Bengaluru: As India’s hockey stars go through the paces in the run-up to April’s Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, at Sports Authority of India’s Southern Centre in Bengaluru, a certain Australian has been putting the spring in the steps of the 33-man probable squad, carrying forward the vision of a ‘scientific approach’ laid out by head coach Roelant Oltmans.
Enter Scott Conway – scientific advisor of the men’s senior side, and part of the new-look foreign backroom staff which handles everything from training regimes to nutrition of players.
With the hockey season starting to gain speed, Conway is using his expertise in the sports-science field to ensure the squad can maintain optimal levels of physicality in the pursuit of trophies. “I take care of any physical or nutritional aspects. The conditioning, the sprints, the agility, all the work in the gym for strengthening, muscle growth, power...things like rehab if you have any injured players,” said Conway.
“Also tracking the players’ load - how much they’re doing on and off the pitch. Then the nutrition side as well - what supplements we give to the players,” he explained.
Conway is impressed with what he’s seen with the team thus far and relishes the idea of working with a side that’s at an ‘elite’ level. “The players are keen and super professional, even the young guys. Their professionalism and dedication to training are much higher than I expected, which makes my job a lot easier,” he beamed.
This is Conway’s second stint in the world of hockey, having previously worked under former national coach Terry Walsh with Malaysia. When asked about Walsh’s input before he took on his current role, Conway said, “[He said] The team you will be with is a truly elite, professional team. And that’s something you need to be as well, as a sports scientist, and prepare to be challenged.”
The advisor assured that the team was physically in great shape, debunking the long-held myth that Indian sides can’t hold their own against their foreign counterparts.
“There’s definitely a big culture in western countries - Europe, Australia, NZ - where fitness is a big part of life. Within Asia, that may not be the case. But we did some testing here last week, and some of the numbers are truly elite. Japan and China may be a little behind but in India, we don’t have that problem. We’re not worried about that,” he concluded.
