years. I think it’s a fair system… however it also means the ranking does not always reflect the actual strengths of the nations at that moment in time. For example in case of the men’s national teams the ranking issued today does not at all reflect the actual ranking in my humble opinion.

Below you’ll see the ranking the FIH and my own opinion of the actual ranking today…

FIH	Country	Me	Country
1	Germany	1	Australia
2	Australia	2	Germany
3	Netherlands	3	Netherlands
4	England	4	Belgium
5	New Zealand	5	Argentina
6	Korea	6	New Zealand
6	Spain	7	England
8	Pakistan	8	Spain
9	Belgium	9	Korea
10	Argentina	10	Pakistan

For these countries, especially the sub top countries the ranking could be of major importance with regards to qualifying for the next World Cup or the next Olympics for example. So one could argue for another ranking system that might better reflect the actual strength at that particular moment in time. However since sports administrators often do not excel in long term planning the system we have today might be better to prevent short term thinking. It might take somewhat longer to rise in the ranks but it rewards those who think and plan ahead and work towards short, middle AND long term goals, as it should be…Of course this is only my opinion based upon the many games I’ve seen, but not on hard facts. I think the top 3 is a solid top 3, well separated from the sub top challengers. There is still a substantial gap between numbers 3 and 4. But I think 5, 6 and 7 are very close to each other. Between 7 and 8 there is a bigger gap once again, and 8 , 9 and 10 are also very close to each other.

The World League should replace the Champions Trophy & Challenge

FIH_WL For the first time points were included for the “new kid on the block”, the World League… Those qualified for World League Round 4 (that is 8 nations) all got the points for the 8th ranking until the Final round of this event is played next January in India. So whether you came in 1st, 2nd or 3rd in Round 3 did not effect your ranking… Now all that is left to play for this new event in international hockey some first conclusions are in order. On the positive side the World League is opening up international top hockey to more nations and is beneficial for the fast risers in the ranking, such as Belgium for example. It gives the rising countries from the sub top better opportunities to play the top nations more often than the old system with Champions Trophy and Champions Challenge. However I think it’s somewhat strange that the FIH, who has excelled in fast adaptations of rules to make the game more attractive still has not abandoned the redundant Champions Trophy & Challenge events. It would make sense to keep the name Champions Trophy which could be used for the World League Round 4. But it’s about time the FIH will take and communicate the decision to free up some time on the international calender by merging the World League and the Champions Trophy.

And while I’m on the topic of rule changes and decisions made or to be made by the FIH… let me already tell you my next blog regarding hockey will be about why I think the recent decision to choose once again for a blue pitch in Rio is wrong, why the own goal rule should be abolished (we’ve tried it and do not like it) and why the recent tests with the raising of the stick above the shoulder would be a good change for hockey… ;)

2013 06 20

Succes heeft vele vaders

Ernst Baart E'pinions epinions, hockey, Nederlands, sport, succes, teamsport

Ik werd vandaag getriggerd door een tweet van de nieuwe bondscoach van de Red Lions, de nationale heren hockeyploeg van België :

Ik heb maar weer eens heel veel geluk dat ik op deze mooie KBHB trein mag stappen. Deze trein is 8 jaar geleden al vertrokken!
— Marc Lammers (@MarcLammers) June 20, 2013

Het spreekwoord zegt immers “Succes heeft vele vaders” en zoals dat meestal gaat met die zegswijzen zit er veel waarheid in. Complimenten aan deze coach voor het (h)erkennen dat hij “slechts” voort aan het bouwen is op de weg die werd ingeslagen door diverse voorgangers en dat hij dus niet de enig zaligmakende factor is in het succes van deze sportploeg. Ik was en ben een bevoorrecht volger van het succes van het Belgische hockey en het leek me gepast eens een aantal mensen te benoemen die anders in de schaduw bleven van de meer opvallende “vaders” van dit succesverhaal. Opgelet er zijn meerdere facetten aan het succesverhaal van het Belgische hockey. Er is de groei van de sport in het algemeen die met name te danken is aan de beslissing zo’n 12 à 13 jaar geleden om eindelijk het meisjeshockey af te scheiden van het jongenshockey bij de jeugd. Er is de professionalisering van het bestuur bij de bond (proficiat Jean-Christophe Capelle voor het geleverde werk hier) als logisch gevolg van de professionalisering bij de clubs met als grootste voordeel dat het “arrangeren” ten voordele van sommige clubs of individuen steeds moeilijker wordt. Er is de vooruitgang qua resultaten in het tophockey bij zowel clubs als nationale ploegen.

