Towards a 'Sporty' India

The very premise of sports education kicks off at the school-level in the garb of physical education. Despite the innumerous wonders of playing sports, it continues to be brushed aside as a matter of lesser significance. That physical education is often neglected in India is pretty unsettling, and schools need to realize the importance of physical education in the curriculum, says a player from the top hockey team.

Wrong Notions

One of the most prominent reasons why physical education is lackadaisical in structure and is often pushed to the backburner is that schools don't really understand sports in whole. It is often considered as a source of recreation, nothing less, nothing more. So in short, sports is only there for fun, and it should be taken in such a manner only. As flawed as these notions are, there arises a need to outgrow the frivolities for the sake of sportsmanship in literal sense. 

It is an undisputed fact that physical education and sports create healthy individuals and a healthy society. Sports are shell-shot method to contributing to the nation-building process. It is unnerving that despite hockey being our national sport, we haven't done as much to raise its bar, to ameliorate its deteriorating condition. 

Now arises the why. Why couldn't we lend sports the credibility, the worth it deserves? The budgetry allocation of sports, says a team player from hockey leagues in India, is woeful, and shoddy.  There is an acute sense of nepotism in the sports sector, owing to which many qualified sportsmen are left in a lurch, wallowing in denial. 

Pitching in more for modern facilities like playground, equipment, strategies, techniques and qualified coaches can help pulling sports from the dire state. Establishing universities that only look into sports can help exalting it on a national level, too, says a team player from hockey team India. 

Yoga Exercises For Hockey Players

People deserve a break from their respective work, but apparently, hockey players don’t. The pre-season beginnings can leave the players in a void and their flexibilities and stamina in a rut. But a little bit of yoga can surely help them keep up on the game along with maintaining form and function during the season. Here is how! Have a look.

High Lunge

This pose will help strengthen the groins and help build stamina. Lift the torso off the leg so as to allow the spine to elongate further. Push the shoulders away from the ears and try to reach out forward using the upper body to take on the explosive action of skating forward. The Delhi Waverider hockey team religiously follows this pose for great results.

Plank

Plank is the most useful of exercises and serves as a great core strengthener. You can follow this yoga exercise by actively pushing the heels back while hugging the thigh muscles to bones. Keep the breath slow and steady and make sure that your neck is in continuation with the long spine by tucking the chin towards your chest.

Warrior-2 Balance

The balancing act sure helps many score the points! It is splendid, for reasons more than one. The forward reach of the torso and extension of the back leg helps one engage the core and lengthen the spine. The gluteus medius is also engaged by opening a leg up which further helps in pushing action of a breakaway skate.

Downward dog

This pose helps strengthen the shoulders. It is a great way to protect against dislocation. But, dolphin needs to be practised with great care. You need to ensure that elbows are parallel and directly under the shoulders. Go carefully about this pose if you have rotator cuff injuries. Stay in forward facing dog stretch for better results.

Essential Tips For Hockey Tryout

The tryout season is here! While it is too stressful for the young players it is a crucial milestone which they need to pass before being selected to go ahead with their interest. With hockey season across the corner, the young players need to buckle up and make the best of the opportunity, says a member of the best hockey team in India.

While the process is both exciting and unnerving, the players need to put their best foot forward to prove their mettle and make their presence felt to make it to the top hockey team. Since the tryouts usually begin with the new academic year, the players need to manage a lot on their plate successfully says a board member of India’s Hockey League.

To make you better equipped with the hockey tryout challenge, here are some handy tips to ensure that you both perform and learn well along with casual fun to it:

• It is not going to be the end of your hockey career

Note that even if you don’t make it to the team you are aspiring to, this is not the end of the world. There is no need to freak out; there are other teams as well which need players like you so strive for these. Failures always remind about the scope of improvement that you have.

• Do not sulk

Needless to say, give your best. Get on the field and give your best shot. Believe that hard work pays. Do not indulge in dissecting every irrelevant detail once you are done with your session. What is done is done, stay positive and prepared for the result, iterates an eminent member of the best hockey team in India.

• Stay prepared

It is better not to add any unnecessary anxieties to the week which is scheduled for tryout. Just double-check your timings for the tryout and look into your packing. Make sure that all the equipment’s you need to take along are packed.

For more details please check www.delhi-waveriders.in/.

A Parent’s Guide To Hockey For Their Kids

Struggling to find the perfect fit of a sport for your kid? Give field hockey a shot and both you and your child will be adopting not a sport but a lifestyle you will be proud of. If like me, safety is your concern being a parent of a lively and outgoing child, field hockey is your best bet. It is a non-contact sport where risks of hitting the ball or being hit by another player is minimal. Being a tactical skill, players will focus on game play and building technique rather than showing off their strength.

Or, if you are looking for a game to improve your kid’s health and social skills, this sport again beats others. Being a team sport kids bond up really well and constant activity keeps them fit and mentally agile, says players of hockey leagues in India. Well the benefits of it are immense and out of the scope of this particular blog. Here we will discuss what you would want to know first as you choose hockey for your kid.

