Cricket India Academy – Coach Program with Cricket Australia

One way to keep the game going and to produce good talented players is to put in systematic efforts in those young kids and children who hope to make it big one day.

It is rightly observed that a good coach can make all that happen. In a cricket crazy country like ours, we do come across young children making their way to the coaching camps and  their parents who dream their twinkle of the eye would be a star some day. Many a times one finds the parents presence during the coaching camps to observe their children progress and constantly interact with the coaches about their progress. There is no shortage of coaches and good coaches in India, as many who have played till a decent level want to give it back to the game and its a great gesture on behalf of them to give it back to the game.

Learning the game rightly (in terms of technique and according to coaching manual) is one of the key elements of learning in India even at a very young age. No wonder we have produced good world class players and continue to produce till date. But while this is true it is equally important for the kids to enjoy and develop skills not necessary technically but based on activities and assignments so that they also learn the art of executing various  aspects of the game. For this important aspect of coaching a five day Cricket education program was conducted by Program Manager of Cricket Education Program, Mr. Micheal Procajlo from Cricket Australia in Mumbai recently for about 12 coaches of Cricket India academy .

Speaking to Michael who said the coaching methods differ in both the countries for small kids who are beginners and learners. At that age and with the kids mind set, it is important to make them do activities in order to learn different aspects of the game. Technique is not all that important at a very young age which can be developed at a later stage but whether one can execute small tasks given to them. The 5 day camp covered Batting, Bowling, Wicket keeping and game sense. Other important aspects like physical preparation, communication and skill accusation were also covered. One of the key aspects is retention of kids and is the job of the coaches to make coaching enjoyable. In Australia coaching is about simplicity while in India its about technique. Also stressing on the fact that its the coaches who are the most important part at the top while the children follow him through his coaching. Coaches to keep learning, be inspired and feel confident is what he stressed upon.

Speaking to few of Cricket India coaches Mr. Aparup Chakraborty (Kolkata), Mr. Kuldeep singh (Rajasthan), Mr. Anees Jamal (Mumbai)  and Mr. Veeraraghavan (Tamil nadu) who all were of the unanimous opinion that these new aspects from Mr. Michael’s coaching will help them a lot and will implement with immediate effect in their respective camps. Don’t teach these young children but let them learn by themselves and by doing so you will get natural talented cricketers.is what they feel. Let the kid come to you and tell he is not able to perform a particular task and then you change his technique ( if need be).

Michael Procajlo, Cricket Australia’s Program Manager from New South Wales said “I am impressed with the knowledge and passion of the coaches and look forward to them implementing a quality cricket program in their local centres.”

Certainly this world is changing so is coaching in Cricket. While the coaches of Cricket India academy have benefited so will ther kids in their academy.  While new aspects of coaching will add spice to it, this new learning curve will benefit one and all here in Cricket India academy.

Abhishek Shekhawat, GM – Game Development, Sports Education Development India Ltd & Cricket Australia Level 1 Coach said “The Coach Induction Program is a corner stone of the Cricket Education Program as it brings together Indian coaches with their knowledge and experience and combines it with the latest coach methodology and teaching techniques.

At the end of this 5 day course, all the coaches will head back to their respective centres in Kolkota, Mumbai and Tamil Nadu and  impart the new learning to their students to excel in this ever competitive sport of cricket.