India are busy enjoying within the Professional League in Rourkela whereas their new chief coach Craig Fulton is wrapping issues up issues in Belgium earlier than he involves take cost by the month finish. Indian hockey followers are eager how the South African can information the workforce to qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
One one that is aware of the Indian workforce and Fulton nicely is assured he’ll ease into a task that’s maybe the hardest in world hockey.
“He’s a reasonably easy-going, relaxed and superb with gamers. He constructed an excellent relationship with the athletes, who loved enjoying for him. That’s considered one of his massive qualities. He’s additionally an enormous thinker. He research the sport loads, invests lots of time ensuring his methods are good, particularly in opposition to powerful opposition,” stated legendary coach Shane McLeod.
McLeod took Belgium to the 2016 Rio Olympics silver, 2020 Tokyo Video games gold, 2018 World Cup crown and the 2019 EuroHockey Championship, making them the kings of the game. It was beneath him that Fulton joined the Belgium set-up in 2018 as an assistant coach after heading the Irish males’s hockey setup for 4 years. After the main highs between 2018 to 2021, McLeod left to spend extra time together with his household.
“We (as Belgium head coach) had been watching his (Fulton’s) work in Eire. We had been on the lookout for somebody that’s versatile and was superb at working with elite athletes. Craig had fairly a little bit of success with Eire and was a excessive performer teaching clever, so we received him to hitch our workers,” stated McLeod, who was requested by the Belgian federation to help the workforce on the 2023 World Cup, after they had been runners-up. Fulton was the assistant coach.
“When he got here in, he had a wide range of roles — in-charge of rotations, subbing. He accepted goalkeeping duties when the goalkeeper coach was not accessible. After I was in New Zealand, he took over the striker line and did numerous work with them.”
As a participant for South Africa, Fulton earned 195 caps from 1996 to 2005. He performed on the 1996 and 2004 Olympics. The 48-year-old, as Eire head coach between 2014 and 2018, guided the workforce to the Rio Video games, the workforce’s first Olympic qualification in 108 years. He guided Eire to bronze on the 2015 EuroHockey Championship and helped them qualify for the 2018 World Cup. He was named FIH Coach of the 12 months in 2015.
With Fulton as an assistant to McLeod, Belgium received the 2018 World Cup in Bhubaneswar. He additionally helped Belgium win the Tokyo Olympics gold and attain the World Cup last this yr.
He was named Belgium Coach of the 12 months 2023 after taking Racing to the league title final season. At the moment coach of Belgian membership KHC Dragons, he has had membership stints in England, Eire and South Africa too.
The large query is whether or not Fulton can cool down in an Indian set-up notorious for altering coaches often.
“Look, everybody in world hockey understands strain that comes with that kind of job. If you’re doing nicely within the Indian workforce, you get huge assist. You get a rustic behind you. If you happen to aren’t, then it’s fairly a strain cooker,” stated the New Zealander.
“However he’s a reasonably stage kind of man. He received’t learn an excessive amount of into when his workforce is doing nicely. I don’t suppose he can be shocked or caught up with that. He’s a robust sufficient character. Each workforce has to undergo a course of and infrequently in that you simply go backwards and forwards to enhance. That would be the hardest factor.”
Requested what can be Fulton’s largest problem teaching India, McLeod stated: “Will probably be that of teaching a high 6 facet. The expectation is a little bit bit totally different than whenever you coach a facet like Eire that’s usually glad with a draw. With India, they received’t be pleased with a draw. They need wins. That’s going to be his largest problem – to verify he continues to develop while nonetheless giving outcomes.”
McLeod is assured Fulton will stay as much as expectations in India.
“Considered one of his strengths is that he’s extremely optimistic. He’ll at all times search for alternatives and again his workforce and workers. You may belief the man immensely. That may be a large power, particularly in teaching phrases,” stated the 54-year-old.
“He is excellent at participant administration. He’ll get alongside gamers and assist them develop, which is a large power. In a head coach function, he can have that however he’ll use his experience as an assistant to assist that course of.”