Batch and Kookaburras getting on with it

Following the Fortescue Challenge and with the Tokyo Olympics less than 120 days away, Kookaburras Head Coach Colin Batch has provided an update on how the squad is tracking.

Batch and the Kookaburras are faced with an unprecedented lead into an Olympics that is already being touted as unique in a myriad of ways due to COVID, including the possibility of not having any international spectators.

Despite the uncertainty of what international matches they will play before the Games, it is business as usual for Batch and the Kookaburras as they continue to train in Perth. As Batch aptly puts it, “we’re just getting on with what we can control.”

What were some of the pleasing things to come out of the Fortescue Challenge from your perspective?

CB: “It was a pretty hot weekend in Perth, we played at night but it was over 30 degrees so that in itself is challenging. The guys handled it pretty well and pulled up ok so there were a lot of ticks in that area.

The level was pretty good. We did find that there were different elements to that match play and the hype around the games that we wouldn’t have had if we just played normal intra-squad matches, so from that point of view it was really good.”

Were there key learnings to take from the matches?

CB: “The guys are competitive by nature and they certainly showed that in the three matches. There were some testing moments in how both teams handled certain situations where we need to do better and that was a learning out of the series.

We can train for those situations and there’s an understanding what needs to happen playing against 11 field players, but there’s nothing like executing that in a real game so that was a learning from the weekend.”

It has been a long time since the players have played proper matches on back-to-back days. How do you think they handled it?

CB: “Whenever you have had back-to-back games you’re always a bit flat the next day. A lot of energy goes into them which is good, and then it’s a bit of recovery, refresh and go again.

“That is what confronts us all the time. We get to a certain level and we need to repeat it the next day. There is not much time to celebrate or relax. That’s why hockey is so demanding…you have these tournament situations and you’ve got to keep performing all the time, so it is testing for the players but also the coaching staff.”

There are 27 players in the squad but only 16 get selected for the Olympics. How difficult is it to improve as a collective but at the same time know how cutthroat it is with guys vying for spots in the Olympic team?

CB: “The players are mates off the field but on the field they know they will be coming up against each other. It was all about a competitive edge and trying to get a good performance for their team in this mini competition.

What we saw was that the players were extremely competitive in the right way. This has added value to our development and adds to the assessment of the players in ultimately selecting the Olympic team.

Everyone wants to be competitive but we’ve learnt in the past that we have to do it in a team format. If I’m playing left striker, I need to work with my fellow strikers to improve them and hopefully that has an impact on my performance. That is the line we are trying to get across to the group.

There is good mateship and understanding of what we need to do, but at the same token there is that competitive edge that we don’t want to lose. It is a difficult conundrum that we’re facing but we’re doing ok with it at the moment.”

It has been over a year since COVID impacted everything, but an element of uncertainty remains around your planning and playing international matches. Do you feel like you have learned to cope with this over the past 12 months?

CB: “We’re in a different situation than we were 12 months ago. Back then it was all new, everything was shut down and we saw the winter competitions around Australia all close down and it took a while to grasp how we were going to operate.

I feel we made some progress last year, whereas this year we know what to expect, we can still train together here in Perth and we haven’t had the international travel that we’ve had in recent years. There are some bonuses with that.

We have to fly long distances to play, we haven’t had that and then there is the recovery side after it as well. In saying that we would love the international competition and we’ll embrace it when we get it.”

Has it been difficult knowing there are Pro League matches being played in Europe but no certainty on when or where your next matches are going to come from in the lead up to Tokyo?

CB: “It can be a frustration if you let it be one. We know we can’t do anything about it at the moment. We can travel but the difficult situation is returning and having to quarantine for two weeks when you come back in.

We know we can’t do too much about it. The group as a whole is handling it really well at the moment. We’re just getting on with what we can control. There is a good vibe among the group, we challenge each other and we’re learning all the time, so a lot of that continues.”

Know it’s difficult to gauge because you didn’t think this would be your preparation heading into an Olympics without any international matches on the horizon, but do you have a gauge of how the squad is tracking this far out from Tokyo?

CB: “That’s a very difficult question to answer. The thing with international competition is you come up against different styles, different players with different qualities so you have to keep adjusting. We as a group have been pretty good at doing that but of course we haven’t got those games in front of us at the moment, we’re practically playing against ourselves.

While there have been some good performances by players, we’re familiar with each other so it has blocked some of our learnings. But that’s on us as coaches and players to try and overcome that, so as far as where we are at, we’re not sure until we start playing some international teams and that might not be until we get to Tokyo.”