'Hard work
pays- There is no substitute for hard work' - TS Mukund
For over 15years, T Subba Rao
Mukund (TS Mukund) coached, directed and mentored Test Cricketer Abhinav Mukund
while at the same time also donning the additional role of a parent. If ever there was a success case study on the role of parent-coach in a cricketer, TS Mukund would qualify for one.
In this chat, he talks about the
sacrifices that the cricketer couple (TS Mukund’s wife was also a cricketer)
had to make for their son through Abhinav’s formative years. Rolling out
several examples from his own coaching days (he rarely coaches these days- he
is almost a misfit at most of the camps for he cannot tolerate indiscipline
among his wards), he outlines simple cricketing tips that every youngster would
do well to follow and implement to achieve success.
Big
Time Sacrifices have to be made not just by the Cricketer but by the parents as
well
Abhinav was not yet out of school
when at the NCA (National Cricket Academy), he was found to have a little
additional fat. That evening at the NCA, he stopped eating his ‘Favourite
Appalam’ that had till then formed a part of his daily meal. It’s been five
years now since that event and Abhinav has not touched an Appalam again. But
guess what, if that was not enough of a sacrifice, his parents too have stopped
buying Appalam at home and have stopped eating appalam as well.
Given the Fat factor coming into
play for Abhinav, Mr. and Mrs. Mukund, as parents, have not had an ice cream for
years now (especially when Abhinav has been around).
Following a strict diet pattern
has to be an integral part of a
cricketers’s daily routine. Parents have to ask the coach (or the dietician at
the academy, if there is one!!) about the kind of diet for their children and
follow that religiously, says TS Mukund.
A
good night’s sleep
With Abhinav’s eyes set on making
a Test comeback, his next big opportunity is the upcoming A Tour in the West
Indies. As a lead up to this, Abhinav is currently reworking his daily sleep
schedule. He is making efforts to sleep only after 2am / 3am in the night and
wake up after 11am so he could get accustomed to the Carribean time zone. This
is a sample of what a ‘wannabe’ Test Cricketer has to go through.
‘A young cricketer not yet into
his teens has to sleep at 9pm and has to have solid sleep. Good Sleep is an essential
part of a cricketer’s life’ is a strong message from Mukund.
‘Watching IPL late into the night
when there is a practice at 6am the next morning has to be at the top of the
list of ‘Do Nots’ for a cricketer.’ More importantly, what this also means is
that parents too have to stop watching TV after a certain time in the evening
for the sake of their son. And that is a sacrifice they will have to make for
years on end if they are serious about giving their son an ideal cricketing
platform at home.
Some of these sacrifices may seem
very trivial, yet in the overall development of a player, each of these plays a
very important role as a youngster seeks a move from ‘start up’ cricket to
emerge as a top notch cricketer playing at the highest level.
Choosing
a Coaching Academy
The root of many of the problems
for a young cricketer lies in choosing the coaching academy where the
cricketing student spends the formative years of his cricket, learning and strengthening
the basics of the game. Number of wards inside a coaching camp, number of students
attached to one particular coach and the quality of coaches are important
indicators on the kind of attention your kid will get. A coach should be a good
communicator and should share his tips in a simple language without jargons (How
often have we heard coaches say ‘bracing too much’, ‘loading is not right’). He
should also be a good listener and have the patience to answer all the
questions of the young kids. Good knowledge of the game including the rules is
also an important factor.
Mukund believes 15students is the
maximum number a single coach should have for him to pay proper attention to
the kids.
Parents seem to be
clueless when it comes to choosing the right cricket academy for their children.
They have to understand the background of the academy. It is important for them
to have a chat with the Head Coach before taking a call.’ For some reason, they
don’t seem to be doing that, laments Mukund.
DO
NOT APPLY PRESSURE ON THE KIDS
The typical tendency of a parent
is to immediately apply pressure on the kid after having initiated him into an
academy expecting immediate results. Mukund
says, ‘Coaching is a process, it cannot produce results immediately. The parent
as well as the cricketer has to have the full confidence in the coach.’ There
are no short cuts to success.
While on this, Mukund comes up
with a brilliant one liner- ‘Pain is inevitable but suffering is optional’
You cannot achieve cricketing success
in one day, though you sure will achieve it one day if you show a long term commitment
and put in the long hours of hard work every day and follow the directions of
your coach.
Book
Reading
Book reading should form part of
a coaching academy says Mukund. “I used to read a lot of books for my students.
In fact, on rainy days, book reading was a typical session we used to have when
I used to coach Vidya Mandir students in the late 1990s.” Kids also should
watch cricketing videos that are relevant to them.
Mukund has a strong message for
the parents. “Stop going for matches of your kids. Let the kids enjoy the game
as a sport and they will be able to translate their learning into practice
without being under the glaring eye of their parents.”
8years ago, a boy then a under
13cricketer, was playing alongside me for a V Division league team.
He got out at 9.33am to the third
ball of that 50overs a side league match that Sunday morning at SRMC ground in Porur edging an
intended cut to the keeper.
