Dubai: Cricketers in the UAE experienced the special throwdown from coach Gary Kirsten, who helped Sachin Tendulkar pile up centuries. Tendulkar considered him a bowling machine, while appreciating the thousands of balls thrown down to him to shape his shots.
Kirsten was here at the Emirates airline Sevens cricket ground for a two-day coaching clinic. Forty five budding cricketers got to experience the throw-down through one-on-one session with Kirsten at the nets. He threw down over 25 balls to each one of them giving tips on how to play their strokes.
“The two-day coaching clinic was a different experience for everyone. Kirsten showed why he is a genius and hailed as one of the world’s best coaches. It was not merely teaching the techniques of the game, but his sessions were a lesson on what makes a good cricketer on and off the field,” said Gopal Jasapara, the chief coach of the G Force Academy, that organised the two-day clinic.
Kirsten worked on the holistic development of the participants covering aspects of technique, mental toughness, pressure management, chasing targets and managing different conditions,” said Kobus Olivier, who has launched ProCoach that will fly in top coaches from around the world, like Kirsten, to train youngsters.
The South African, during his tenure as Indian team coach, guided India to the top of world ranking’s chart and also piloted them to World Cup triumph in 2011. His coaching clinic at the Sevens ground comprised practical as well as theory classes. Through lectures, he taught the students on the various aspects of batting, especially on how to build an innings and how to plan a knock. It was an eye-opener for many who had never thought about the preparations that should go in during an innings.
Kirsten spoke about understanding performance — the success and failure part of it — and understanding techniques — strengths and weaknesses. He talked about the importance of mental toughness and managing pressure and understanding the use of drills, which all participants have been asked to do regularly.
Kirsten’s one-on-one sessions were inspiring for the participants as he drilled into them the importance of confidence. He picked nine-year-old Arnav Kambli for special praise after watching his drives and marked him out as a rare talent. “Self-discipline, patience and hard work can help anyone achieve success,” said Kirsten, who through his knock of 275 against England, which lasted 14 hours and 30 minutes, had displayed the importance of all the above three qualities he mentioned.
Kirsten was backed by Coaches Russell Symcox, son of Pat Symcox, and Ryan Cook, son of Jimmy Cook. While Russell passed on Kirsten’s tips on improving bowling as well as fielding, Ryan focused on sharpening batting skills.
The most exciting part of Kirsten’s lecture was his tips to the youngsters on areas to focus while playing swing and spin, when chasing a target, and how to bat during death overs. He even created game scenarios and asked cricketers to perform.
“Cricket is more than just a sport, it also imparts values like leadership, teamwork, ethics and integrity,” said Kirsten, who has been a coach and mentor to some of greatest players in the history of the game.
Kirsten, who will return to Dubai again for another clinic, asked everyone keen on becoming a good batsman to play at least 400 deliveries a day. He asked bowlers to bowl at specific targets and keep trying variations.
“Keep your basics correct, bat straight and build your innings. Make sure to play it ball by ball,” he told the batsmen. For bowlers, he said: “Stick to the basics. Focus on line and length and practice hard and most importantly enjoy the process.”
