Overview

The hockey grounds start filling up by 4:50 in the evening. The veterans take their time, but by five, the new hockey field inside the Gym-G is full of enthusiastic players practicing their meticulous, tiring craft. They stay there for three hours as the players on the half practice counterattacks, with the attackers, goalkeepers, and fullbacks conducting a joint exercise. They’ve been going at it since the 7th of August, with an extra two-hour session from six in the morning since the 26th of August.

The team was given the place last November. Earlier, they had to practice in the Shankar QT or in the Shishu Vihar hockey ground. This year however, things are different, with a larger demographic of second year students on the team. This coupled with the presence of three zonal level players on the team, is sure to make this year far more medal-worthy than the last.

That is, of course, not to say that the team is without issues. They have consistently been handed poor inventory, with hockey-sticks of subpar quality being handed to them once per year. They must also deal with a lack of floodlights in the hockey ground that makes their practice sessions heavily dependent on the sunlight, with the only option for them being practice during tiring early hours.

Past Performance

Last BOSM, the BITS Hockey Team was the home team without the home advantage. Having been handed the newly developed hockey field two days before the event, they had about as much time as their competitors to get used to the place they were playing in. As a result, they could do little as a WLLW streak meant that they had to fight for bronze in the five-team tournament, which they won.

Recruitments

The boys also deal with a lack of nurtured talent, as their sport’s waning popularity has resulted in them employing a selection process that recruits applicants based more on their interest and not their talent. While that does not necessarily mean poor influx – two of the aforementioned three zonal players are new – it doesn’t mean exceptional screening either.

And while recruitments are over, the Vice Captain’s disappointment towards this issue was clear as he talked wistfully about the lack of public interest towards his favorite sport.

Captain’s Interview

Having joined the hockey team during the second semester of his first year, Prashant Rai plays the sport religiously not for glory, but for the game. While he does not plan on taking the game up professionally, this does not mean he’s disinterested– at the court, his word is iron; five PM means five PM.

As the captain, Rai feels the weight of the entire team on his shoulders. While he has felt discomfort dealing with the administration and their subpar quality of support, he has been resilient in keeping his calm and trying to deal with the situation best he can.

Another issue the Captain has had to deal with has been lack of time. He often finds it hard to balance his time between academics and his responsibilities towards the team.

And yet, to him, it’s all part of his learning experience.

“This is one of the few things that categorizes life at BITS – learning how to use your time well,” is Rai’s personal take on the hectic life of a BITSian.