It has been reported that Hockey India (HI) appointed Dave Staniforth as strategic analyst and goalkeeping coach of the senior as well as junior men's hockey teams on Thursday.
HI secretary general Narinder Batra asserted that he believed in focused and concentrated training for goalkeepers. Frankly, the appointment of a dedicated goalkeeping coach is a step in that direction. He predicted that he is sure all the goalkeepers in the core probables will benefit enormously from his appointment. Truly, hockey as a sport deals with precise strategy and execution. So, he believes that Dave's appointment will be noteworthy before the major tournaments including FIH Hockey Junior Men World Cup 2013 as well as FIH Hockey Senior Men World Cup 2014.
Staniforth expressed that he is very happy with his new role with the Indian men teams and really look ahead to prepare the goalkeepers for the busy hockey schedule in future. As he has spent a lot of time following the Indian team during the last two years, he has a good understanding of the goalkeeper’s strengths and weaknesses.
It is well known that the 37-year-old Staniforth has worked as a goalkeeping coach with the South African national team for three years. In addition, he has worked with Riverside Hockey Club and Dave Staniforth Academy as a goalkeeping coach.
Above all, he possesses an FIH Certificate in International Goalkeeper Coaching and has mastered two other Coaching Courses like Irish Hockey Association Level 1 and English Hockey Association Level 2.
Dave Staniforth as a player has 65 international caps and has represented South Africa in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, 10th FIH Hockey World Cup in Kuala Lumpur 2002, 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, Johannesburg 2003 and Alexandria 2005, 8th All Africa Games in Nigeria 2003 and three times FIH Champions Challenge in Kuala Lumpur 2001.
