Hindy Has Georgia on His Mind

Shawn Hindy stands at the door of the Olympic dream, having earned a place as an alternate on the U.S. field hockey team for the Atlanta Games this summer.

He’d like to take the next step, but the only way he can break through to the 16-man squad is if one of the regulars cannot compete, either because of injury or some other circumstance.

Hindy knows it’s a longshot, but he hasn’t given up hope.

“I still have a chance to go to Atlanta, so I’m going to wait it out and hope for the best,” Hindy said.

In the meantime, Hindy is staying sharp by playing with the U.S. under-21 team in the 25th California Cup, an international tournament that began Friday at the Field Hockey Sports Center at Moorpark College.

Hindy, 20, of Westlake Village, scored two goals and directed the defense from his sweeper position to help the Americans defeat the Punjab Olympians, 5-2, in a Super Men’s Division game.

Punjab, a club team from New Delhi, India, won the men’s elite division title on its last visit to the California Cup in 1990, and boasts a roster that includes former Olympic and World Cup players.

Experience, though, didn’t mean much on this occasion. The upstart U.S team wore down the Punjab players with quickness and superior conditioning, opening a commanding 3-0 lead in the first half.

“[Punjab] knows how to play the game, that’s obvious,” Hindy said. “But we thought we could beat them with our fitness. That’s our strength.”

Nick Butcher, the only Olympic team member playing with the under-21 squad in the California Cup, got the Americans off to a rousing start by scoring the game’s first two goals. The midfielder from Simi Valley also assisted on a goal, by Ventura’s Matt Cody, and spent much of the game weaving through the Punjab defense “like water,” as one fan put it.

Hindy, meanwhile, anchored the defense by calling out assignments and steering set-up passes away from goalie Ronald Cain of Camarillo, who had a relatively quiet match.

Hindy’s contributions weren’t limited to defense. He flicked the ball over Punjab goalie Harjinder Singh for a goal off a penalty corner to give the U.S. a 3-0 lead late in the first half. His second goal came on a penalty stroke, following an intentional foul, to make the score 4-1 early in the second half. Again, Hindy beat Singh with a quick blast high in the net.

On hand to watch Hindy’s impressive performance was his father, Bob, who introduced his son to field hockey at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

“My dad got tickets and we saw Pakistan and another team play,” Hindy recalled. “The fans for Pakistan were so excited, cheering and yelling.”

That got Hindy interested in field hockey. He began playing in Ventura County’s Field Hockey Federation in the seventh grade, when he was 12, and continued with the sport for several years. He played other sports while attending Westlake High, but field hockey’s lure was too strong to ignore.

He dropped out of college after attending UC Davis for a year so he could work out with the national team at its training center in Chula Vista.

Hindy plans to return to the training center after the California Cup to stay in shape in case he is needed for the Olympic team.

If Hindy isn’t called up, he can look forward to playing with the under-21 team in exhibitions next month against the Scottish junior team and the U.S. women’s team. Next fall, the under-21 squad will play in a Junior World Cup qualifier in Barbados.

“You never know what can happen,” he said. “I have to make sure I’m ready for the Olympics because that’s my job as an alternate.”

The other Olympic alternates are Brian Schledorn of Thousand Oaks, Jeff Horrocks of Newbury Park and Alex Stewart of Simi Valley. Schledorn, a midfielder, is playing with the under-21 team in the California Cup and teamed with Butcher to control the Americans’ attack Wednesday.

The tournament, which features 94 teams from six nations competing in 10 age and skill divisions, continues today and concludes Monday.

The favorites in the Super Men’s Division are the defending champion Millionaires, composed of players from the Canadian national team, and Breakfast Club, which includes members of the U.S. Olympic team.