Hockey Strategic Plan and news round-up: The possibility of blowing the hockey trumpet throughout Ireland was missed on Saturday when the Strategic Plan for the future of the sport was launched with a minimum of fanfare at Dublin's Montrose Hotel.
There were no formal invitations or follow-up to the media. There was no formal press conference for the principal media outlets that cover hockey. There was no hyping of the message that hockey was, last weekend, becoming more structured, professional and thoughtful and - given the aspirations of the strategic plan - more geared toward getting teams into European, World and Olympic events.
Of the 114 contributors listed at the back of the plan, none came from the broadcast or print media. Hockey needs public relations and ever since the excellent Keith Morrow gave up his post some years ago, it has suffered. The IHA office in Dublin is unfailingly informative and courteous but PR is a full-time job.
That gripe aside, the new plan's vision is positive and forward looking and finally the association have recognised, in a formal way, that the game cannot keep losing in high numbers those who take it up at youth level and must focus more on building a strong national team.
At present, says the document, "the largest number of hockey players are under the age of 18. From this group only a small percentage joins a club after leaving school. To grow the sport will need firstly to retain these players."
With approximately 40,500 players, 1,000 accredited coaches and 321 umpires and technical personnel, the possibilities of growing the sport into a more significant lobbying body are obviously good. But given that the Irish youth team won gold in the boy's European Youth Trophy in 2002, the drop-out rate referred to is frightening.
The Strategic Plan is welcome but aspirational. The real hope is that at least some of the ideas - such as to promote and market the game better, raise standards, develop competitive structures and get squads competing at the highest world levels - will be implemented.
According to the IHA, the cost of implementing the plan is more than €400,000 over three years. This would include the appointment of a chief executive and a public relations officer and the revamping of competitive structures, an all-Ireland league replacing the current province-based competitions.
It is good to see hockey finally reacting to modern demands, particularly when other sports are aggressively competing for the same "raw material" in schools.
An interesting document with many strong points, it is one that obviously pleases Munster, who have agreed to compete in the interprovincial tournament next February despite their coaching problems. Good start. Let's see how it develops.
