Hockey India League a big boost for youngsters: PR Sreejesh

CHENNAI: There is something about PR Sreejesh. He is always ebullient, seems at peace with himself and more than anything he is shrouded in an aura of positivity. Always cheerful and articulate, Sreejesh speaks his mind. During a short conversation, he felt that his stint as coach of the junior team had been fantastic. India won the junior men’s Asia Cup title beating Pakistan in the final. The first major outing, in his words, was a ‘good job’.

Sreejesh said that the revival of the Hockey India League was a big step. ”The league is like an international match where top players from across the world play and it is a platform where youngsters can learn and grow,”

Sreejesh said during a Zoom interaction on Friday. He said that like earlier editions, domestic players will benefit from it.

With the HIL set to begin in the last week of December, Sreejesh’s role has changed – coaching to an administrator. Right now he is the Director and mentor of the Delhi SG Pipers team.

The two-time Olympic bronze medal winner with the India hockey team said even this stint too would be interesting. Sreejesh realised that coaching was not easy either.

“Playing was easier than coaching,” he said.

“As a player, you just need to worry about your own business. But now you are the boss of 40 players and another eight staff under you. You are responsible for everything. Then it is a new role. But I am enjoying it. I always say this… on the field, the goalkeepers always act like a coach. You are commanding the defenders or organizing them, communicating with the midfielders and forwards. It has slightly changed now. I used to yell from the back or the goalpost but now I am yelling from the sidelines. Hockey is something which I had known for the last 24 years and teaching that game to the youngsters is something I am enjoying seriously,” Sreejesh mentioned.