SA Men’s Hockey goalkeeper calls for better 2028 Olympics preparation

This after the team was eliminated in the pool stages in Paris, winning their final match against hosts France in what was effectively a dead-rubber. 

Speaking to SABC Sport, Jones believes, if they play against more challenging opponents, they will do better in Los Angeles.

"As a team, for the next Olympics, I think in the build-up we definitely need more competitive hockey, and definitely more international matches, more caps under our belt, and I think our highest-capped player is on 150 maybe," said Jones.

"If you look at the Belgian guys, one of their players has over 450 caps, so just having extra caps under our names and extra game-time and match experience, and things like that, definitely would have helped us and put us in a better position to compete.

"We drew 2-2 with Great Britain, only conceding in the last 90 seconds, so with us playing more top level hockey against higher quality of opposition more often, those mistakes will get cut down and make it harder for opposition to score against us in vital moments."

The Durban-born goalie, who made his Olympic debut in Paris, says he learnt a lot from the experience and will be implementing that leading up to LA 2028.

"From an individual point, I thought I prepared really well for the Games, and obviously now looking back, there are some things I would like to do differently and be a bit more prepared," he added.

"But it all comes with the experience of going to these Games, so LA would definitely be a different training process and process in getting to LA because I now know what the Olympic vibe is like and what's it's all about."

READ: Paris Games Recap: How Team SA came home with six medals