Peter Haberl appointed Indian women’s hockey team’s mental conditioning coach
A former ice hockey player, the American has previously worked as a psychologist for the US women’s ice hockey team and the US Olympic Committee.
Hockey
Peter Harberl officially took charge as the mental conditioning coach for the Indian women's hockey team on Saturday.
Haberl, a licensed psychologist who hails from Colorado Springs in the USA, will work alongside the Indian women's hockey team chief coach Janneke Schopman during his tenure.
The American comes with prior experience of working with high-performing teams and individuals. Haberl has worked at nine Olympic Games with medal-winning athletes and teams, providing innovative mindfulness techniques and team-building strategies to optimise performance under pressure.
With the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers scheduled to be held in Ranchi from January 13 to 19 next year, Haberl will be expected to play a crucial role in helping the Indian women’s hockey team qualify for Paris 2024.
A retired professional ice hockey player, Peter Haberl began his coaching career working with the US women’s ice hockey team as a Sports Psychology Consultant from 1996 to 2006 and has since worked as a sport psychologist for the US Olympic Committee from 2001 to 2005 and a senior sport psychologist with the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee from 2005 to 2023.
Haberl has already joined the Indian team, who are currently playing in the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2023 hockey tournament in Ranchi.
“I can’t wait to get started! The Indian women’s hockey team has been on the rise in the last few years and being brought in to help the team take the final step to stardom is an exciting proposition, to say the least,” Haberl said. “I am fully committed to helping the team be one of the best women’s hockey teams around and am willing to help in any way possible to make this a reality.”
“We are delighted to welcome Peter Haberl to the Hockey India family. He is a thorough professional and comes highly recommended. We have secured his services to best equip the Indian women’s hockey team to perform without any inhibitions and I am sure that this step will help the team immensely in the future,” Hockey India president Dr Dilip Tirkey said after Haber’s appointment.
“Haberl will closely work with the team in the upcoming tournaments, including the much-awaited Paris Olympic Qualifiers in Ranchi later this year,” Tirkey added.