Pat came the message from the
father in front of our shocked team. ‘You have wasted my entire Sunday. What
will you (and I) do here for the next 99overs?’ This kind of an event at a
cricket ground is not an aberration. In fact, this is symbolic of ‘parental
pressure’ that crushes the interests of the kids. Since then, this once
talented kid has gone into oblivion.
Mukund sums up this attitude
saying ‘Dejection will result in early retirement’.
Don’t
go anywhere near Selectors
Mukund says he finds parents
these days worried all the time about selection. Parents should focus on
providing the right environment for the kids that will be conducive for the
kids to perform at their best. Parents and the kid should not worry about
selection. ‘Parents should stay far away from the selectors.’
(In 2010, I was witness to a parent
talking one on one to a former Ranji Player turned U19 selector at St. Bedes
ground on the exact batting spot he expects for his son in the U19 match that
year)
Look
Inward –Don’t compare
Do not be jealous of other kids
and do no compare the performance of your son with that of others in the team.
This will be a de-motivating factor for your son. Mukund finds this another typical
mistake that parents and kids make these days. They are always looking outwards
when they should be focusing inward and ways to improving the self.
Mukund remembers a phone call
that he received several years ago that typifies this behaviour. Abhinav and
another cricketer of his same age were progressing on similar lines and being
equally successful in their school and age group cricket.
The call that Mukund got went
something like this: “The openers’ spot is sealed. My son will bat at no. 3.
Which number do you think Abhinav will bat at?”
Importance
of Nets
TS Mukund believes that cricketers,
especially those in the early teens don’t realise the importance of net
sessions. He says every kid should treat
every session as the most important net session of his life. Intensity of
Practice is important. Kids would do
well to have small targets for every net session that they should work towards
and improve upon. Be fully occupied during every coaching session- do not talk
unnecessarily. Follow and implement coach’s instructions and review
periodically with the coaches.
Mukund sums up with a message
that is applicable to all of us in every walk of life – “Remember hard work
pays- there is no substitute for hard work. Have patience- Work Hard and you
will achieve success”.
*****************************
Choose your academy with care
after background check and feedback from your friends/relatives/ other credible
cricket sources
Choose your coach with care-
Ensure that he will be available for you and that you will get his personal
attention over a long period of time
Prepare for every Net Session as
if it is the most important session of your life
Learn something every day from
the coach and from every net session
Come with a clear objective for
every net session
If you are not batting or bowling
at the nets, do some fielding, watch closely how others are bowling or batting
and talk to your coach about your improvement
Implement consciously what your
coach has suggested on technical skills improvement
Do not listen to multiple
coaches- Trust in your coach and follow his suggestions
Sleep by 930pm every night and
wake up by 5am every morning- Make this a routine
Vacations/ Family
Trips/Movies/Friends may have to be sacrificed for many years ( 10-15years) if
you want to achieve big success in cricket – Decide early if you are ready for
those kind of sacrifices
Follow a regular diet pattern-
ask for specifics on your diet from your coach/dietician
Understand from the coach /
dietician as to what you should eat/drink and what you should not eat/drink
and follow this without fail
Ask your coach to teach you finer
aspects of the game- running between the wickets, backing up as a runner,
walking in while fielding, catching position while fielding close to the wicket
like slips, short leg, silly point
Watch technical videos on
batting/bowling/fielding to improve your basics
Read Sir Donald Bradman’s book - ‘The
Art of Cricket’
Work hard on your technical
skills- 45mts -1hour of batting every day (for a batsman) 1-2hours of bowling
for a bowler
Take at least 50catches at least
twice or thrice a week- Also, work hard on ground fielding- Proactively ask
your coach on the specifics of your fielding training
Focus also on exercises, running
and physical fitness. Proactively ask and Understand from your coach on the
specifics of your daily/ weekly fitness training
*******************
Pit fall in Choosing an Academy
In
many cases, students have
been let down by the ‘brand’. For example, two of the lead brand owners
of the
cricket camp at Gandhi Nagar Club Ground are missing in action as they
are busy
discharging an assignment handed out by the TNCA. (read story :
http://prtraveller.blogspot.in/2012/04/cricket-coaching-camp-in-chennai.html)
A banner at the Vivekananda
College in Mylapore reads ‘Camp by Former Ranji, Duleep, Board President XI
cricketer’ accompanied by a not so relevant photograph of GR Vishwanath almost
giving an impression to parents that the future GRVs would come out of the
camp. Unfortunately, the former Ranji, Duleep, Board President’s XI cricketer
turned coach has been missing in action.
Not far away from the Vivekananda
College and in the heart of Mylapore, inside the Mylapore Club, is the VB
Cricket Academy, one that seems to continue to remain popular. For the last
couple of years, the fate of the students here has been the same as that of the
above mentioned summer camps.
VB Chandrasekar, the anchor and
the brand owner of the VB Cricket Academy, had been missing from coaching
action for a long time with assignments for NEO TV.
