Happy to be a Coach Under Pressure & Having to Perform: Hyderabad Toofans’ Coach Pasha Gademan
Hyderabad Toofans have been one of the teams to watch out for in the 6th Men’s Hockey India League – the Resolute Sports-owned Hyderabad franchise has had a bit of an ‘up-and-down’ journey losing their first three games (including a shootout loss) before embarking on a sequence of four victories on the trot (including a shootout win) against formidable opponents to stamp their authority in the league. Of course, the Dragons exacted sweet revenge in the 2nd leg with a narrow shootout triumph.
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 Hyderabad Toofans chief coach is not reading much into their 4-0 win over the Tamil Nadu Dragons – a team most opponents found a tough nut to crack, let alone posting a facile win. “It is important for us to win the match and get the three points and we are not thinking so much about winning 4-0,” he says.
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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.
