Despite losing all four matches at the recent four nations “Good Luck Beijing” tournament, coach Jenny King believes the SPAR National Women’s hockey team gained a lot from the trip.
Speaking to gsport today, King said: “I believe that the trip to Beijing to get insight on what will be happening a year from now was invaluable. Aspects such as the extreme conditions – 40 degrees and 98% humidity have given both the Sport Scientist, coaching staff and players a really good idea of what we are up against.”
King emphasized the need for players to improve physically if they are to withstand the rigours of the Olympics.
“There are definite aspects that we need to pay attention to – not all players are physically at a level to cope for the duration of the Olympics, these players are aware of their short comings and will need to adapt their commitment to their individual programs.
“Individually, there are too many players who are not up to international standard; again this is going to require hard work on behalf of the players.”
When playing at full strength, King feels her team is very competitive, but she admits the team “does not adapt well to substitution and keeping the level of play constant, an area which is of great concern to her.
The team’s schedule for the next few months will be confirmed next week, but more importantly, although they’ve qualified for the Olympics, King and her team are still waiting for confirmation that they will indeed be attending the Olympic Games.
Its also unclear who will make the trip to Beijing if the team gets the go-ahead with King saying that there are numerous aspects of selection that have to be taken into consideration.
“Right now I have a pretty good idea on the top 10 players, but the rest still need to book their place. We are also still awaiting government selection criteria.”
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