Ireland Goalkeeper David Harte, now representing Tamil Nadu Dragons, is keen to contribute to their success while cherishing the magic of HIL. David Harte expressed his excitement about the opportunities provided by the Hockey India League (HIL), stating how its earnings, though modest compared to cricket’s IPL, can significantly impact players' lives, aiding in expenses like housing or education. Reflecting on his career across European and Asian leagues, Harte emphasized the challenge of blending diverse players quickly in shorter leagues like the HIL compared to Europe’s longer, structured seasons. Getting the group to gel despite cultural and language differences is tricky but crucial. It’s incredible to see such growth. The energy in Indian stadiums is unmatched. Fans here elevate the experience, and I look forward to engaging with them during the tournament.
#DavidHarte #HockeyIndiaLeague #HIL2024 #TamilNaduDragons #HockeyPassion #GlobalHockey
#DavidHarte #HockeyIndiaLeague #HIL2024 #TamilNaduDragons #HockeyPassion #GlobalHockey
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00:00That's a great question. I'm currently sat in the car here outside my own hockey club, SV Kampung, in six degrees and storm-like winds, ready to go and have a goalkeeper session with my goalkeeper trainer, Martijn Drijver.
00:14So, I'm trying to do as much as I can, even though our season only finished up, I think, about ten days ago. It took a bit of time off.
00:212024 has been a heavy season, of course, for an awful lot of players. So, now it's trying to find the right balance between being fresh, but also trying to get to the peak performances in the Hockey Indie League as well.
00:34I think, obviously, most hockey players realise that the possibilities and the opportunities to go to the Hockey Indie League and to earn money for the seven, eight weeks that you're there doesn't happen every day of your life, and especially not as a hockey player.
00:48And while they're quite minimum compared to the cricket or the IPL level of earnings, you can always say that that type of money can make a difference in your life. It can be a down payment or a deposit for a new house or a mortgage.
01:00It can help also, perhaps, with tuition fees for your daughters or your kids' futures, and that's some way that I'm definitely approaching it this time around.
01:07Short-term goal, I think, would be looking straight away to try and get the team to blend together. Having played, like you said, in many different leagues across Europe and also Asia, played also in the Malaysian Hockey League and the Hockey Indie League, like you rightly said, it's always tricky at the beginning to try and get the group to gel together.
01:23The different backgrounds, cultures, languages, even trying to figure out each other's names in such a short space of time is obviously quite tricky, and that will go for all of the eight teams of the different franchises.
01:34So that would be the short-term goal, and of course, long-term goal, building over the coming years. With this Hockey Indie League team, of course, every franchise wants to win, and that's certainly something we also want to do as the Tamil Nadu Dragons.
01:46I think, obviously, the different formats would be that the likes of the leagues here in Europe are for a more sustained period of time. So you have, perhaps, your first half of the season might be close to three months long.
01:57You have a winter break, and then you finish and conclude with another three months before heading towards the playoffs. And having played in the Hockey Indie League and Malaysia, a lot shorter, maybe the guts of eight, nine weeks at most, when the previous editions were a bit longer.
02:12And I think when you're trying to get the most out of those times there is, well, in the Netherlands here or the European leagues, you have a bit more time and opportunity to develop yourself individually, but also as a group.
02:23In the leagues like the Hockey Indie League, that's one of the biggest challenges. How can you go from A to B as quickly as possible, realizing that it's not always going to be in a straight line.
02:34There'll be some dip moments, there'll be some high moments, and ultimately continuing to try to bring the group towards the goals that you want to achieve together. So that probably would be the major differences.
02:45I would like to hope and see that there will be continued and sustained success for the organization, for Hockey Ireland on both the men's and the women's side.
02:54But Hockey Ireland will justify and cement its position in major tournaments to go to the likes of the World Cups consistently, to play in Olympic Games, like it will become a norm for a lot of teams like the likes of India, the Netherlands, Germany, teams that you will see throughout the four-year cycles, always being at those events.
03:11And for Ireland right now, we're kind of hit or miss. And I would like to see over 10 years time to try and get that consistency in place where you remain within the top 10 in the world, but you also get to participate in those major tournaments.
03:23Long-term goals once retired from hockey? I don't think it'll be possible for me to stay out of the sport too long. I just love being in an elite, high-performance sport, and particularly, obviously, hockey.
03:36But after when I'm finished up playing myself, I'm not quite sure yet, but I would like to try and see perhaps the current role that I have right now is that a lecturer at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences.
03:46Perhaps having the ability to take that to perhaps different countries, you might move to become a college or a university lecturer.
03:53Or at the same time, also going to see what my wife would like to do because she's been incredibly good to me. She's followed me all over the world.
04:00And it's now time for me to return that favor and to go, listen, Lynn, wherever you want to go, whatever you want to do, I'll be there behind you to support you and my two daughters.
04:08I'm really excited to get over to see what it actually is like. And I think if I remember back so fondly, the good memories that I have from competing in the previous editions of the Hockey Indie League, I think that's the magic of the league.
04:20You get to go in, of course, you'll know some of the international players, maybe some of them are your own club teammates like Jip Jansen or players from other countries that you played against for many, many years.
04:30I like to play covers from Australia, but then on the same side, knowing you have the Indian stronghold players like Amit.
04:36And then at the same time, those unknown kind of undiscovered players who have this podium, the Hockey Indie League to really show what they can do.
04:44And I think that's one of the most exciting phases for them to be in and for me to be a part of, to see these players who you might not have ever heard of, but you know that potentially over years to come, they will be also going to the Olympics.
04:55They will also be competing on the highest level. And I can remember my time when I was at my team in Mumbai, Dubang, Mumbai, all those years ago, 2017, where I met Krishan Pathak for the first time.
05:08I said, the goalkeeper with me, I said to him, if he was to keep going and doing what he does, recognizing his athleticism and his reflexes and his ability, I said, you're going to be maybe the next Indian number one goalkeeper.
05:19And then seven years ago, you're walking in the Olympic village with him.
05:23Sorry, seven years later in Paris. So I think that's also incredible as well.
05:27I don't know, because obviously knowing the nature of the different regions and the different dialects, it's really difficult.
05:34You could always use the same words, the KSAO, Kihala, there's other words you can use.
05:39Shukriya, things I do, I can remember back to my days because it's been actually quite some time since I've been there.
05:46I think the 2018 World Cup in Bhubaneswar was the last time that I was on Indian soil.
05:50So personally, I can't wait to get back and maybe pick up a bit of Tamil when we're also in Chennai for our pre-training camp as well.
05:57Well, I think actually, again, I was only chatting to a couple of friends of mine about this.
06:02It's a unique place to go to play hockey. Everybody in the world knows that. India and their fans are just incredible.
06:08It's unrivaled to a certain level. You can say other countries, perhaps Argentina.
06:13In Argentina and the Netherlands, when you play them in the Netherlands, also have fantastic support.
06:18But India is just on a different level.
06:20The stadiums, the boisterous support and any fans that are going to be over there.
06:24I would love to interact, love to engage with them, maybe click a selfie with them if they wanted to.
06:29And yeah, hopefully there'll be a lot of support for all the teams in Roorkeela and also in Ranchi throughout the tournament.