UAE will feel the loss of a friend and guide

Dubai: The entire cricketing fraternity was mourning the untimely loss of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer in the Caribbean late on Sunday.

But the impact on young minds in the UAE was even more as Woolmer had been a great hit with parents and students, particularly from Chevrolet InSportz Club.

"This is a loss we can never come to terms with. Bob was a friend and guide all along and we will miss his trips to InSportz," Pradeep Menon, Managing Director of Chevrolet InSportz Club, told Gulf News.

"He was essentially a coach for juniors and these young cricketers were always very close to his heart."

Chevrolet InSportz had a long-term agreement with Woolmer to coach children in the UAE. Menon contacted Woolmer sometime in 2002 while he was in South Africa, and invited him to come over and train children at InSportz.

"I sent him an e-mail through a common friend and honestly, I thought he would never even respond. But there he was all so enthusiastic about taking up the task. That was the level of his commitment," Menon said.

Flexible nature

Yet another aspect that came across strongly was his flexibility. "When we asked him when he would prefer coming over, he told that 'it should be decided upon the availability of the kids'.

"He was a hit with them from the word go and even the parents had so much of respect for his simple and straight-forward nature," Menon said.

As a coach, his commitment and dedication to the game was unrivalled. "He was the only coach who came to InSportz and gave each child a technical report on their performances through the coaching period," Menon said.