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Jeroen Baart, the head coach of Soorma Hockey Club featuring in the Hockey India League (HIL) 2024-25, opened up on his bond with Indian skipper Harmanpreet Singh, calling him a "composed, cold-blooded" player who would be a valuable asset to the team with his leadership skills.
Baart spoke to ANI about the return of the HIL recently, with the men's competition starting from December 28 onwards. Soorma Hockey Club will be starting off against Tamil Nadu Dragons on December 29 in Rourkela. Harmanpreet is the most expensive player in the tournament, bought by the franchise for Rs 78 lakhs during the auction owing to his exceptional drag-flicking and goal-scoring abilities. Speaking to ANI about Harmanpreet, Baart said that he has had a special bond with the Indian captain ever since he started coaching the Belgium under-21 team and lost the Junior Hockey World Cup held in India back in 2016 to India. "The way that I have got to know Harman is that he is very composed. I mean, he is a player that is difficult to put under pressure. He is very cold-blooded in that way of sense and I think that is a massive strength. Not only that, but he is also just a very good leader. He is a nice guy," said the coach. "He connects. He has not a lot of ego. And the way that he shares that responsibility and the way that he shares that side of him, not only on the field but also off the field, makes him a very big asset for us inside our team," he added. Baart is extremely excited to be a part of the league and privileged to be leading the Soorma Hockey Club as a coach. "I have been in India now since December 12, working very closely with, first of all, the Indian core group. And now the international players are joining in and we cannot wait to get started. Looking forward to getting into Rourkela and starting the Hockey India League," he added. On working with Olympian, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games medalist former Indian captain Sardar Singh, Baart said that Sardar is a "legend" on the field but also a very nice guy. "He brings lots of experiences as a player and the way that the players view certain situations. That makes it very fascinating, I think, not only for myself but also for Indian and international players. It is very nice to get in connection with Sardar, getting his view, going to the discussion is and it is a big value to us to be able to work with him inside our team and Sardar's staff," he added. The coach is excited to work with all the Indian and international stars in the competition, noting that they all have their unique selling points and value to the team. Lastly, Baart hailed the return of HIL, saying that the return of this competition will help in the transfer of knowledge to Indian players from foreign stars up their game and develop the "Indian way" of Hockey further by providing a roadmap for future World Cups, Olympics etc. "The talented generation that became a junior world champion in 2016, 2016 of India, started all off with having the experience afterwards as well in the HIL at that time between 2013, 2017, and 2018. And you see, it gave India a massive boost. I think India has been striving on that generation a lot," he said. "And now I think it is a very important thing to be happening again, to have the HIL again happening. So the next generation also can have that connection with worldwide hockey and the knowledge of what foreign coaches and players bring. And there's no wrong or right there." "Just being able to talk and think in different ways, being able to have discussions with different kinds of cultures will develop the Indian way of growing again. And I believe HIL for the next few years will help Hockey India India to be on the roadmap for the coming World Cups, Asian Games, and also Olympic Games," he concluded. (ANI)
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