Graham Reid is back in the land that loves him like no other -- India -- doing the thing he loves more than anything else -- coaching a hockey team. Reid had made India fall back in love with its OG sport, having them play an all-out attacking, entertaining style of hockey, and coaching them to an Olympic medal (the first in 41 years). It ended, with an early exit in the home World Cup in 2023 but he's back, as head coach of Delhi SG Pipers in the Hockey India League. And though there are no medals in sight - the team are last among the eight teams after nine matches - they bear the Reid stamp of attractive, free-flowing hockey.
How's he feeling about all this, then? "Fine. Well, you know...bottom of the ladder," Reid tells ESPN, with a chuckle
But he's not too disappointed. Sure, the results have not been there, but success for Reid is measured differently: making the team play in his philosophy -- aggressive hockey with emphasis on scoring. Delhi have been eye-catching, scoring plenty of goals but also conceding far too many. They scored 17 goals, fifth most in the league but also conceded 35, the most so far. They have created 55 penalty corner chances which is the second most in the league.
Even when results are taken into context, from the nine matches so far, four went to shootouts, out of which they lost three. They've lost two games by a one-goal margin. In the more recent match against Vedanta Kalinga Lancers, they were leading 4-1 and 5-2 before conceding in a 5-5 draw and losing in the shootout.
"I get angry when the effort is not there. When there's effort, people are listening and trying to execute then you know...it is what it is," Reid says. "I've tried to keep things positive. That's the difficult part for the coach. At some point, what do you say? For example, my whatever number of years I've been coaching, I take goal opportunity total. That is the number of scoring opportunities. We've created more opportunities in most of the games. Six out of the eight, we've created more opportunities than the opposition. If that's happening, it can't all be bad," Reid says.
And he's right. It really isn't all that bad -- his team has been a fun watch, much like that well-loved Indian team of the past. There's also another big factor to take into consideration: DSGP were the most affected team in terms of withdrawals by foreign players. They had to replace as many as six foreigners before the start of the tournament. Reid agrees that so many withdrawals affected the balance but it's a testament to his coaching that he still was able to deliver a good team with the replacements, a team that was successful in playing his brand of hockey.
There's a nice mixture of sorts to his style, which makes the sport more exciting. And Reid thanks India for that. "I used to think that Australia and Holland and somewhere in the middle there's a really good brand of hockey, but my new philosophy is somewhere in the middle of the three, the triangle between India, Netherlands and Australia. You got the Australian discipline, you got the Dutch flair and then you got the Indian skills and abilities," he says.
That mixture may not work all the time, but it makes for proper entertainment. The Indian players in the past and his current Delhi team have shown when it works on the field, there's nothing like it. There's a freedom to his hockey, the free-flowing nature also helps in improving self-belief amongst his players, which is hugely beneficial to the youngsters. Just look at what happened with the likes of Hardik Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad and Shamsher Singh when he was the coach of India. Now, tantalizingly, it could happen with the likes of Aaditya Lalage, Sourabh Kushwa, Dilraj Singhm and Rohit from DSGP.
Reid believes Indian youngsters are on the right track, especially with the revival of Hockey India League. Opportunities like the HIL will push Indian hockey forward but there's also a piece of advice for those who are tying to make their mark. "Someone like Sanjay is a really good example. He's now an Olympian and a bronze medal winner. When he played in the Junior World Cup under me, he was very loose with his marking, bit casual, not much effort. And what you see now is a really polished performer -- he marks tighter and a became a good player. The little things like understanding when the opposition have the ball, you need to be switched on. That's what I see in younger players that they switch off not recognising the danger. And just a little bit of calmness about the play. That's what you learn from Europeans and other country players," he says.
DSGP's last match of the league is against Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers on January 27. It didn't go as per the plan for Reid this time, but as ever he'll be hoping to bounce back next season and hoping that his team's efforts on the field finally reflect in terms of positive results. DSGP, and India, will be waiting.