New Delhi, Dec 17 (IANS): Hockey India (HI),in its endeavour to nurture young talent, Wednesday announced the launch of an online academy platform that will also help coaches at the grassroots.

The initiative 'Hockey India On-line Academy Platform' is a comprehensive programme designed and created by the federation under the guidance of high performance director Roelant Oltmans.

It will keep the coaches abreast of the latest techniques of coaching. They can then, in turn, work towards ensuring that the players adapt to these technical aspects.

"We realised that the online world is no more limited to a few and everyone is sitting and learning online," Oltmans said.

"This online academy platform showcases every facet of the game from the right way to hold the hockey stick to what is the right posture when one wants to hit that perfect penalty corner. The videos even show moments from different matches which help to understand how players react under pressure and the immediate strategies that the team follows on the field".

Speaking on the occasion, HI Secretary General Mohd. Mushtaq Ahmad said: “It is a proud moment for us today as we take another step forward in order to foster and motivate the young talents of hockey to learn and adapt to the modern styles of hockey."

The on-line platform can be visited on www.hioap.org.