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What's next for US men?  x8
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| United States |
August 8, 2003 
Ash Carey
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By Ash Carey
Post mortem examinations of team performances are a natural process after any international tournament, but for the US Men’s field hockey team autopsies are becoming all too common in their frequency and their findings. Going into the Pan Am Games the men’s team held a slim chance of qualifying for the 2004 Olympics. At the conclusion of the first game against Chile that slim chance quickly evaporated. It was a game that the US team should have won if they expected to medal at the Pan Am Games or to make a real challenge in qualifying for the Athens Olympics. The performance stands as a testament to the team’s inability to win crucial matches.
It must be said, in all fairness to other teams attempting to qualify for the 2004 Olympics, that the US national team is neither worthy of qualifying nor ready to compete at that level. While these comments may seem harsh, they are, in fact, accurate. The US team is considerably inexperienced, under-skilled, under-funded, and lacking in suitable strategies.
In addition, they appeared to be poorly prepared for the Pan Am Games. I find it incredulous that the team would tour Australia prior to the tournament and not play a single match against either the Australian national team or any of the national league teams, preferring instead to tour regional locations and play club teams. The lack of pre-tournament matches against neighboring nations shows a distinct blight on the team’s preparation. Perhaps the most noticeable problem though is the team’s lack of experience. While on face value one could argue that they have access to a limited pool of players, there are solutions available. The US has a wealth of experience on hand in players like former Australian junior representative and now US citizen Jeff Lancaster who lives and plays in Southern California. Lancaster, one of the most experienced and respected Australian domestic players, has the skills and the knowledge of the game to significantly help the national team. Though in his mid-30s, Lancaster would be an undeniable asset to the team, having played nearly 20 years on arguably the toughest domestic circuit in the world.
But players only represent a portion of the problem. While it is always easy to point the finger at the coaching staff, and perhaps they should share the responsibility, other issues need to be addressed if the men’s team is to develop into an international unit capable of competing against the best nations in the world.
Funding, facilities, and professionalism are other subjects that require urgent attention. At present, the team is incapable of competing against standard teams like Chile, Canada, and Cuba. A 23-0 victory over the Dominican Republic, a team of part-timers and social players, is hardly a noteworthy achievement. They have a long way to go if they hope to ever compete against the likes of Australia, Germany, or Holland. Perhaps the US should consider taking a leaf out of Australia’s book and commencing an institute of sport that develops players of potential on a fulltime basis. Greater exposure to international hockey and foreign scholarships would also help the cause, as would the sourcing of serious sponsorship and funding for decent fields. One thing is for certain, doing nothing, or doing what they have been doing, will not work. Neither will excuses. It’s time for change, and that change needs to take place now if men’s hockey in the US is to move forward.
Ash Carey is an Olympic silver medallist and former International Player of the Year.
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Comments on this article
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Backer
08-08-2003 11:05 am
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Ouch
Coming from such a respected and knowledgable source as Ash Carey, these are stinging comments indeed...but incisive criticism from such a source is very valuable and should be appreciated by those who care about the development of Men's Field Hockey in the United States.
The bizarre last-minute junket to Australia is properly symbolic of the poor planning and lack of foresight associated with the men's program. The Women's Program, despite the turmoil surrounding it, is a model of efficiency by comparison. Contrast their preparation for the Pan Ams to the mens---the women played Argentina and Chile and then went to Italy for the Cup---the men played Cal Cup and wandered the Outback. There is a terrible lack of direction within the current program. I expect many of the older players---who now have no chance--however slim it was---of the 2004 Olympics---to move on.
Shiv deserves overwhelmingly positive marks for his strength of character, personality, and professionalism....but he has glaring weaknesses in both short and long term planning and gets no help from anyone inside the USFHA in these areas.
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Supporter
08-12-2003 8:56 pm
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clarity
The support of many professionals were at the coach and team's finger tips. What went wrong? A unified vision.
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Davo
08-12-2003 9:32 pm
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Australian Tour
Yes, Ash Carey has respect both in Australia and abroad. However his knowledge of the Australian tour is lacking. The USA DID PLAY against AHL Strength teams. They played against the Queensland Academy of Sport along with a club team while in Queensland.
While in NSW they played 3 games against the NSW Institute of Sport team which included 4 current Australian Players, another Australia A Rep and a Junior World Cup player. The majority of the remainder were also National League players. Strong opposition for any team.
It was clear however that the organisation of the tour was rushed and they lack the player base of other nations. While stronger and more established hockey nations can fill voids caused by retirements and injury from squads, these cause weakness for the US as they are forced to field very young and inexperienced players.
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pam am dr
08-12-2003 11:27 pm
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ash carey
you need to got to the ioc and beg on behalf of the us men that they be alllowed to have a separate body from the women. the real problem lies in the usfha. they have their agenda to promote the women at the expense of the men. we in the us know why, as do many others - i cant say why here bc my comments will most likely be deleted. but add 1 and 1 together and you will figure it out.
i would like to suggest to shiv that he try expanding his player base by having try outs in the midwest and east coast as well. not sure if usfha will go for that though. i would also like to congratulate the us guys for having done as well as they did despite the odds.
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R. Lee Ermey
08-23-2003 11:18 am
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Hey, numbnut called "pan am dr"
If you have a comment, THEN GO AHEAD AND SAY IT. This is AMERICA, a FREE COUNTRY the last time I heard. What kind of grabastic unorganized logic do you have anyway?
