Muscat: The national hockey teams under 18 years for boys and girls concluded their training camp, which was held at the Oman Hockey Stadium in Al Amerat, from August 6 to 16. 74 players from various hockey preparation centres in Oman participated in this camp, where they underwent a comprehensive training programme that extended over 10 consecutive days, under the supervision of two integrated technical and administrative bodies.
The training programme was led by Dutch coach Siegfried Eikman and Pakistani coach Mohammad Waqas Sharif, where the training focused on developing the technical and physical skills of the players, in addition to preparing them psychologically and analysing their performance during friendly matches inside the country.
This camp is considered one of the important events in the national hockey teams' preparation programme, as it resulted in the approval of the initial lists of the national teams under 18 years for boys and girls. The players were prepared for upcoming local and foreign tourney, reflecting the great commitment of the Oman Hockey Association (OHA) to developing this game at the age group level.
Commenting on the conclusion of the camp, Mohammed al Batrani, Director of National Teams, explained that the camp achieved important technical and administrative goals, most notably the approval of the initial lists of the national teams under 18 years old, in addition to forming the first women's team under 18 years old and the first men's team under 16 years old, in a step that is the first of its kind in the history of Omani hockey.
Al Batrani added that the camp featured theoretical sessions and practical applications, in addition to sessions on psychological preparation and match analysis. The camp also focused on raising awareness among players about the history of hockey in Oman, and introducing them to the rules and details of the game.
In a pioneering step, the camp included the 'Co-Existence for Coaches' programme, which was designed to develop the capabilities of coaches working in sports clubs and athlete preparation centres. Nine coaches, selected from different governorates, participated in this programme, where they were given the opportunity to communicate directly with national team coaches and exchange experiences and knowledge in the field of hockey training. The programme enabled them to learn about the latest training methods and apply them practically with players during the camp.
The OHA intends to develop this programme in the upcoming camps to include a larger number of trainers. Al Batrani stressed the importance of shedding media light on the efforts of the OHA, noting that the association intends to hold a technical meeting soon to evaluate the camp and develop the next training plan based on the evaluation results. He added that the national teams are preparing to participate in their first continental championship next December in Abu Dhabi, and the participation will be preceded by a number of training camps.
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