Learning to fly: Punjab’s Harvinder Singh Saini is learning from best at 9-day coaching clinic

Tribune News Service

Indervir Grewal

Bhubaneswar, January 27

Near the centre line on the practice pitch at the Kalinga Stadium, Japan’s former coach Siegfried Aikman was involved in a discussion with an Indian coach. From the engrossed look on the Indian coach’s face, it was evident that Aikman, who guided Japan to their first Asian Games title in 2018, was sharing his wisdom.

The younger coach was Punjab’s Harvinder Singh Saini, who is in Bhubaneswar to attend a nine-day high performance coaching clinic organised by the international hockey federation (FIH). For more than a week, Saini has been picking the brains of top FIH educators such as Aikman. “I have a diary full of notes. There is so much to learn. We have been analysing the World Cup games,” Saini said.

Saini is one of the 23 coaches invited by FIH to attend the course after being identified by the continental federations and FIH’s high performance and coaching panel.

Of the total, five coaches are from India, Saini being Punjab’s lone representative. “This is my fourth FIH clinic. I had earlier completed Levels 1 to 3. Before that, I had completed four levels of Hockey India’s coaching pathway,” the 42-year-old said.

Saini was a national-level player, having trained under renowned coach Inderjit Singh Gill at the SAI academy in Patiala. He joined the Punjab Sports Department as an ad hoc coach in 2008. After getting his coaching diploma from NIS in 2012, Saini was hired full-time. Since 2020, he has been working with the junior women’s Indian team.

Despite having been a coach for almost 15 years, Saini said the clinic was an eye-opening experience. “The clinic made me realise how much we need to learn as coaches in India,” Saini said.

Coaching culture

Saini, though, added that most coaches, especially those who work at the grassroots, never get opportunities to improve. “Most coaches are not as lucky as I have been; they never get such opportunities. But there are also others who are set in their ways and do not want to learn something new. Rather than accepting, they start hiding their shortcomings,” Saini said. Such coaches impose their beliefs and methods on their trainees, which not only hampers the players’ confidence but also their mental growth, Aikman said.

The Dutchman added that the coaching culture needs to change in India. “Even the India team players make some very basic mistakes. It indicates that there is an issue with coaching at the grassroots level,” said Aikman, who was hired by Pakistan last year but left due to issues with the federation. “India needs to change its coaching culture because there is enormous talent in the country,” he added.

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