Even while away, VB kept in touch
with his coaching staff on a daily basis even giving instructions once over the
phone from Bangladesh (where he was part of the commentary team for the
Pakistan V Bangladesh Test Match last season) on the preparation of the pitch
but his absence meant that his wards missed the much needed and sought for ‘VB
Touch’.
The Good News for VB Academy kids
this summer is that he has not missed a single day of coaching and has promised
to pay his fullest attention to his wards. A sample of this was seen last
evening under the lights at the Mylapore Club as in his typical aggressive
style directed the show guiding one batsman on the sweep shot, a leg spinner on
the high arm action and a left hander on how to play the ball straight
Three hours with VB and you could
immediately feel a sense of discipline among the boys. A 1minute delay in
making his way to the nets and you heard the familiar voice of VB giving it a
big shout that had the boy sprinting his way into the nets for a batting
session.
3years ago, VB had mentioned in a
chat to me that what he brings to the kids is discipline, character building
and technical skills involved in learning the game. Each of that was visible
last evening)
The
bottomline is this: The Brand Owner has to be physically present at the camp to
make a difference for that is the ‘Selling Point’ of the academy.
PS: Following the mushrooming of cricket
academies in the city, Personal One on One coaching seems to be the next rage.
More on that shortly including on how some of them are progressing and what lies in store for the future…
13 comments:
Great one Prabhu, this should be in the front pages of our National Dailies...Also important for coaches to understand the need for discipline and also inculcate the important of education as part of growing up as a cricketer. Coaches should be proud of their wards even if they don't flourish at the top level....Parents on their part should also be more realistic on what their kids can achieve and not push them.
One more point I feel is the need for a scientific approach to coaching(probably the personal coaching brings in this aspect)
the kids than the standard 3 hour nets....this is a great article Prabhu and should be an eye opener for the Coaches and Parents. Thanks and Good Luck.
Good one !!
Although I found some points amusing, like the sleep conditioning for the A tour.
I have seen my friends / relatives traveling around the globe (may be they didn't go on cricket tours but on more serious stuff like business tours !!) never have I heard of anyone conditioning him weeks before.
They just land and take a max of 48 hours to get into the groove.
My 68 year old father (he was 68 then) apparently took all of 24 hours to adjust to Texas time zone, so I don't think a 24 year old would take more time adjusting.
These are things that the modern day coaches / mental conditioning coaches make up to make playing cricket look as close to working on a zippe centrifuge.
Truly Well Written, Prabhu
Thank You Sir/ Madam for your kind words.
Prabhu
Dear Sir,
Since this is one for the kids and the parents, I would say that just the fact that some one ( Abhinav in this case) is thinking on those lines should get the parents/kids thinking as well on how they ( the kids) should be preparing ahead of matches ( even local matches/practice matches).
On Abhinav himself, I think it is a good thought process, given that he is on a comeback trail and his aim may be to bat 90overs ( 6hours of batting) every time he gets a chance to bat.
So I would say wanting to bat 90overs in a 24hour different time zone may require a little bit of this kind of preparation.
Prabhu
Prabhu ...Best article I have ever read...Mr Mukund points are all very valuable and true...Parents should read this for sure...
Excellent work...Keep up the great work....
To the Article Author:
For your information,
It was made clear - explicitly - to the organisers, Gandhinagar Cricket Club, that,
1. Our commitment to the TNCA Academy overrides any other activity,
2. An annual summer coaching camp is a routine affair of the TNCA Academy and the dates and venue were awaited; I presume that the Club did inform the parents and wards about it. The E mail flier sent by the Club was clear and unambiguous about this aspect
3. All the coaches referred to in your blog have informed every person who approached them, on this aspect.
Your article based on incomplete information, is in poor taste.
( Moderated / Partly Edited Version of the comments received from the camp)
From Prabhu:
I have given within brackets the link to the original camp story( written in April-last month)
In the update (which was written prior to writing this piece) to that camp story, the Cavaet about the likely commitment to TNCA was mentioned.
Prabhu
Rajesh,
Thank You.
Prabhu
If the concerned person would have written an apology based on the what they have done I would considered then to be genuine in their efforts...disappointed not ready to let go their ego or accept their mistakes.......hope they take their jobs seriously and stand by what they say. Thanks Prabhu this article will make them think twice before repeating the same approach next year...
I am fully agree with what Mr.Prabhu told about sacrifices for good cricketer.
I too go for sleep at 09.30 P.M daily and wake up at 06.00 A.M, not for cricket practice but for a tea.
Rgds
Babu.S
Dear Mr. Babu,
Thank You for the comment.
Request you to please go for a 15-20minute morning walk since you wake up at 6am before you have your first tea.
You can inculcate this habit and discipline among your family members as well.
Prabhu
All the tough mental conditioning and timing the sleep to the Americas doesn't seem to have worked :-(
Not even to the extent of running once across the wicket and letting the scorer pen one straight stroke in two innings!!
Alas, next time I guess he should try get bags full of air from the countries to be toured and try breath it. That I think would be the ultimate conditioning exercise that would work wonders
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