BUKIT JALIL, Oct 1 — With Roelant Oltmans installed as new Tigers head coach, former coach Stephen Van Huizen said he was ready to play his part in ensuring Malaysia meet all our targets from now till the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
“My principle has always been clear, the team is more important than the individual,” said Van Huizen when asked by the media during the press conference to introduce Oltmans as the new head coach, at the Bukit Jalil hockey stadium earlier today.
“It’s an honour to be head coach the past three years. I feel we did reasonably well but as a group we want to get to the next level and make the Olympics.
“Before I became a coach, I have known Roelant. He won the gold medal at Atlanta 1996 Olympics and the World Cup in Utrecht. He brings added value to the team.
“Now it’s up to the group to buy into his ideas and principles to make sure we are in one direction.”
The 64-year-old coach’s first big title was with the Dutch women’s team in 1990 when they won the World Cup. He then won the 1996 Olympic and 1998 World Cup’s with the men’s team.
He took time away from hockey to be technical director of Dutch professional football team NAC Brada till 2002 and then returned to coaching Pakistan for the Athens 2004 Olympics and held that post till 2008.
After that he moved to coach India from 2013 first as High Performance Director then head coach in 2015 till 2017.
Van Huizen is not unaccustomed to change of roles and he has pledged to do all he can for the team as his loyalty is always to team and country.
“In year 2000 after the Sydney Olympics I was replaced by Paul Lissek so this is not a new situation for me,” said Van Huizen, the last coach to take Malaysia to the Olympics during his tenure from 1998-2001.
“Now my duty is to assist Roelant in any way I can as our goals and the country's goals are the same. Bring success. If I can’t do this, then I shouldn’t be here,” he added.
