With little money, South Africa hockey struggles to hold on to players

Chennai: Guy Elliott's heart beats for hockey. Religiously invested in grassroot development for years, his love for the sport is infectious when he indulges in a conversation about his passion.  

The head coach of South Africa's under-21 team, which is here to compete at the FIH Men’s Junior World Cup, is also wise enough to accept that love does not always guarantee financial security. 

The smile that appears while talking of 'his' boys' improvement on the field, begins to fade when you ask him about some of those boys preferring cricket or rugby (the more popular sports in South Africa) or even studies over hockey.

For example Jaydon Brooker. The 20-year-old dragflicker scored a brace in the 3-1 win against Malaysia in a 9/16 placings game on Thursday after the team missed out on making it to the knockouts. Brooker is also a professional cricketer and has been the most sought after South African player here as this is, in all probability, his final international hockey tournament before the youngster switches to cricket completely from next year. 

"Did he tell you that (laughs)?," Elliott double checks. 

"At the end of the day, the guys also have to make the smart decision," he says. "You know, even Jonty Rhodes was a top hockey player. Tristan Stubbs too. Even Donovan Ferreira. The list goes on and on. It's just the reality of cricket as a profession. Sometimes those opportunities just outweigh the hockey opportunities in South Africa.

"Litha Kraai (another U-21 player in the SA hockey squad) is going to have to make that decision as well. And yeah, if Jadon chooses hockey or cricket, that's fine. I just want everyone in this team to do well in life," offers Elliott, who is also the assistant coach for the senior men's national team. 

Though hockey, according to Elliott, is widespread in the Rainbow Nation, the biggest drawback preventing the sport from flourishing and making it a viable career option is the little to no money in the system. 

"I think in South Africa funding hockey is always a little bit of an issue. We don't have any money. Which means we don't have equipment. We have to borrow. We can't see each other as much as we want because the guys have to pay spend from their pockets to get to camps. 

"I was very thankful because for the first time in my four years as coach, we had a million rand given to us from our association. We could now play more international competitions. We could get together a little bit more often. And I think that would improve the programme that begins in schools."

With better management of the hockey in his home country, Elliot -- a former teacher at the St Alban's College in Pretoria -- is hopeful that migration to other sports would steadily dwindle. Hopefully, his labour of love pays off one day.