"YOU
can’t win anything with kids" is a very famous quote by Alan Hansen
regarding Sir Alex Ferguson’s young Manchester United squad in 1996, which came
back to bite him.
The young
Devils used that quote as a rallying cry and went on to win the English Premier
League that season, proving that there are no age barriers in sports.
Now here in
Malaysia, current TNB Malaysian Hockey League Division 1 champions, TNB
Thunderbolt will be looking to do the same as they stand a chance to defend
their Division 1 crown.
Comprising
only the best young players from the four sports schools under TNB’s
Thunderbolt programme, this team will be looking to make history as they go
head-to-head with the more seasoned professionals in the opposing teams this
current season.
The four
sports schools in TNB’s Thunderbolt programme are Tunku Ismail Sports School
(SSTMI), Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS), Anderson and Pahang Sports School
(SSP-MSP).
This new
approach is aimed at giving; hopefully, the country's future hockey stars some
invaluable experience through TNB’s strategic development project.
The team is
led by ex-national stalwart Nor Saiful Zaini, who also coaches the Project 2020
development squad, and he is very confident that the selected players will give
their best throughout the season.
"We
have not set a target as our immediate objective is to blood these young
talents in a competitive environment and to prepare for the upcoming Junior
World Cup scheduled to take place in India in December," said Saiful.
"We have
selected four to five players from each of the schools in the Thunderbolt
programme. We hope the selected players will use the experience they gain to
help their respective schools in the TNB Malaysian Junior Hockey League next
year," he added.
Saiful
confirmed that there is no centralised training for the players because all of
them are still in school and it will not be feasible to have the players in for
training just a few days before a match. They are brought together for training
one day before every match day.
The coach,
himself a star right winger during his playing days, strongly believes that
exposing young players to competitive hockey on a weekly basis will help them
prepare for next year’s TNB MJHL which promises to give the fans some high
quality and exciting matches as the players will be out to impress the
selectors as they strive to be included in the National Development and Junior
squads.
The four
Thunderbolt affiliated schools dominated the top four spots in this year’s TNB
MJHL with BJSS Thunderbolt emerging champions beating SSTMI Thunderbolt in the
final, while SSP-MSP Thunderbolt finished third place after a playoff against
Anderson Thunderbolt.
This
reflects the huge gains the TNB’s development programme has made. Its
effectiveness is felt all around. The very best players from these four teams are
making TNB Thunderbolt a force to be reckoned with in MHL Division 1 this
season.
Currently
sharing the leader board with SSTMI with a record of 3 wins and 3 draws, the
Thunderbolt boys will be looking to continue the team’s spectacular form
throughout the second half of the season towards a consecutive Division 1
title.
Hockey fans
throughout the country will be keeping their fingers crossed that this bold
move by TNB will prove positive and produce the next generation of champions to
compete consistently with the best on the world stage.
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