National field hockey team’s summer gathering kicks off

Field hockey, the national team at the start

Work has begun for the Italian national field hockey team at the Palasmeraldo in Fondo, Trentino, Italy. The Azzurri, under the orders of coach Mike Keenan, coach Mike Pelino and assistants Fabio Armani and Giorgio De Bettin, will hold a summer training camp until Friday, July 28: seven on-ice training sessions are planned, as well as targeted off-ice workouts. This is the first stage ahead of a busy season, which will culminate with the World Cup First Division Group A to be played within the home walls of the Sparkasse Arena, in Bolzano, from April 28 to May 4, 2024. In between are the international breaks in November, with the national team to be on stage in a tournament in Budapest, December (two friendlies in Italy to be determined) and February (again scheduled at the moment are two friendlies against Slovenia).

On the Trentino ice meanwhile to take center stage is a young roster: “This gathering gives us a chance to see and evaluate new recruits, who in some cases are also coming from the youth ranks,” explains the sporting director of the national teams, Stefan Zisser, “for them it is a time to showcase themselves and make our choices more difficult in the future. Looking ahead to the season, we certainly have some challenging months ahead of us: we want to be ready for the World Cup at home, which is a great chance to bring the fans closer to the national team.”

For head coach Mike Keenan, it’s about continuing the process of growth: “It’s a camp that is part of a road we took a year ago, with a lot of young players and some more experienced ones,” he says. “The goal is to continue to develop the right attitude, building a program that in the long run will get to an Olympic standard. When you win or lose you always learn something, but winning is part of a learning process: successes do not come automatically with competitiveness, you have to teach what the ingredients are to win. That’s why this will be an important season to accelerate this process, improve skills on and off the ice through rallies and tournaments, and arrive at our best at the World Cup next spring.”