Pasha Gademan-Coached Hyderabad Toofans Turning on the Style in HIL
Hyderabad Toofans have really turned on the style in the 6th Men’s Hockey India League – the Resolute Sports-owned Hyderabad franchise did have quite the auspicious start to the much-hyped league losing their first three games (including a shootout loss) before finding their moorings to dish out impressive brand of hockey, leapfrogging to the top of the points table – more importantly, they enjoy the best goal difference among all teams +10 and have very much booked their semifinal ticket of the HIL journey.
The manner in which the Pasha Gademan-coached Toofans have come out on the pitch exudes a feeling of a team that have prepared well and knew how job needs to be done. The collective finesse and tactical acumen of the Sumit-captained Hyderabad franchise has left no one in doubt that they are red-hot favourites to crown themselves in HIL journey. Of course, one may say the knockout phase can go a bit tricky and if matches go to shootout anything can happen but make no mistake, the kind of hockey they have showcased and sustained it makes them a strong title contender.
Coached by Iran-born Dutchman Pasha Gademan, Hyderabad Toofans was the team that halted the winning run of formidable Tamil Nadu Dragons. “It’s been a interesting HIL journey for us. I think we were unlucky across some games and although the results weren’t going our way, the things that we were doing were going in the right direction,” says Gademan, who had served the Germany men’s hockey as an assistant coach and was involved with the Honamas winning the 2023 Men’s World Cup in India in an exclusive interview with Hockey Passion.
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One of the youngest coaches in the 6th Men’s Hockey India League, Gademan – a former central defender for Dutch club Almere – a club where he played for three years and subsequently wore the coaching hat at the club – is candid about how the team coped with the unfavourable outcomes in the first few games. “It’s not that we are not playing good hockey, it’s just that we did not get the results in our favour. We put our thinking caps on about whether we need to change our way of playing or continue on the path we followed. Just playing well enough is not enough as a coach I want to make this journey last as long as possible,” he makes his point.
The Dutchman makes it a point not to talk about individual players during an ongoing tournament. “I prefer not to make about individual players in the middle of a tournament because it’s a bit unfair. I think it either brings pressure towards players or it takes pressure away. I’m happy to talk about individual players once a tournament is over.”
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Most franchises have spend time together with the players for maybe four-to-six before the league got underway – so how much of coaching happens in such a period of time? “I reckon a lot of coaching happens alongside game management. As a coach, it’s about teaching them how to manage a game. I can’t manage the game on the pitch. As a coach I can influence moments with some tactical inputs but can’t change that much anymore. Having said that, I’m happy to be a coach who’s under pressure, who needs to perform and who needs to bring results,” he says matter-of-factly.
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Gademan has been to India many times, and has a penchant for Indian food. “I’m a vegetarian for a very long time and what I like is that India is one of the few countries, who has a word for the opposite of vegetarian (which is non-veg). The rest of the world doesn’t even have that. I absolutely love Indian food – paneer dishes, poha, etc,” he grins.
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As a parting shot, Gademan has a lot of respect for the owners of the Hyderabad Toofans. “It’s all starts off with what is our vision? The franchise owners have been crystal clear about the need to perform but it is equally important for them to develop a team over the long-term replete with strong team culture. We know the direction we are taking,” he signs off.
