“Difficult to stay motivated” – Hockey Coach Fernandes

May 29, 2020 Sports

The Guyana Hockey Board (GHB) Men’s Senior Coach, Robert Fernandes, has shared with Kaieteur Sport that the South American Championships which was scheduled for next month in Lima, Peru, has been indefinitely postponed and it is very demotivating for players that a new date for the event has not been announced.

National Men’s Hockey Coach, Robert Fernandes in control.

The tournament, which would have seen participation by both the GHB’s Senior Men’s and Women’s teams was one of two tournaments that the national teams were scheduled to play in Peru this year; the other being the Pan Am Challenge Cup which was the first to be postponed by the Pan American Hockey Federation (PAHF) and relevant stakeholders early last month, following the rapid spread of the coronavirus.
Fernandes explained that he has been doing some fitness work with his lads along with a power point presentation every Friday; all keeping in line with the regulations and guidelines governing social distancing but that is not enough to keep the players focused.
He further explained, “It’s not an issue of not being able to be out in the field playing but the issue is based on the fact that they don’t know when they will be able to contest in these international tournaments that they have been working very hard to prepare for.”
Coach Fernandes acknowledged that the PAHF and the relevant stakeholders would be monitoring the situation before making a final decision but it is not motivating for the players, something that probably not only for hockey players but many athletes from different disciplines are experiencing.
The Level III certified instructor revealed that like many who would have suffered the financial pressure from the pandemic, players are not particularly immune in Guyana and some of them are in survival mode currently.
Coach Fernandes posited that right now he is looking to keep his troops interested and occupied with a 30-day skill challenge that is seeing favourable responses from the guys. (Calvin Chapman)

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