PHF to hunt for goalie & penalty corner flickers

KARACHI—Pakistan Hockey Federation is launching a plan to unearth talented custodians and drag-flickers on penalty corners whose talent can be honed through highly professional exercises for the future of national hockey.
“Keeping in view the acute dearth of goal-keepers and drag flickers, PHF has streamlined a plan wherein the five best goalkeepers and equal number of drag flickers will be picked from five national events,” a spokesman of PHF said on Friday.
Those keepers and penalty corners strikers will be picked from the five events to be held from December 2007 till January 2008, he said. Those tournament included Gen. Musa Cup at Quetta November 17-7 2007, All Pakistan Narcotic Hockey Tournament at Rawalpindi November 18-25 2007, NBP Junior Trophy at Karachi November 29 December 5, Col Dara Memorial Cup at Faisalabad December 20-28 2007 and 34th Khushab Hockey Tournament December 28 to January 4, 2008. The modus operandi will be as such that during these tournaments at the end of each match, the Tournament Director shall have three to four best penalty corner drag flickers of each team to flick the ball at the goalkeeper in the same manner as the penalty stroke competition is held. At the end of the tournament the names of five best drag flickers and five best goalkeepers will be forwarded to the PHF.
To conduct this exercise during the tournament and subsequently the training camp. PHF has appointed Lt Col Nadeem Ahmed Bhatti as Director/Coordinator of the project and training camp which will be held in January 2008 on the dates to be announced later. The main idea behind this yeoman effort is that once a number of goalkeepers and drag flickers are picked, they will go through rigorous training camp exercises which will be conducted by highly skillful and professional coaches to improvise their talent and prepare them for international competitions.
The modus operandi will be as such that during these tournaments at the end of each match, the Tournament Director shall have three to four best penalty corner drag flickers of each team to flick the ball at the goalkeeper in the same manner as the penalty stroke competition is held. At the end of the tournament the names of five best drag flickers and five best goalkeepers will be forwarded to the PHF.
To conduct this exercise during the tournament and subsequently the training camp, PHF has appointed Lt Col Nadeem Ahmed Bhatti as Director/Coordinator of the project and training camp which will be held in January 2008 on the dates to be announced later.—Agencies