Colledge facing vital task over Scots drop-outs

NINETEEN-year-old Niall Stott and Andrew Sew-nauth (18), the two youngest players in the elite group set up by the Scottish Institute of Sport less than a year ago, have been given six weeks to sort out the problems which led them to withdraw from squad activities this week.

At the start of the year, Stott was acclaimed as Scotland's Under- 21 player of the season and was being talked about as a certainty for the Great Britain Olympic squad for Athens. His astonishing stick control and trademark drives towards the circle have brought him 10 goals in as many games this season.

To cap a great year, he was selected to join the SIS's hockey squad under the tutelage of Steve Colledge, the "high performance" director brought in from Australia. Sewnauth, too, was chosen, having come to the fore playing in a variety of positions for the Auchenhowie-based Western club.

Colledge's task was to introduce the two youngsters, along with a dozen other men and 14 women, to a high-intensity fitness and skills regime, designed to lift Scottish hockey - particularly the men - to new heights.

Next July, those men have a unique chance to reach the World Cup finals as the Scottish Hockey Union has been asked to stage the qualifying tournament for the first time. As hosts, Scotland get a back-door entry to the 16 nations taking part in Edinburgh - the top seven going to the finals in Kuala Lumpur in 2002.

It is, therefore, vital that Scotland have their most talented squad available, so the withdrawal of Stott and Sewnauth from the set- up is worrying.

Sewnauth, in his second year at Glasgow Caledonian University, was required to do weight training routines at Bellahouston twice a week. Not being a driver, the round trip from his home in Bearsden took nearly four hours. The work-outs, he felt, could be done in the university gym in his lunch break.

Stott's personal circumstances are more difficult. His constant need for extra time off for his sport makes him a difficult person to employ. The SIS said they would try to find him a suitable job, but have failed to come up with anything. Currently, he is labouring on a building site. He has resumed his connections with the cash-rich ice hockey world, where he can supplement his income. His field hockey club-mates at Dundee Wanderers fear the worst.

Colledge is confident the two will return to the high-pressure training schedule in the new year. He says it's a matter of "man management". Some observers, however, believe Colledge has been insensitive to their needs, and over-critical of their attitudes. To keep such youthful talent, Scottish hockey needs an imaginative solution.

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