DARREN Cowie's decision to come out of retirement and captain Trinidad and Tobago at the February 3-9 FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup in Croatia returns a wealth of experience to the Calypso Stickmen ahead of the 12-team tournament.
Cowie, who previously captained the TT men's outdoor team before retiring and transitioning to a national coach, chose to make a player comeback to bolster the nation's chances of progressing out of Pool C, and into the knockout rounds.
The 14-member team was announced on January 15 with Cowie at the helm, alongside seasoned former player Dwain Quan Chan, who also opted to come out of retirement and successfully contest the team trials.
The pair and their ten other team members and two reserves enter the World Cup under the expert guidance of senior team coach Rafael Govia.
This will be TT's third Indoor World Cup stint, having placed 12th in Austria in 2007 and tenth in Germany in 2018.
Cowie relished his role as captain and believes his teammates have what is required to put on a competitive display.
'It's amazing that we do have a nice blend of experienced, talented and skillful players who we all know can hold their own on a difficult stage against tough opposition. That makes my re-transitioning back into the team, and in a captaincy role, much easier knowing that I've coached and played alongside these guys. I have a lot of faith and trust in what they could produce,' he said.
When asked what inspired him to come out of retirement and re-join the squad, Cowie said it was either they broke back into the team through the trials, or he and Quan Chan provided tips and advice to players and team staff during the World Cup. The former came to fruition.
On their inclusion back into the national setup, Cowie said, 'Dwain was my assistant coach on the outdoor team and when I was the captain, he was vice-captain, and we always had a good relationship and understanding of how we wanted elite hockey to be played on the international stage. We made a decision to give it a go and we wanted to give the team the best chance of performing at their best.'
Additionally, Akim Toussaint, who captained the team to silver at the 2024 Indoor Pan American Cup in Canada - which eventually qualified TT to the World Cup - in March, will not hit the court as a player this time around, but as Govia's assistant coach.
Grouped alongside higher-ranked nations Australia and Belgium, and lower-ranked Namibia, Cowie expects a keen contest to come out of the group. He believes Govia has the right strategy to overcome these global powerhouses.
'His (Govia) mantra is to play attacking and not play overly safe,' Cowie added. 'Regardless of the opposition, while we'll have a game plan, he'll always want us to stick to that identity of playing attacking aggressive hockey and not just hit back and let the other team take the game to us. That's probably one thing that will not change from game to game against those three teams; aggressive and attacking play.'
Cowie wants his troops to
