Kelvin Nancoo, left, poses with the USFHA National Under-19 outdoor champion team The Edge. At left, back row, is his brother, Kenwin.

When it’s game time all you have to do is motivate and keep your players focussed. They know the seriousness of the tournament. If they didn’t, then you did not coach.

Rachael King

T&T’s top coach Kelvin Nancoo put his reputation on the line at the recently concluded United States Field Hockey Association’s 2008 National Hockey Festival (USFHA), telling his players of The Edge Gaya that he would retire from coaching should the team lose the championship.

That he said was one of the motivating factors in the teams great performance. “I don’t think they wanted to see my career end.”

The Edge drew their first match and needed a win to taste success.

Nancoo became the first Trinidadian to coach a team to win a major outdoor hockey title in the United States.

This year at Indio, California, Nancoo’s ‘Edge’ won the hearts of America, when the New Jersey-based The Edge club played superb hockey to become the best Under-19 team in the USA at the 2008 renewal of the Festival.

The four-day event was held during the Thanksgiving weekend and some 180 teams participated. The top international coach won his seventh national title in five years.

Nancoo said The Edge Gaya played superbly throughout the tournament.

“They were excellent. The attack was great and their defensive play was just as good. I am certain they have demoralised some of their rivals,” he said.

Nancoo was particularly pleased with his team’s tactical work.

“When it’s game time all you have to do is motivate and keep your players focussed. They know the seriousness of the tournament. If they didn’t, then you did not coach.

“We had a player called Michelle Cesan leading the team this year and this young woman is an inspirational leader. She is not only a wonderful player but her unselfish play makes her the ideal team player. She is the best hockey player that I have ever coached and I think she is the best U-18 player in the United States. I have coached some top players in T&T like Dixie Ann De Roche, Stacy Sui Butt, Tamara Nancoo, Nicole Dixon, Giselle Gilbert and the La Rode sisters Kathleen and Yvette but Michelle is fantastic.

“At my last FIH course, I was told to go out and coach in other countries. Clearly, this continues to enhance my coaching while exposing me to other cultures and methods.

“The results are there for all to see and it was so good to see the president of the Trinidad and Tobago Hockey Board (TTHB), Sheldon Cockburn and many of the other members of the TTHB at the Hockey Festival during the FIH Congress.”

His coaching skill has forced coaches to think twice about their strategies, and they have shown appreciation for the talent of this T&T son.

But this is not shown to the extent it should be by Nancoo’s own countrymen and women.

Nancoo’s coaching skill is recognised as far away as India, Holland and Germany, all first-rate hockey nations but not here in T&T.

His passion for coaching is equal to the joy exhibited by his charges on the playing field. Coaching for Nancoo is fun, not survival.

But even as his career in education unfolds (he is principal of St Michael School for Boys), his expertise and recognition as a coach in several disciplines grows, not only locally, but internationally as well.

He has intimate and detailed knowledge of sports and has been well schooled in the basics and in the latest development of coaching at top international level.

Nancoo attended several hockey coaching courses between 1993 and 2004 that have sharpened his skills and given him the ability to use the latest coaching techniques to assist his teams.

He copped the prestigious “Coach of the Year” title in 1995 and the “Hockey Coach of the Year” title in 1995. In 1996 he was voted the top team coach at the Ministry of Sport’s “Coach of the Year” awards.

Nancoo is now a consultant coach to three top high school teams, two university teams and programme director for an elite camp in the USA, along with being the technical director of The Edge Field Hockey Club.

At home, Nancoo coaches Notre Dame men and Ventures Ladies hockey clubs.

Notre Dame men copped the outdoor title this year while Ventures finished fourth but came back two weeks ago to win the Magnolia International Indoor Tournament when they defeated the champion Magnolia, 6-4.

“I have had so much fun with these teams this year, it is worth a lifetime.

“It was said that our team was Notre-Kwan, then Kwan-Dame, Now it’s Kwan-Dame -Garcia.

“The rest is history, but it is a sad reflection on the quality of the other coaches, because Notre Dame has lost only four matches in three years outdoor and indoor,” said Nancoo.

“Ventures, on the other hand, are playing quite well. But to keep the players focus is the biggest challenge of all. It is my opinion that in 2009 they will be very formidable rivals and will only continue to improve in the interim. But 2010 could be glory year.”

Kelvin Nancoo tips his hat to an appreciative crowd after the Edge Gaya won the 2008 Hockey Festival title.