The role of captain and coach
The relationship between captain and coach is very important, not only for the individuals but also for the team and they both have important roles to paly. A captain is the centre of attraction behind a team’s success or downfall, while the coach is always behind the scenes. The captain is the one calling the shots on the field, while the real orders mostly comes from the coach.
COACH’S DUTIES:
When a person takes over the duties of a coach, his job is not only to win games but also to develop the team and indiviuals. To be a successful coach, one must be passionate about the game/team and must be able to promote and coach it to others. Tradition and values of cricket should also be taught to the players alongside batting and bowling. When dealing with young players, they should be taught that winning is not everything, excepting losing proudly is also a part of the game which will always make you a better person and a player. I think the coach should arrange more practice matches compare to formal net sessions because when a player is in a net session he have no pressure compared to batting or bowling in game and that will make one stronger.
When a player is out of form, its very easy and common for him to go in to depression. At this point a good and successful coach have to make sure that he does not. It is easy to come back in form but close to impossible to come out of depression without destroying your career. A coach’s job is not to change the way a certain player plays, but to help him improve and grow within his abilities.
A coach should be a good communicator as well as a counsellor. As a communicator he should be clear with the message he’s sending to his players. A proper game plan should be made for the team and for individuals. He should express his observations to an individual along with his proposed solution to the problem. At times the coach should put the players in charge and ask them to identify their own weakness as this will also help them improve. As a counsellor a coach should also know how to deal with player’s emotions (when they are down or excited).
A coach should be trained in basic first aid and CPR as cricket can be a dangerous game. He should take reasonable steps to avoid sports injuries by preparing suitable warm up and warm down sessions keeping in mind that these guys are athletes not marines.
Knowledge of the game is very important. You don’t need to be a great player to be a great coach. For example John Buchanan have not played more than 7 first class games but one thing he have is knowledge of the game and proper means to share it with players.
You can walk into any farm or a clinic or a subway station and pick any man/women and ask them to give you catches or make you run for 6 hours or make you do 100 situps. I am sure that they will do that as successfully as our current canadian coach does. So my question is whats the point of having one then? I can ask my team mate to hit me catches.
Captain’s role
A captain is like a big brother of the team. It’s his responsibility to make sure seniors are treated with respect and juniors with love. When a rookie walks in the squad a captain should walk up to him and make him feel comfortable. During a crucial stage of the game, talking to senior players can be helpful and at times a rookie can also deliver match winning suggestions. While setting a field, captain should not only put fielders in certain positions according to a batsmen but he should also have faith in his bowlers. A lot of times leaving a spot vaccant on the field is more productive than covering one as you force the batsmen to bat according to your bowlers strength. The captain should be a part of selection as he’s the one marching his men on to the field. He’s the one answering to media and more importantly to the public. He should lead by example when it comes to net, fitness or off field sessions. Just like a coach a great player is not always a great captain and a great captain is not always a great player. A captain should arrange off field team gatherings. He should get to know the players inside out as it will tell him about their character which can help him deal with them better.
Great players like Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar and Wasim Akram have never been successful captains. M.S Dhoni came from nowhere and now is one of the most successful captain in the world. When I went to India to play cricket last year, I was speaking to one of my old school teammates from U 16 days who now is playing for India ODI team. He told me that Dhoni, when it comes to team bonding (especially off the field) is best in business. That makes everyone around him very comfortable, relaxed and they perform better.
My suggestion to young captains and our current national captain will be that MAKE EVERY ONE COMFORTABLE JUST LIKE AT HOME. TREAT THEM LIKE YOU’LL TREAT YOUR FAMILY BECAUSE WHEN YOU TREAT THEN WITH RESPECT THEY WILL DO THE SAME AND WORK EVEN HARDER FOR YOU.
Guys stick together. Back each other, when a player makes a 50 or get 5 wickets, celebrate with him. When player is down help him get back on his feet. EVEN THO I’M NOT WITH YOU GUYS OUT THERE BUT MY WELL WISHES AND PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU GUYS AND I KNOW YOU’LL BEAT ALL THE ODDS AND MAKE US ALL PROUD.
Off-season training
A top cricketer practices his favourite run scoring shot (his trade mark shot), in nets and especially in off season until he had mastered it and is sure he can execute it perfectly in matches. Many shots such as scoops, reverse sweeps, slice over slips on short balls look effortless and spontaneous, but it can only come out of a lot of practice. Athletes in any sport put a lot of effort in preparation for their challenge. I was told once by a top Indian cricketer during my season in Delhi that “Failing to preparing is like preparing to fail.”
A lot of top test cricketers play badminton, golf, baseball, snooker, soccer and many other sports during off season. Some of them go hiking, camping, surfing, swimming etc. Shouldn’t they be resting or hit the nets to improve their techniques? I don’t think so. Off season routine should involve physical activity, but preferably something other than cricket. I am pretty sure that if any one plays cricket or any sport beyond a certain limit, they will be pushed away from the game. They won’t feel like batting or bowling in nets or anywhere. Apart from the body, the mind also get tired and needs a complete rest. After a few days of rest, players should get involved in any kind of physical activity other then cricket to keep the body in motion while resting the muscles involved in cricket.
After a few days of fun filled physical activities, players should add gym workouts to the schedule as they have to be regular in gyms. A cricketers workout is more about being cricket fit then putting on big muscles. A player should concentrate more on the body parts that have troubled him in previous season and make them stronger for next one as it might reduce the chance of injury. Yoga during off season could help strengthen the mind.
The focus should switch back on the skill aspect just few weeks before a tour. This is the time top cricketers call “pre-season”. Now, the team analyst should lay out the weak links of every player. Looking at the videos of your top performance compared to out of form games will help finding those weak links. During a particular season, a lot of players pick up bad habits which they don’t even realise and looking at videos will help them spot it. Once the weak link are out in front a good coach should find solutions for them. Talking to senior players will also help as they have been around fora long time and have probably gone through the same problems.
While preparing one should also keep in mind on what’s coming their way. For example who the opponents are? Who their top performers are? Where are we playing next?
For example, If you are going to face good fast bowlers on a bouncy track then practicing short balls will be a good idea; if you are facing quality spinners it’s good to come down the track a bit to play the ball before it turns or sweep it to perfection.
Such kind of preparation can only be done during the off season. When the season starts you have to prepare on a day-to-day basis.
What I went through as a part of CC was totally opposite because according to our current coaching staff you should be running up and down the hill, or be a part of countless beep tests, or million sit ups or hit the nets every day. What is the point doing the same thing every day? There is no fun involved for players but at same time players are only told one thing, forget your runs and wickets, if you fail the beep test you will not be selected. My question is that how will beep test make you chase 300 runs? This does nothing to improve a player as we all can see the stats. My suggestion to players will be that they need to step up and demand proper training sessions because end of the day when you guys lose all the time the public will come after you not the coach or any top CC officials.
Guys you are the ones representing all of us sitting here. You guys are living the dream of thousands of cricketers. Please do it proudly and be united. There might be a time (sooner or later) when someone will treat you like I was treated and then you’ll realize your mistakes, but if you can avoid that time then why not?