‘The coach in me emerged as I went about building my own team in eighth grade’ – Parth Jagtap reflects on his knack for coaching, lack of sports agents in India and much more | FirstSportz Exclusive

A dedicated and passionate individual, this phrase aptly describes young ice and roller hockey player Parth Jagtap. A 23-year-old lad hailing from Pune, Parth is what one can label as a ‘role model.’ Having represented India in roller hockey in two World Championships at such a young age, Parth continues to strive to reach newer heights every day. The international roller hockey player has numerous laurels to his name at the state level.

Parth, having excelled at the highest level in roller hockey, now toils away to reach the pinnacle in ice hockey. He is the first in the list of all-time goal scorers for Maharastra in ice hockey, yet another feather on his hat. The 23-year-old roller hockey player is a world record holder. Parth scripted history at a tender age of 12 as he skated continuously for over 30 hours. Despite boasting of numerous laurels to his name, Parth is a humble person striving to promote the game and help the young talents excel. He has coached the Pune district roller hockey team to six state championship victories.

Parth shares that he build his team from scratch in the eighth grade to play roller hockey and never looked back. He was the youngest player of an Indian team which clinched the fourth position at the World Roller Games 2019. And Parth went on to score six goals in the campaign. In an exclusive chat with FirstSportz, Parth shares about his journey to the World Championships, his knack for coaching, our country’s shortcomings in promoting sports and more.

Excerpts from the exclusive interview

Q. You have been part of two World Championships with the Indian Inline And Roller Hockey team. How does it feel to represent the country on the grand stage?

It is always a great feeling to wear the tricolour. At the same time, I also feel proud of being the first person from the state, the district to play in the senior Indian team directly.

Q. Your career up till now has been the perfect balance of academics and sports which is a dream for many. How did you manage to strike the delicate balance and above all maintain it?

The credit here goes to my mother. She was always there by my side, supporting me in each and every endeavour of mine. When I was young, in fact not sometimes but every time she came to my tournaments, she was there with me, she has been my support all the time. It’s all because of her I think.

On the academic part, I would say it was my school which played a great role. My teachers were very very supportive.. They encouraged and guided me although I played two, three even four nationals during my board years. And, as you know, at the end of the day it is important to appear the boards. So if you don’t have this kind of support you cannot succeed. The people who work backstage for your success, I think, their contribution must be acknowledged.

Q. Was the support from the rest of the family in line with your mother’s efforts when it came to sports? Especially that you picked an elite and less popular sport like Roller, Ice & inline hockey.

My father was a sportsman, he played cricket. He was that good at tennis ball cricket that he was hailed as the fastest bowler in Pune during his time. And he was so fast that when used to take a wicket, clean bowled a batsman, the stump broke a couple of times. So you can understand the pace of his bowing. So he would tell me such incidents of his life and inspire me. And make sure that I aim high and achieve more. So all of them supported me, let it be my friends or family like I said, my teachers, my coaches, everyone.

It is an elite game, so not every other kid can afford it. You know India’s first love is cricket, so this is definitely not the first love of the country. So surely to play such an elite game you need support and you need funding as well. And I got all of it from them and that is why I was able to compete and wear the tricolour.

Q. How did you come to play roller hockey for the first time?

I played field hockey in my school time, then it was my coach who got me acquainted to roller hockey. I started skating actually as a summer hobby class. It was like a 10 days class and then I participated in a tournament and I got a medal, that was something that boosted my morale. Then I picked up roller hockey. It was a combination of skating class and field hockey that I played in school. And this combination was so great that it helped me to excel in this new sport. Today when I look back, I realise that this is the reason for my fascination for the game to have grown day by day.

Also Read | “Doing well in Olympics will ensure more women taking up the sport,” says Indian hockey goalkeeper Rajani Etimarpu

Q. Being the youngest player in the Indian team which finished at the fourth position at the World Roller Games, Barcelona is a commendable feat. What was your thought process going into the finals of the championship? How did you deal with the pressure that comes with it?

There was huge pressure because it was the first time that India had reached the fourth place match that too at the World Championships of roller hockey. We have been at that stage at the Asian level but at the world level that too at the World Roller Games,it was something like a dream come true for us. We were hoping to get a medal we did not spare on efforts with best of coordination and strategies we gave our best. However, in the concluding moments our opponents had an upper hand. For me it was a moment of pride as in my very first attempt I could bag 6 Goals but couldn’t be content with it.

Q. Coming to the world record you hold for skating an unimaginable 720 km in 31 hrs. How exhausting was it both physically and mentally? Moreover, how did you prepare for it?