Chris Vercammen, de man die de bal aan het rollen bracht

Ik wil even focussen op het succes en de vooruitgang van het tophockey omdat dit nu eenmaal het meest in het oog springt en ook kan functioneren als motor van de vooruitgang in die andere elementen. Zonder de inspanningen voordien te willen denigreren start voor mij de kentering bij een koppige vader uit de misschien enigszins onverwachte omgeving van Temse – jawel… ten westen van de klassieke as Brussel-Antwerpen. Hij vindt niet alleen dat het beter kan, hij meent niet alleen te weten hoe het beter kan… maar hij stroopt ook nog eens de mouwen op om eraan te beginnen. Chris Vercammen is de man waarbij het wat mij betreft start. Hij ziet dat er mogelijkheden zijn om het jonge talent beter te omkaderen en op te leiden dan tot dan toe gebruikelijk was. Hij spreekt wat mensen aan en de bond geeft hem, wellicht denkende dat dat de snelste manier was om die lastige man te laten zwijgen, de kans om een zeer jong groepje van talenten samen te stellen om hen voor te bereiden op tophockey.

elite88-2003 — De Elite ’88 ploeg in 2003 met Chris Vercammen rechts

Zo ontstond de “Elite ’88” , een groep van destijds 11 jarige jongens (geboren in 1988) uit het hele land, van grote en kleine clubs, die door hem geselecteerd werden tijdens diverse selectietrainingen om vanaf dan iedere schoolvakantie met elkaar op stage, op kamp te gaan en te werken aan de discipline die nodig is voor topsport.De bond faciliteert het minimale, de ouders betalen zelf voor de rest en zien samen hoe deze koppige man niet alleen een zeer getalenteerd groepje enthousiaste jongens bij elkaar krijgt die met ieder kamp vooruitgaan. Maar hij slaagt er in om zelfs topspelers en toptrainers (denk bijvoorbeeld aan Maurits Hendriks, ex coach van het gouden Oranje in Sydney en de man achter de opkomst van Spanje destijds) gast trainingen te laten geven aan deze jonge talenten. Zijn enthousiasme, discipline en oog voor de basistechnieken werken aanstekelijk en de groep zou de kern vormen van het team (Boys Under 16) dat in het Engelse Millfield als eerste teamsport ooit een gouden medaille zou halen op een EK voor België.

Het mirakel van Manchester

Enkele maanden later zou een nieuwe voorzitter de teugels van de bond in handen nemen. Deze ex topspeler, Marc Coudron, had zelf nog maar vlak daarvoor de teleurstelling ervaren op het veld van het net niet kwalificeren voor de Olympische Spelen (Athene) en herkende de aanpak van die Boys U16, nodig om de volgende stap te zetten. Ook bij de nationale herenploeg was er een nieuw type coach gestart die meer professionalisme eiste van zijn spelers, die hard wilde werken om beter te worden en oog had voor nieuwe technologie om continu te verbeteren. De Zuid-Afrikaanse coach Giles Bonnet, met onder andere de steun van een vernieuwende aanpak op het fysieke vlak van Mika Van Cutsem, zette met een getalenteerde generatie de eerste stappen richting het tophockey op internationaal niveau. Na enkele mooie resultaten en een bemoedigende groeicurve werd het pijnlijk duidelijk op het eerste groot toernooi sinds heel lang in eigen land dat we dreigden te stagneren. De tegenvaller van de Champions Challenge in Boom werd door Coudron & co aangegrepen om het roer om te gooien. De jonge talentvolle Australische coach Adam Commens, vlak daarvoor kampioen geworden als speler op het veld met zijn R. Antwerp H.C., kreeg de kans om met een zeer jonge ploeg de groeicurve weer een knik naar boven te geven. Op slechts enkele weken tijd werd met behulp van nog een nieuwe discipline, mental coach Alain Goudsmet, de ploeg klaar gestoomd voor het Europees Kampioenschap in Manchester. En als alle puzzelstukjes samenvallen geschieden soms mirakels… In Manchester verslaan de Red Lions de wereldkampioen Duitsland en pakken voor het eerst in 32 jaar een ticket voor deelname aan de Olympische Spelen, het summum in topsport. Commens, maar ook Goudsmet (zie video) bracht een nieuwe energie, een frisse wind die nodig was om de volgende stap te nemen.