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Peter Munsing
09-29-2003 9:11 pm
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Men need to be men, and carry their own load
I think it's quite clear that USFHA and mens fh in particular is low on the USOC feeding chain. Men of the sport need to take responsibility for their sport. Maybe USFHA is in part to blame, but so what? Rather than wait for them to give money they don't have, men need to do the following:
l. Recognize the problem. Ask the average US male associated with fh as a ref, club player, or even regional usfha rep whether boys can play in their state and if so do they have to wear the skirt and most can't answer. They don't know. They need to find out, then lobby, do something about it. It's aboninable that in the 21st century boys have to put up with conduct that if directed at any other minority would cause an outrage.
2. Take responsibility. This means men talking to men about being men. Being a man means not mistreating young boys. That's right, you, the male ref that enforces bogus PIAA regs in Pennsylvania to penalize a boy who doesn't wear a skirt, don't you have some responsibility? What about you, the "man" who sits on the USFHA board and doesn't do anything about it? And what about the "men" who run the prep leagues and actually smirk about how boys shouldn't be allowed to play fh because that would violate Title IX (which doesn't apply to prep leagues, anyway)? And let's not forget you, the club player, that doesn't make sure your club has a youth program, so young boys who are willing to put up with all the passive aggressive jive have a place they can play and learn without having to justify what they are doing. All of you need to do something to help boys, and that also means eldering with those that are part of the problem instead of part of the solution.
3. Field availability and fees. We have to be aware that to the public high school kid, whose folks may have been laid off, money for tourneys at 45-95 a pop may not exist.
4. Work to have coed play available. Even if you had a field and no fees, initially you're not going to have enough guys. For youth players to develop they need sticktime. However the elite girls traveling teams are prepping for the USFHA indoors which don't allow coed. So guys don't get this extra off season sticktime. They drift off to basketball, wrestling, soccer, lacrosse and other lesser sports. Only you can save them from inferior athletics!
5. Men must develop their own funding. Sure, foreign clubs get some governement money. But it was not always so. They develop symbiotic relationships with cricket clubs, buy old factories and turn them into indoor spaces for year round play, and get advertisers and stick manufacturers to see them as a growing market. Look, if rugby with no TV or other support can grow, if rowing which costs a huge amount for equipment and storage (try finding a place for a delicate, 60 foot eight) can grow, so can mens field hockey. But it requires men to take responsibility. Men of field hockey are decently connected in the business world. They need to use that, to channel advertisers to use mens fh for background--subliminal selling of the sport. They can channel sponsorships.
6. Use the connections. Most mens clubs in the US have members who played in foreign countries. Use those connections to help willing US field hockey youth get located through foreign exchange programs (Rotary, AFS) in foreign cities with decent hockey teams.
7. Help college clubs. What happens when the fh kid goes to college?
Again, men can help or be part of the problem. I've had men fh coaches tell me my son can't even practice with their team, while women division l coaches say sure. Which is helping mens fh more--the men's coach with a prissy attitude or the women's coach with the welcome? Men need to elder with the wayward male coaches to open doors. Men need to assist college clubs to have continuity, and with coaching to have a better standard of play. In turn they can serve as a town club and provide needed facilities.
8. What are Canada, Argentina, and Poland doing right? The latter two have risen. Canada has many of the same problems as the US (play primarily in BC and Toronto, not much elsewhere, little HS play, no college teams), but boy, a different level of play. Can we learn something? Yes. Let's exchange information.
9. Hold clinics for clubs. Even though club players all like to act like they are au courant, they aren't . Let's have continual exchange of information as to the latest tactics, styles, and clinics with clubs and for youth to raise the level of play.
10. Use our brains. We have fh players who are businesspeople, volunteers, realtors--there's a wealth of experience but we don't seem to have adopted a mission to focus the experience. Let's do it.
ll. A bulletin board. Right now, each guy in a non urban area thinks he's the only guy who plays fh. Let's establish a bulletin board with regional sections, so someone can say "I'm in Ashtabula, is there anyone out there who knows of a venue..." etc. Before long they'll at least have someone to practice with, and soon enough for 4 or 5 a side. It's a beginning.
12. It's a problem for women, too. There are many areas of the country where there aren't clubs, or the "clubs" exist only for tournaments. This affects women, too. Let's go big tent, and do the right thing.
13. Do something. Commit to doing something to 1)help youth field hockey (e.g. write a letter to USFHA to get them to take a stand, etc) 2) to help your club--don't be just a taker but a giver. But do something both for youth and your sport in general.
Be part of the solution. Do it now, not tomorrow, not next week or next month--because then it'll be next year. Go for it!
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mary
07-12-2004 1:29 pm
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us mens field hockey
the major problem is that there is no support system in the us as far as feeder teams on the high school or college levels you hear absolutely nothing about mens field hockey in general and as i live in the eastern us i know of no mens field hockey teams or clubs in my state or in the surrounding area so how can we have a good team if there is not support for the game like in england ,austrailia, etc
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Ms V
07-12-2004 11:01 pm
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mary, perhaps the answer to your question is in Peter's words of wisdom. WE are ALL responsible to make this happen. What did we do all those years ago as women in male dominated sports - got off ours arse and fought for what we believed in. A vision, a goal.
Peter, well put comments... I hope that you have inspired at least a few people in their quest to see more people, and more men playing the sport. It didn't happen over night in other countries including Aust with an enviable Institute of Sport/s, but we fought long and hard to BUILD our sport up.
As Nike says JUST DO IT!
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