FIH hockey coach Shiv Jagday is set to visit Guyana from June 3 to 15, to conduct two weeks of hockey training for coaches, nationals and junior players.

The popular coach learned his hockey in his native India but has coached at the international level in both the USA and Canada.  Shiv has been conducting clinics and coaching teams for the past 40 years.

After a successful stint in the 1980s as Canada’s national men’s coach, where he led Canada to their most successful international period of two Olympic appearances, two World Cups and two Pan American gold medals, Jagday branched out into developmental coaching worldwide.

His first such assignment was to Guyana in 1988 at the invitation of then president of the Guyana Hockey Board of Control, Chris Fernandes.  Coach Shiv visited Guyana on several subsequent occasions in the 1980s and was instrumental in the development of the sport during that period.

In 2017, however, Shiv offered his services once again to Guyana and conducted a course similar to the upcoming one which was well received.

Apart from his clinics in the USA and Canada, Shiv now spends his time in Melbourne, Australia and Punjab India where he has helped to establish a regional training institute that has seen nine players from Punjab selected for the current Indian national team.

The schedule for this visit will include both theory and practical sessions and will involve fine-tuning of the male and female national teams who are preparing for the CAC games in July.

Forty boys and 30 girls between the ages of 13 and 19 will attend the junior sessions while 30 coaches are also expected to benefit.

President of the GHB, Philip Fernandes, once a student of Jagday during his early visits, expressed great excitement and anticipation. He indicated that hockey always gets a welcome boost whenever Jagday visits that leaves an indelible mark on local hockey.