Consolideren en doorgroeien

Ook de volgende coach die enkele jaren later de teugels zou overnemen kwam op het juiste moment. Colin Batch was weer een heel ander type, kalm en zeer ervaren zette de groep, waar spelers niet meer stoppen als de combinatie studie/topsport het wat zwaarder maakt, onder hem weer wat extra stappen qua discipline en leven voor de sport met opnieuw een kwalificatie en een mooie 5e plek op de Spelen van London. Na het vertrek van Batch weet het sportieve brein bij de bond, Bert Wentink, opnieuw de juiste opvolger te strikken voor de Red Lions. Marc Lammers is een vernieuwende topcoach die weet wat nodig is om een winning streak door te zetten om de stap naar het podium te maken.

Wellicht snappen de meeste volgers van het Belgische tophockey wel wat de rol was van mensen als Coudron, Commens, Batch, Lammers… Goudsmet is ook goed in zijn eigen promo (getuige de video hierboven). Maar bij deze wil ik toch even de spotlight richten op mensen als Bert Wentink, voor zijn bijdrage aan het maken van juiste keuzes bij de heren, een Mika Van Cutsem voor zijn vernieuwende aanpak om de spelers fysiek op punt te stellen en blessures te vermijden maar bovenal op een man als Chris Vercammen die de bal aan het rollen heeft gebracht !

Infrastructuur is een conditio sine qua non

Pas op, we hebben nog een lange weg af te leggen op de diverse terreinen… zowel de clubs, als de bond… zowel voor het recreatieve als voor het tophockey. En als ik 1 les geleerd heb in de ongeveer 20 jaar dat ik een en ander actief doe en volg op mijn eigen club en erbuiten, is het wel dat niets vooruit kan als er niet eerst geïnvesteerd wordt in infrastructuur. Twee uitdagingen steken er wat mij betreft dan ook bovenuit voor de nabije toekomst voor alle stakeholders:

Als eerste en ook het gemakkelijkste in te vullen is dat het uitbouwen van een sterk netwerk van professionele bekwame opleiders, trainers, coaches en verantwoordelijken voor jeugdscholen. De tijd van de goedwillende vrijwilliger is zeker nog niet voorbij, integendeel dat blijft een drijvende kracht in onze sport en clubcultuur. Maar deze vrijwilligers moeten ook erkennen waar ze wel in kunnen bijdragen en wat ze beter overlaten aan anderen…
Als tweede en dat wordt heel wat moeilijker in dit complexe landje heb ik het over de infrastructuur. Clubs met veel traditie zullen toch zichzelf in vraag moeten durven stellen en misschien wel verhuizen uit die wijken waar uitbreiding niet mogelijk is. De bond moet manieren verzinnen om nieuwe initiatieven en clubs te ondersteunen om de groei voort te zetten. Maar bovenal, de overheid moet inzien dat zij veel zwaarder dan in het verleden zullen moeten investeren in de infrastructuur voor sportclubs als hockey! Een gezonde buitensport waar de hele familie terecht kan: vaders & moeders, zonen & dochters….

2013 06 03

The Voice UK… I can’t help being addicted :)

Ernst Baart E'pinions English, epinions, music, video

I can’t help myself… Even though I would normally hate people dweeping with their favorite TV program or artist, I truly can’t help myself… I’m a big, really big fan of The Voice UK ! I got introduced to this TV format when a friend of my kids joined in for the Flemish version of this Dutch TV show. He did a great blind audition (“I need a dollar”) and had another friend of him who also surprised me with a truly quality performance and I started following the show…

By coincidence I found out there also was a version of the same show for our French speaking part of Belgium. It almost cured me immediately… In Dutch we have a saying that sums it up quite nicely : “It was toe curling bad“. Granted it sounds strange in English but it’s an accurate description of the feeling when watching “The Voice Belgique”. It made me curious if the format was any good or equally bad (beyond funny even) in other countries. And that’s when lightning struck… I stumbled upon The Voice UK and got hooked ! The coaches were amusing and the singers amazing from time to time. So when the second edition started earlier this year on BBC 1 I was behind the TV. The very first artist immediately made sure I was addicted. Good marketing had the producers pick the amazing Ash Morgan as the artist to kick of the new season. Not exactly the kind of guy you would pick for an idol at first sight but when he opened his singing hole… Wow!

