Hockey - AIKMAN Siegfried Gottlieb

General
TRAINER OF TRAINERS
He attended the first International Hockey Federation [FIH] Hockey Academy courses held in Asia, and has completed the trainer programme there. "I have trained hockey coaches and trainers all over the world. I am also a FIH-World Academy of Sports certified trainer of coaches. Most of the coaches at the [2018] Asian Games have studied under me at some point in their career. I have given courses in the Netherlands, India, Malaysia, People's Republic of China, Japan, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, United States of America, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Italy, Ireland, Cyprus, Greece, and Egypt. This international experience has enriched my knowledge of people and knowledge of different cultures." (LinkedIn profile, 01 Jan 2019; espn.com, 02 Sep 2018; fih.ch, 2014)

FUTURE OF ASIAN COACHING
He hopes he can change the coaching culture in hockey in Japan, which he believes is incorrectly based on playing experience rather than coaching knowledge. "We have this thing [in Japan] called senpai-kohai, [senior worker-junior worker]. So we think that just because a player is an Olympian, he will know everything about coaching even though he has zero knowledge. When I was hired by Japan, one of my targets was to ensure I'm not around after the 2020 Olympics. I want my staff members to become the next head coach of Japan." (espn.com, 02 Sep 2018)

EARLY DAYS
Nicknamed 'Siggy', he grew up in the large Indian community in Paramaribo, in Suriname. His father's side of the family is of African and Chinese descent, while his mother's side of the family is from India. "My ancestors are from Lucknow and Bihar. I only know the first name of my great grandfather, Chotkan. He was the son of a goldsmith but he was the sixth son so there wasn't really much of a future in India. So he came on a contract to Suriname. He met my great grandmother on the boat and that's how I came to be." He left Suriname to live in the Netherlands with his mother at age 12, where he discovered hockey, as well as Japanese culture. "I read the James Clavell novel 'Shogun' and I was electrified by the beauty and cruelty. I had a dream to at least one day go to Japan." He grew up playing hockey until age 24 when he decided to quit playing to become a coach. "I decided I knew more than the coaches so I decided to show them that." (espn.com, 02 Sep 2018)