Mind over size for Oz coach

New Delhi: At first look, the tall and powerfully built Under-21 Australian team might seem intimidating. But their coach Paul Gaudoin feels that physical superiority will not be much of an advantage and it is the “mental aspect” that will matter the most in a major tournament like the World Cup.

He explains it with a question, and the answer: “Do you know who is the best player in the world?” “It’s Jamie Dwyer. He is just 67 kg, thinner and shorter than me. So, that shows that a strong built is not an advantage. The thing that matters is mental capacity to play with skill,” said Gaudoin, as his wards drew 2-2 with reigning champions Germany XI in a practice match at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium ahead of the Junior Hockey World Cup here.

With just a day to go for the tournament, Gaudion is making sure that his young and inexperienced team are rested well and composed before they start their campaign. Australia are placed in Pool B alongside Spain, Argentina and France.

“You can’t do anything now with skill or physical level.

It’s the mental focus that we trying to instill in our players.” The coach didn’t rate his boys among the favourites but said that they had the potential, like the Indians, to do well here. “I can’t actually say about our chances here as these boys haven’t played any of the major tournaments. It’s been a long training programme, where we had five or six small camps besides playing Test matches, throughout the year.

“But I can say that we are ready physically and mentally. The boys have the mental resilience to play for 70 minutes. For me, that’s valuable.

No matter whats the scoreline, they want to score another goal.

“Even if they are 10-0 up, they will still look to score,” said the former Olympian, who accompanied the Kookaburras here during the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the senior World Cup the same year as assistant coach.

At first look, the tall and powerfully built Under-21 Australian team might seem intimidating. But their coach Paul Gaudoin feels that physical superiority will not be much of an advantage and it is the “mental aspect” that will matter the most in a major tournament like the World Cup.

He explains it with a question, and the answer: “Do you know who is the best player in the world?” “It’s Jamie Dwyer. He is just 67 kg, thinner and shorter than me. So, that shows that a strong built is not an advantage. The thing that matters is mental capacity to play with skill,” said Gaudoin, as his wards drew 2-2 with reigning champions Germany XI in a practice match at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium ahead of the Junior Hockey World Cup here.

With just a day to go for the tournament, Gaudion is making sure that his young and inexperienced team are rested well and composed before they start their campaign. Australia are placed in Pool B alongside Spain, Argentina and France.

“You can’t do anything now with skill or physical level.

It’s the mental focus that we trying to instill in our players.” The coach didn’t rate his boys among the favourites but said that they had the potential, like the Indians, to do well here. “I can’t actually say about our chances here as these boys haven’t played any of the major tournaments. It’s been a long training programme, where we had five or six small camps besides playing Test matches, throughout the year.

“But I can say that we are ready physically and mentally. The boys have the mental resilience to play for 70 minutes. For me, that’s valuable.

No matter whats the scoreline, they want to score another goal.

“Even if they are 10-0 up, they will still look to score,” said the former Olympian, who accompanied the Kookaburras here during the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the senior World Cup the same year as assistant coach.