On 5 August 2021, the Indian men's hockey team registered a historic win in the Tokyo Olympics. A 41-year-long drought for an Olympic medal ended when they beat Germany 5-4 for a bronze.
It was the hockey genius and the coaching rigour of the legendary Australian hockey Olympian that took the Indian men's hockey team to it's first Olympic semi-final since 1980. It was the self-belief and motivation coming from Reid that saw India come back from a two-goal deficit, and snatch the bronze from Germans, by a two-goal margin.
Graham Reid joined the Indian team as a coach in April 2019. Apart from being fully focused on the team, Reid has always, before and during the Olympics, regularly interacted with media, giving updates on the team's preparation. He has transparently spoken about team strategy, technique, and the skillset he's been trying to push for.
Graham Reid was part of the Australian national hockey team. He played 130 international games for Australia, taking part in 2 Olympics, 1 World Cup, and 9 Champions Trophy tournaments. He also scored 36 goals, pretty handy for someone who was not a striker.
After being appointed Assistant Coach with the Australian Men’s team in 2009, he was elevated to Head Coach in 2012, guiding them to the Champions Trophy title that year.
Under his guidance, the Aussies also won the HWL Semi-Final in Antwerp and went on to win the HWL Final in Raipur the same year as well. He was also the Assistant Coach of the Netherlands hockey team that won the sliver medal at the 2018 Men’s Hockey World Cup.
Reid's biggest focus since the start of his coaching tenure in India has been to transform the team's defence. He has repeatedly said in media that his approach is to "go back to the basics" as "India's defensive structure needs a major overhaul".
Reid's technique considered psychological training of the team as a significant component. He wanted the team to change its mindset, to shift focus from the outcome of the game, to the game itself.
Reid repeatedly told the team that they need to play with confidence; that their defence needs to be tough and ruthless.
Throughout the Tokyo Olympics, Graham Reid worked relentlessly on keeping the team's emotions in check. A tournament is invariably a roller coaster ride, with many ups and downs. In a high-stakes tournament like the Olympics, this uneven ride can easily disturb the team's emotional stability.
He taught the team how to draw on their experience, keep their defence and playing plans intact despite the emotions involved in playing all-or-nothing games.
Reid worked on making the Indian team realise that they possess a different set of skills compared to European teams, and it is this difference that makes them unique.
So, he wanted the Indian team to hone their unique skills, but also to consciously compensate for what was lacking.
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