Cheslyn Gie wants extra bodies on SA Hockey Men's technical team

With the Paris Games just over a year away, excitement is building for teams and athletes alike to book their tickets to the multi-sport quadrennial event.

With Gie having been promoted from assistant to head coach last month, it is now a scramble to bolster his technical team as they gear up for the continental qualification tournament in August.

The national hockey association is currently advertising for several positions within the technical and management structures for both the men's and women's teams, for which interested persons have until May 6 to apply.

"The technical team hasn't been confirmed, but I was very happy with the technical team at the Nations Cup and the World Cup, and if we can add to that [it would be great]," Gie told SABC Sport.

"That being said, I spoke to our SAHA executive member for high performance and stated that we need to make sure that we have at least two or three people per position.

"Because hockey is not a [well-paying] sport, you know, we don't get salaries, so people won't always be available because of leave or work issues, so we're trying to broaden the base when it comes to our management as well."

The men's team will be touring South Korea for a camp in the next few weeks as Gie and his charges step up preparations and get some much-needed match action.

"So, South Korea has invited us for a training camp and, most probably, some international matches, with the dates provisionally the end of May to the first week of June," he added.

"After that, there'll be some [local] training camps as we need to prepare for the Africa Cup of Nations, which acts as the Olympic Qualifier [tournament]."