National team behind in preparation for Hockey5s World Cup
Published:Tuesday | December 5, 2023 | 12:10 AMOrane Buchanan/Staff Reporter
WITH less than 50 days to go before the start of the Hockey5s World Cup, set for January 24- 31 in Muscat, Oman, Duvaughn Henlon head coach of the Jamaican men’s team, believes they are behind the eight ball as preparation hasn’t gone as planned.
Henlon said the federation is now trying to secure competitive games in Panama to assist in getting the team ‘match ready’.
“Preparation has been difficult but the coaching staff and the federation have been trying to prepare the team as best as possible. We haven’t had any competitive games so far. There were plans for us to participate in a tournament in Trinidad which didn’t materialise, so I think the federation is now looking at one is Panama,” he explained.
The national team booked their spot for the Hockey5s World Cup after finishing third behind the United States and Trinidad and Tobago at the Pan American Confederation Hockey 5s qualifiers back in June on local soil. Jamaica are drawn in Pool B alongside the trio of India, Egypt and Switzerland and while coach Henlon is cognisant of the threat those teams pose he believes his team is prepared mentally to give it their best effort.
“This (lack of competitive game) is a major setback as we’re now only training amongst ourselves. The competition will definitely be tough as all the teams are quality teams. India are a top-ranked hockey nation as many people might not know that this is their national sport as opposed to cricket. They’re very good and will be the deepest team that we’ll face. We know that we’ll be facing tough challenges but I think the team has prepared themselves mentally and physically to accept the challenge and compete,” Henlon stated.
As for the conditions in Oman, coach Henlon shared that during the tournament players will experience similar conditions to that of Jamaica, therefore this shouldn’t play any major factor.
“From my research and understanding, the temperature will be similar to what we have in Jamaica as it will be around 32 degrees on a daily basis,” he said.
When asked what he would regard as a successful tournament, he stated that coming out of a tough Pool B would be an achievement.
“We want to reach as far as possible, but our main purpose would be to try and get out of the group and then we’ll take it from there and see how far we can push on,” coach Henlon added.