To be honest I was a bit dissapointed later on by the battles. Last year they had some amazing duets, not so much this year. However last week we started the next round, the knockouts… and I’m hooked again ! So without further ado… I present you with my playlist on YouTube with my favorites from The Voice UK 2012 & 2013… Enjoy ! :)

2013 05 12

Kill the own goal rule ! Please !

Ernst Baart E'pinions English, epinions, hockey, rules, sport

Osaka, the newest brand shaking things up in the hockey market, wrote it on it’s new T-shirt line “If #hockey was easy, they’d call it football” . A bold statement some might say. But most likely you’ll support it if you have experienced hockey… However the latest change in rules, the so called “own goal” rule undermines this IMHO…

I think all of us in the hockey family would agree the recent rule changes have made our sport more exciting, both for players and supporters. It is one of the distinct advantages our sport can be proud of. The ability to reinvent ourselves step by step, little by little. Keeping up with the fast-paced world. A feature so cruelly lacking in the world’s most popular sport football… Some of these rule changes that had a major impact on our sport were:

The cancellation of the off-side rule, allowing teams a choice between playing more compact or spread out and a greater variety in tactics.
The introduction of substitutions without limitations to add even more energy to the game.
The self pass allowing for even more speed and less interruptions.

However not all rule changes were equally well received. The reception of the high ball, although not that complicated, is not being judged consistently by referees already in trouble of following a high speed game. And therefore is not only frustrating for the players but hard to follow even for the experienced hockey supporters. But by far the most disputed rule change is the one from the “own goal rule”. It has always been a crucial part of our game that a touch within the “circle” by an attacker is mandatory to count the goal. The new so-called “own goal” rule changed that fact to the ball needing to be touched in the circle, it doesn’t matter anymore if this is an attacker or a defender. A small change maybe but it makes a big difference on the pitch.

A reason often stated in favor of the new rule, allowing for own goals, is that it would make it easier for spectators not used to the sport to understand the game.

The major reason against would be it making the sport more dangerous again. Another and somewhat disputed rule change from some years ago intended to prevent free hits near the circle to be hit very hard directly into the circle towards a group of players hoping for a touch. They even created new markings on our pitch for this (the dotted line 5 meter from each circle) so free hits would not be drilled in anymore. Main reason for this was making it less dangerous. The own goal rule has exactly the opposite effect. From almost every game situation it is an invitation to fierce hits into the circle, preferably aimed at a group of players and as hard as you can hoping for a bad control from whomever, deflecting the ball into the net at lightning speed. No one will dispute it creates dangerous situations…

I understand the need to make our sport more “media-friendly” and am not opposed to sometimes trying out something new, even if it’s seem to change the essence of our sport at first glance. However… once it is clear it is not a good rule it should be back to normal as soon as possible. I have not met a top coach who agrees this own goal rule is a good one and as for the players themselves? Well nothing illustrates it better than this one tweet from a recognized top player (5 times best player of the world) :

I hate the own goal rule in hockey and I'm sure over 80% of international players don't like it. @FIH_Hockey @MoritzFuerste @knowlesy09
— Jamie Dwyer (@JamieDwyer01) May 8, 2013

Not all changes work out for the best. If people from outside of hockey don’t understand the simple rule that a ball has to be touched by an attacker in the circle to score a goal… well frankly that’s their problem. I have never understood the game of cricket and still it’s thriving in the world. Golf is a game full of quaint little rules but still one of he fastest growing sports all over the world. If you’re interested in our fast paced game, well make the effort and learn some of the basics to enjoy the game.

Back to normal : “Kill the own goal rule! Please!”