The Indian men’s hockey team is set for a challenging three-day training camp in renowned adventurer Mike Horn’s base in Switzerland, with the aim of strengthening the players’ mental toughness ahead of the Paris Olympics. This unique training initiative is the brainchild of renowned South African mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton, who will be guiding the Indian men’s hockey team in Paris. Upton, known for his role in India’s triumph in the 2011 Cricket World Cup, had previously arranged a similar camp for the South African cricket team in 2012.
Upton revealed in an Instagram post, “We will be taking the Indian hockey team to Switzerland to the Swiss Alps to go to Mike Horn’s training camps. It is something we did with the South African cricket team back in 2012, we climbed down mountains, jumped off waterfalls, went down canyons, walked in mountains.” He continued, “It was actually amazing experience to take players out of their comfort zone. Went a lot of time listening to Mike Horn who is probably the greatest adventurer ever to have lived and alive today. “He tells incredible stories which just puts into perspective what real pressure is about. He faces pressure of death and the players get to see the pressure we experience, for example, the hockey team is gonna experience is not real pressure.”
Upton, who has been brought on board by India’s South African head coach Craig Fulton, explained that following the Swiss training camp, the team will head to the Netherlands for a short training session before making their way directly to Paris. “So the first piece is the three-day training camp in Switzerland. The players will be staying in tents in the mountains and not in comfort zone. So that’s really exciting and from there we will go to Holland for 10-12 days training and then to the Olympic village,” he elaborated, outlining India’s final preparations for the Olympics.
Horn, an acclaimed adventurer and motivational speaker, draws upon his experiences to inspire athletes and individuals engaged in demanding fields like deep-sea drilling. He previously conducted motivational sessions for the Indian cricket team at the behest of coach Gary Kirsten in 2010-11. Horn was also brought in by Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014, during which the franchise clinched the Indian Premier League title under Gautam Gambhir’s leadership.
