Bhubaneswar: Odisha known for its passion for hockey, has set up 22 new Hockey Training Centres (HTCs) for the grassroots development of the game.The HTCs have been set up by the Sports and Youth Services Department (DSYS) in partnership with Odisha Naval Tata Hockey HPC to nurture a large spectrum of hockey talent from the state and provide early exposure to synthetic turfs.
Currently, 18 centres are operational and have about 1300 kids who are training on synthetic turfs. Each HTC has two coaches engaged in this development program.During his recent visit to Sundargarh, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik emphasized the importance of sports development in the region.
He expressed his vision to nurture a wide range of sports talents from the district and nearby regions. The projects launched during his visit were aimed at achieving the goal by providing better infrastructure, training facilities, and opportunities for the youth interested in sports.
The HTCs have deployed well-trained coaches who are experts in grassroots development and have undergone training with David John, Director of Hockey for Odisha.
DSYS, along with Odisha Naval Tata High-Performance Centre (ONTHHPC), have been pivotal in training local junior coaches to train young champions from various districts of Odisha.
David John, Director of Hockey for Odisha, stated that in the next few months when all the centres will be operational, club-level championships will be conducted every weekend.
Such championships are quite active in countries like the US, Australia, and the UK, and have been successful in engaging talents.
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Project Director of the Odisha Naval Tata Hockey High-Performance Centre (ONTH-HPC) Rajiv Seth highlighted the centre's commitment to developing young talent and promoting hockey in the state.
The ONTH-HPC will provide coaches and processes at Hockey Training Centres (HTCs) across Odisha to expose young children to synthetic turf from an early age and facilitate their smooth transition to higher-level hockey.The HPC has created a coaching education pathway for all its grassroots coaches and supports them with several workshops and exposure tours.(UNI)