Stephen Van Huizen is a name that needs no introduction where Malaysian hockey is concerned, as he has played from junior to senior level both domestically and on the international stage, and after he retired from strutting his stuff on the field, he is one of a select few homegrown coaches, who went on to coach the national side.
Van Huizen, who turned 65 in September, is also a member of the famous national junior team of the late 1970’s who finished second in the qualifying tournament for the Junior Asia Cup in Kuala Lumpur,which enabled the young and strong team to qualify for the Junior World Cup finals in Paris, France, the inaugural tournament in 1979.
“We were a strong and determined team that had trained and played together for about two years priorto the tournament, where we were able to finish fourth in that tournament and we were very unlucky not to get a podium finish when we lost to Pakistan in the semi-finals.” said Stephen.
“We also went down 0-1 to Holland in the 3rd placing match, despite playing our hearts out and fighting hard in the second half with only ten men on the field.
“I was just a teenager at the time, who was studying as sixth former and there I was proud to be playing for the national junior side under coach, Malaysian hockey icon Datuk R. Yogeswaran.
“In 1979, we had a four nation tournament here in Malaysia at TPCA Stadium, and the four teams who competed were Holland, Kenya, Malaysia A and Malaysia B -which were mostly juniors and about four players in their early twenties – and when we played the seniors, coach Yoges fielded a team made up of only juniors and we beat the senior team 1-0 (Malaysia A).
“The tournament ended with Holland in top spot, followed by Malaysia B, and the senior team finished third.
“Not long after that, the senior side played Pakistan in a tournament and ended up losing 9-0, but when Pakistan came over here for a tour of Malaysia, eleven of us from the junior squad were promoted to play for the senior team, we lost to Pakistan 3-1 and 2-1 in the test matches.
“Thus, by the time we took part in the junior hockey World Cup in Paris, slightly more than half of the players in the squad, about twelve of us, had valuable experience playing for the senior team, and this exposure propelled us to the fourth place in Paris,” he recalled.
As the 2023 Men’s FIH Hockey Junior World Cup Junior in less than two months away in early December (5th to 16th), Van Huizen shared that the 1979 team had a good, solid training programme over four years, and a programme which included playing tours and test matches, which allowed the young players to garner valuable playing time on the field against different teams with different strengths and playing styles.
“I think if you have a good development programme, and the coach is given enough time to nurture, groom and train the players from the under-16 and under-18 age groups over a period of two to four years where the players progression can be carefully managed, then the team stands a good chance of doing well and going far in the tournaments,’ said van Huizen the technical advisor of the current Junior World Cup team.
“But with the Junior World Cup being being held once every two years, the current Malaysian junior team is slightly unfortunate in the sense, that the Covid-19 pandemic took two to three years out of their playing and learning exposure.
“So ideally if the team has a programme where the boys can gain enough proper exposure, where they can be given the time to build up their physical fitness, work on tactics and technical skills, I think that then the team will have the potential to play and do very well.
“And it was not just the 1979 junior side that did well, at the 1982 Junior Hockey World Cup that was held in Kuala Lumpur, that Malaysian side under Yusof Mydin finished fourth as well.
“And then in 2013, the Malaysian junior side also finished fourth during the tournament that was held in New Delhi, India.
“But then over the years, some teams have had the advantage of time to prepare, while some other teams did not, such as our present junior squad, who only started preparing earlier this year in January,” said Van Huizen.
He pointed out that the current junior squad will have to contend with playing in a tough group against strong opponents such as Australia, Argentina and Chile. He added that with the current playing format there is no second chance, where the top two from each group go to the quarterfinals, so each team has to make the most of the three games in the group to get to the quarterfinals. But then again, with all the modern facilities and advancements available present day compared to a generation ago when he was a player, Van Huizen feels that the current Malaysian junior side can hold their on against their opponents.
“The facilities are much better now, and the medical support from ISN (National Sports Institute) with the latest breakthroughs in sports science, coupled with the use of modern technology like the use of the GPS system and nutrition just to name a few should help the players perform.
“’We know it is going to be a difficult task, but we know that we have to beat Chile even though the first game can be a bit tricky, and if we do well against Chile, we must keep the momentum going for the next two matches if we are to progress to the quarterfinals. But rest assured that our boys will definitely put up a good fight and a good showing, as we know what’s ahead for us, and we are planning and preparing for it,” he said.