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" Dean Couzins - 200 caps for the Blacksticks "
posted on 08/03/2010" Dean Couzins - 200 caps for the Blacksticks "
Grays sponsored player Dean Couzins has been one of New Zealand's most dependable defenders over the years. He has been a " Mr Reliable " at the heart of the Kiwi defence and now approaches his 200th cap as his Blacksticks team compete here at his third World Cup here in Dehli.
Dean plays with a GX 7000 Standard blade profile in a longer length 37.5. " I combine all types of hitting when distributing from the back so prefer the Standard blade profile and prefer to use the longer length as it gives me more reach. "
Dean has come a long way in persuing his hockey career since he was encouraged to play by his older brother Scott at the Redcliffs club in Christchurch. A club with a pedigree for producing international players.
Dean's hockey journey has taken him to Europe where he has spent five years playing at the Kampong club in Holland. Now a mature thinker on the game Dean believes "My thinking has definitely changed as I have gained more experience. By playing at Kampong week in week out I have learned to adapt to different situations during the game. You also learn to recogniose different styles of play "
Dean explains "There is an expectation to perform as an overseas player in Holland and this has definitely helped me when I come into the major International tournaments. A number of New Zealanders have now played in and experienced the Dutch league. Kiwi players are slowly becoming more respected both in Holland and Europe - certainly more than was the case a few years ago "
The New Zealand team have negotiated some tight situations along the road to Dehli and have come through sucessfully.
Dean expanded his thoughts " We were behind 1-0 to Malaysia in the World Cup qualifier and came through and we were up against it against Pakistan and came through to win 4-2 at the recent Champions Challenge so we have learned a lot about ourselves as a team. This definitely helped us get through with calm assurance when we were behind in our first match against Canada "