Safety and equipment

Before your child can say turf, the first thing you would want to ensure is that he is braced up with proper safety equipment and gear, advices a Indian hockey player and coach. Well, for mums, nothing comes before protection so let’s start with the essentials. You would want to invest in a good quality mouth guard. They protect your child from mouth injuries by falling face first and also they are a must. If you will go for cheaper versions, they are uncomfortable to wear and may compromise safety. Next you need a shin guard and some nice cleats. Cleats in particular are a fashion statement. 

So children may tend to overlook protection and quality. Well, the blend of both is pretty costly, and not advised for growing kids. Your job would be to keep them firm on quality footwear. If he is not the goalie, there is no other protection required. Just buy him a good stick and he is good to go! 

For more info please check www.delhi-waveriders.in/.

Delhi Waveriders: Hockey Team’s Winning Story

The India’s Hockey League (HIL) was inaugurated during the year 2013 and has been recorded as the latest development in the sport of Hockey since history. The fascinating concept of a city-based franchise system like we saw during the IPL has proved to be quite a success, even in Hockey. Each city franchise featured players from different parts of the world who played alongside some of our best domestic players.
 

It would have been a crazy idea when it was first put forward. Who would’ve thought that the Delhi Waveriders led by Sardar Singh would emerge as such a successful hockey team? They were runners-up to Ranchi Rhinos in the first edition of HIL, while they bagged the title the following year.
AK Bansal, who was the team’s coach during the first season of HIL, says the success of his team owes to the flexibility and openness of all the players. They all learnt to adjust with each other, no matter how different they were culturally. Delhi’s hockey team consisted of big names from abroad like Jason Wilson and Matthew Gohdes from Australia, Mujtaba from Denmark, and Simon Childs from New Zealand among others. They played alongside some of our best players from within the country.
 

In the championship-winning year (2014), skipper Sardar Singh emerged as the disciplined midfielder, while Rupinder Pal Singh, Kiwi Steve Edwards and Aussie Tristan White playing on the defense side contributed to the team’s strong point. They collectively led Delhi Waveriders to win during the second edition of Hockey India League.
 

All in all, it was a great year for the Sardar-led team who choked the life out of their opponents by executing their strategy well. HIL might have changed the way Hockey is played around the world, thus bringing our national sport to get the attention it deserves.

How To Handle The Stick In Hockey

What’s the thing with stick handling in hockey? Read on to know more.
 

One of the most crucial stick handling basics is to keep your head up. After all, you can’t know what might happen while you are busy looking at the puck- your callousness might serve as a blessing in disguise for the opponent and he might get away with a shot or two, says a hockey player from the hockey team of India. You are likely to lose scores at the hands of the opponent you didn’t know was near you that ways.

 

The second tip that might come across as a game-saver is not to hold the stick too tightly, or as they put it in hockey-terms – use soft hands. Handle it gently so that you don’t tighten your grip. Think of it as an egg, and handle it carefully enough so as not to break the shell.
 

The next thing that ought to be taken into consideration, says a member of Hockey League in India, is the length of the stick. The shorter your stick, the easier it would be for you to pull across a shot, and the better it would be. On the ice, your stick should come up close to chin, and of the ice, a stick close till nose would be good enough.
 

Stick handling is not as easy as it may look like on the boundary. While practicing stick handling, try to reach out as far as possible on both the sides with the puck. This will help you maneuver the other players around and take over the game.
 

Stick handling is one thing that requires a great deal of commandment. That’s the first thing that should be on the cards in case you are planning to take up on the field.

Woman On The Field!

For many sports and woman are still are a distant and unrealized phenomenon. The chauvinistic universe which still does not admit and are sticking hard to the orthodox notions often create problems to the gateway for females for any contact with the outside world. It is almost derogatory how women are almost considered meek and fragile to make it to the top ladder for a long lasting career in sports and men, on the other paradigm are encouraged vehemently to pursue their career in sports. In such case Delhi franchise in hockey and other sports would have all been a man’s world.

 

If it would have been a generalized notion, there is no chance that woman would have been able to even step foot on the ground and the athlete world would have been a barren land with no female sport enthusiast or a member of hockey team of India. All accolades to the sensibilities of those who actively encouraged woman to come to the forefront and establish themselves on the pedestal in the sports world. Ours is a world where enthusiasm for sports parallels that to a firm belief in one’s faith and religion. Yes religion is the word! Sport is a religion in many parts of the world today and women are active participants in these and have qualified for an essential position in these.
 

However the road to success has not been easy. Several sacrifices and challenges have gone in the making of heroic figures like Mary Kom in boxing and Mamta Kharab, the ‘golden girl’ in women hockey team of India amongst others. But many a time owing to this pressure their nutritional requirement takes a back seat and health is compensated with, which results in several health problems like:
 

-Light headedness on the field.
 

-Losing weight irrationally, especially in those who are undernourished.
 

-Irregular monthly cycle and an early menopause.
 

-Delay or stunted growth in many young athletes.