School hockey coach Nordin Manaff inspired by charges’ passion, success

SINGAPORE – Nurturing and developing players from scratch is a tough task for any coach, but it is a challenge that hockey coach Nordin Manaff relishes.

The 58-year-old first took the helm at Crescent Girls’ School in 1993, before taking over at Victoria Junior College (VJC) two decades later. In 2018, he also started working with Victoria School’s hockey teams.

Between them, the teams have won 10 A Division and 15 B and C titles during his tenure. The former national player, who has coached the national women’s indoor hockey team since 2019, finds imparting his skills and knowledge to beginners the most fulfilling part of his career.  

Nordin estimates that six of his teams’ starting 11 are beginners at the start of the National School Games.

He said: “The first thing that keeps me going is their passion. Secondly, I love to pass my knowledge and teach the players new things so that they learn. 

“That is important for me, especially those who start (the sport) later. When we have to teach them the skills or whatever they need to be a player, that’s a challenge for me that I like every year.

“It’s fulfilling when some of the players, especially those who we‘ve not seen playing this level of hockey, play and they perform, succeed and even become national players.”

Two of his former student-athletes have gone on to don national colours in indoor hockey.

The team’s current captain, Nadia Ibrahim, recalled his focus on building foundational skills when she picked up hockey at Crescent Girls’ in 2007.

The 30-year-old said: “He helped to improve fundamental skills by breaking down the skills into manageable parts, doing specific drills and providing feedback on technique.”

Teammate Chin Sue Min, who also had no experience before joining the school team in 2014, added: “I am grateful to coach Nordin for setting the high bar for what I wanted to achieve and pushing us hard during training. 

“Despite the tight competition and my initial lack of skill, he motivated us to work hard and improve, offering personalised tips and encouraging us to develop unique skill sets for our positions.”

Stressing the importance of working individually with the players, Nordin said: “I believe if a player knows that much and comes into the team, it’s easier, so I focus on their individual weaknesses as a team.

“Every two or three months, we will do an assessment report, (providing) feedback and learning for them, so that when they reach the end, they have small goals of their own.”

He also constantly upgrades himself “every one or two years” by attending courses so he can stay updated and “teach the students new things”.

Having to work with players from three schools is demanding, with all his weekdays taken up by training sessions.

He credits the support from the teachers, adding: “The schools are really flexible and understanding, the teachers communicate… It’s very easy for me.”

There is no secret to their success, as he added that the winning formula is the same for all his teams – sufficient preparation.

“If the season starts in July, we get them ready by, say, March. We’d have at least 80-90 per cent done by then, so when it comes to the tournament it’s easier.”