IANS Exclusive: New Zealand hockey player Kane Russell expressed excitement for the upcoming Hockey India League, saying, This league feels completely different. I don’t personally know my teammates yet, as I’ve only played against them before. It’ll be challenging, but the team that gels quickly and builds the best culture will likely succeed, given the equal budgets and competitive balance across teams.
#KaneRussell #HockeyIndiaLeague #HIL2024 #NewZealandHockey #Teamwork #SportsCulture
#KaneRussell #HockeyIndiaLeague #HIL2024 #NewZealandHockey #Teamwork #SportsCulture
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Look, I think it'll be completely different, like this will be like no league that I've
00:04played in.
00:05For one, I don't really know any of the guys on my team personally, I know them all sort
00:10of from playing against them.
00:12So I think there'll be, you know, a lot of challenges, a lot of different cultures and,
00:18you know, different languages.
00:20But it's also pretty exciting to see how many amazing players are in each team and, you
00:26know, what sort of hockey we can come together and play.
00:30Look, I don't actually know because I haven't really done it before.
00:33I think it will be difficult, but I think whatever team can do it the best and the quickest
00:39will probably be the most successful team in the league.
00:43You know, all the teams have the same amount of budget and, you know, everyone should be
00:47on a similar playing level.
00:49So that could be a pretty big advantage for whatever team can gel and create the greatest
00:56culture.
00:57Yeah, yeah.
00:58It's hard.
00:59But, you know, like I've learned a lot, I've grown a lot as a person and also as a hockey
01:03player.
01:04These are experiences that, you know, I'm so grateful that I've had and I've learned
01:08a lot from.
01:10And I think this one to India is going to be very different to them all.
01:14So, you know, this is going to be, it's going to be a challenge, but if it goes well, it
01:18will be very rewarding.
01:20Yeah, like hockey's not so big in New Zealand.
01:24When you're a kid, you want to play for the All Blacks and you want to be a rugby player.
01:29And nowadays, you know, the cricket team's doing very well.
01:31So everyone wants to be a rugby player or a cricket player.
01:35So for me, all my friends, you know, they sort of, they didn't really play hockey and
01:39there were pressures to play hockey throughout school.
01:45But you know, I saw a pathway into playing hockey and, you know, I didn't expect to be
01:52able to do this professionally, but now I can do it as a full time job and I'm really
01:57glad that I did go down this track.
02:00And I also like, you know, being able to encourage the youth to do this and, you know, know that
02:08there's a pathway for them if they would like to play hockey for a career.
02:11Yeah, that's a good question.
02:13I mean, firstly, financially, it's awesome.
02:16It takes a lot of pressure off because, you know, a lot of hockey players aren't on great
02:21budgets.
02:23So that will allow us to dedicate more time to being the best athletes we can be.
02:28But also, you know, just experiencing another culture.
02:32Typically, when I go to India, it's for three weeks.
02:34This time it's for six.
02:35So, you know, we'll really be submerged in it and, you know, I hope we get out and meet
02:41the fans and get to experience like a little bit more of that culture.
02:47And that's something that I'll take away with me for a long time.
02:49Yeah, like New Zealand's been very strong at hockey in the past.
02:52I think Rio we got fourth, London we might have done pretty well as well.
03:00So it's cool to see some of the New Zealand girls getting the acknowledgement they deserve.
03:05For me, like I would love to get down and watch some of the games and support my fellow
03:10Kiwis.
03:12But I think it's a great step forward for hockey worldwide to not only have the men's
03:16comp, but also, you know, for the women as well.
03:20I think young women would all love to be coming to India and playing here for six weeks.
03:25Yeah, look, everyone I've spoken to absolutely loved their time.
03:30You know, I think Nick Wilson might have won with the Runchie Rhinos and I think Simon's
03:34done pretty well as well with the Delhi Wave Riders.
03:37So, you know, they just said go there, go with an open mind, try and experience everything.
03:46You know, I guess you want to open up and try and take from it as much as you can.
03:51And I think in doing that, you probably give back a lot to the franchise and the team and
03:55the competition as well.
03:56Yeah, so I think on the short term horizon, the World Cup in Holland and Belgium will
04:01be an amazing tournament.
04:04So for me, that'll be the next thing that I'm focused on after the HIL.
04:09I'm also halfway through the season in Germany.
04:12We've got a great team there and we're currently top of the league, so it would be awesome
04:17to go back to Germany and, you know, maybe win the league there.
04:20And if we could do that in India, it would be a pretty amazing year.
04:24Yeah, so we have just started this new domestic competition in New Zealand and this is the
04:31first year.
04:32We haven't had one for a while, so it's a step in the right direction.
04:36We hope that we'll be able to get some international players come to New Zealand and that'll give
04:41a stepping stone into international hockey.
04:44Look, I think, you know, hockey's hard in New Zealand.
04:48We don't have a lot of funding, but if our players can go to Europe and we can go to
04:53India, we can be professional.
04:55I think that'll open up a few doors and, you know, I think that'll have the New Zealand
05:00team looking a bit stronger in the future.
05:03But, like for us, it would be great to get, you know, a medal at a World Cup or an Olympics
05:08and to follow that with a little bit more funding, because I think, you know, we probably
05:15don't have the support of the top teams at this stage, but that's also because we don't
05:20get the same results.
05:21So it is hard to get up there, but, you know, we have an ambitious country and federation.
05:27Look, it's really difficult.
05:29Currently there's only a handful of New Zealand players that are full-time professional, but
05:34even those guys study on the side.
05:36So, you know, a lot of us, we play hockey because we love the sport, firstly.
05:41We aren't playing it because we're getting a lot of money, but I think that also is cool.
05:47You know, we have a team that absolutely loves hockey.
05:49We love putting on the New Zealand shirt.
05:51So, you know, we're all passionate, we're all motivated to do our country proud.
05:58So I think that's one thing that sets the lower-ranked nations like New Zealand apart
06:03from the top.