By Martin Yee
KUCHING, Dec 3: Former international Tai Beng Hai who has vast experience in player development and coaching is ready to impart his experience to improve the standard of hockey in Sarawak after taking up the position of chief coach by the Sarawak State Sports Council (MSNS).
A national coach in charge of the team on assignments to the Asian Games in Guangzhou 2910 for six years from 1989 to 2004, in which the team won a silver medal after losing to Pakistan in the finals but did not qualify for the Olympics as the gold medallist went through as an automatic qualifier.
Tai was also very successful in the academy work based in Pahang six years back where he managed to bring up seven or eight boys through the ranks into the national team.
Himself a former international having played in the Olympics in Barcelona in 1992, he started his coaching career in 2003.
He had been given encouragement by former Sarawak coach C. Sivasubramaniam to take over his former job as chief coach in charge of hockey development in Sarawak.
“I’ve meet up with Siva who told me there is a vacant post in Sarawak and he encouraged me to take up the post.
“I’ve already signed the letter of offer and underwent the medical (check-up) and am still waiting for the MSN in Sarawak to confirm my date of coming over to Sarawak.
Concerning his new job, Tai said he is up to the task and knows he had a tall order to improve the state team’s standard in his capacity as a coach.
“I know the local coaches well like Cathereine Lambor and Dangerouslee (Matthew) and I believe the players including the men’s side can be improved.
“I see no reason for the players especially the men not to improve for they need to be armed with the knowledge of the latest rules or techniques and need to learn the current way of play.
“They should also be given a lot of opportunities to play at the highest level and be exposed to tournaments for it is like studying well in school but there is no examinations without competitions to test them.
“The Sarawak girls are at the standard as those in the peninsula but the boys are not, not to say that they are no good but lack of exposure unlike in the peninsula. Realistically, they can improve if given the exposure and know the right way to play, knowing the rules better,” Tai said.
The Taiping-born Tai who moved to stay in Kuala Lumpur said he will also be concentrating on the development of the players as he did in the past with the Pahang Academy. — DayakDaily