The preparations were pretty rigorous. First, it was the shortlisting of people all over India, then rigorous training of the shortlisted candidates along with recommended diet and special lectures followed by. We were given some theories about how and what we should do to endure the marathon mentally. It was a great success as we were aiming for anything above 24 hours and we went on to surpass the 30-hour mark. Being in the World Record Academy, being in the Limca Book of Records, in the Indian Book of Records is a great feeling.

But, sadly, people are not aware of it. There are so many athletes in India who have set numerous records but they are not acknowledged. And if they are acknowledged properly, then the World will be astonished to know that India has such talents.

Q. Barring hockey, you have won gold at U-19 roll ball Nationals 2012 at the age of 14 and clinched silver with senior men’s team two years later. Did you ever think of going forward with it and dropping hockey altogether before you broke into the India camp?

I won’t say that. Actually, it’s your coach who guides you. It is like you are in a club and the club has these two or three games and you excel in every one of it. So it happens that dates of the tournaments for the games clash and you end up participating in the one which is prior.

So sometimes you want to be at both the places but it isn’t possible and eventually things change.

Q. You have coached the Pune District Roller Hockey Team to the State Championship more than once and that too for different age groups. How was the experience of coaching at such a tender age?

The coach in me emerged because I played a team sport and I had to have a team to participate in the school games and other championships. So you need to have a team to play at any level and I had to go about building my own team to play the SGFI tournaments. I provided them with skates and other equipment and I coached them when I was in about eighth grade. I just needed a team of 5 players to stand by me so that I can do the rest. To everybody’s surprise we with these amateurs as well, we entered the state championship in the first year itself.

With every step, I climbed I left a mark and found out that people looked up to me. Later on, I started coaching because I wanted the best talent should come up. I instilled the same principles I believed in like sincerity, dedication and focus on skills. So I thought that if I wanted to give something back to society, this is the best I can do. So I started coaching and I have been coaching for the last 3 Years. I am proud to share that the teams went on to bag six gold, two silver and one bronze medal in different age groups at the state level championship. And the Pune team emerged as the best among the districts.

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Q. The common notion is that coaching takes a lot more than playing the game. Do you concur and how did you come to take up the responsibility?

I agree with it. You need to have the management skills and a perspective which one needs to coach. But I think if you are a good player, a good analyser, you can teach anyone. And if you are able to do that, it is essentially what coaching it. What next is that you have to motivate them, make sure they are doing the right thing at the right time.. This is how it is done. So I think these things go hand in hand and I would like to make a point here.

This is what we lack in India. We hire coaches from abroad for numerous sports but if we see we have great players in India including Olympians. Yet they are roped in for the coaching job for national teams. My question is why not? They have already done so much for the country and now if they want to give back to society, I think this is a better option for India.

Q. How is the infrastructure for ice hockey in a coastal state like Maharashtra?

Ice hockey is actually played on thin ice, so the major drawback in India is that we don’t have proper infrastructure for it. If we had the infrastructure, I feel, we can surely compete at the World level because we do have talent. It is only played in Ladhak and in few other places like Delhi, at the Ambience Mall to be exact. So we practice throughout the year off ice. If with just three or four months of practice, which we get during the winter season, we are able to bag a medal at the Asian Games, so I think if we get to practice around the year, good coaching, the right infrastructure and some support from the government we would be able to do great.

Coming to my state Maharashtra, we do have some infrastructure but it’s not the best. We have it at the Essel World, the amusement park. So there, we have a very small ice rink. And it is there where we started with the state level championships and the district level too. Some ice hockey camps take place there too. But to compete at a higher level, we do need infrastructure. I know it costs a lot but it is an investment which will give good results tomorrow. If India is looking to stand at a higher level, then this is what we have to invest in.

Q. Where do you feel India lacks as a nation in promoting sports and supporting sports-persons?

What India exactly lacks is when it comes to sports agents. When you take a look at other countries, they have more number of sports agents, more number of competitions are held. For collaborations, for an athlete to excel, it is very important that they are supported properly. Be it proper nutrition, be it the equipment, these seemingly small aspects is where they can collaborate with a brand. So these brands can excel hand in hand with these upcoming talents. So these agents are very important, and we lack that in India. Very very less number of agents going around in the country.

The sports minister, Kiren Rijiju sir, his involvement into these different sports right from the grass-root level is highly motivating. Recently he released a budget, for the renovation of 10 stadiums. With better infrastructure we can start producing star athletes even from villages perhaps because if you see a child coming up from the villages, he is ready to put in efforts unconditionally.  He only knows what is hard work but if you come from a city you are bound by so many things, peer pressure, academics, a good career option. And then there is this big question, can sports be a career?

Q. To finish off, what is your mantra for success?

Just love what you do and I have always been saying. If you love what you do you will succeed in every aspect of life. You can’t be forced to express yourself. So I would like to say that love what you do and you will excel.

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