When Union sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore tweeted out the news of Indian hockey's freshest appointments on Friday afternoon, Sjoerd Marijne was many time zones away in Europe with the national women's side. Picked to lead the men's side after Roelant Oltmans was sacked last week, Marijne tells ESPN that he's 'happy, enthusiastic & honored' to take up the new role and his immediate challenge is getting to know the team closely.
"I want to first talk to the players," Marijne says. "And get to know how they've been doing over the last couple of months. I'm looking to have a player-driven process for which I would seek opinions and leadership from the group."
It was this very aspect - familiarity with players - which made former men's Junior World Cup-winning coach Harendra Singh a seeming frontrunner for the job until the surprise announcement. Harendra will now take charge of the women's team instead.
While the 43-year-old Dutchman's considerable success with women's teams in the past made him a good choice for the Indian women coach's position in February this year, his newest role with the men's team has raised questions over his suitability.
"I have worked with the Spanish men's team for the Beijing Games in 2008 alongside Maurits Hendriks, which gave me great insight into what goes into the making of a top-class team," explains Marijne. "Besides, I've also coached a couple of national players from the Netherlands' men's team at different clubs. Spending seven months in India has given me an understanding of the culture here which will help me in my new job, but the short-term challenge will be to get to know the players individually."
While he started out his term at the women's team with a five-match series win against Belarus, the eighth-place finish at the Hockey World League Semifinals was to serve as a body blow. "With the women's side, the process needs time," he says. "It's getting better. Most importantly, players must show how much they want to achieve goals. Only when personal and team goals work together can we win matches and tournaments."
Marijne's first assignment as coach of the men's side will be the Asia Cup in Dhaka in October. The 18-member Indian women's hockey team's preparatory tour of Europe, which Sjoerd is currently overseeing, comes a month ahead of the Asia Cup. Apart from playing against the Ladies Den Bosch in Netherlands, they will also take on the Belgium junior men's team in Antwerp. Marijne is expected to take charge of the men's side after his return on September 20.