CHENNAI: Cricket is played at almost every available open space in the city and outskirts. Almost all the schools and colleges have let out their grounds for summer camps or have hired coaches themselves to organise camps. Usually, parents send their children to the academies for coaching to spend time usefully at the nets and have a routine. Hundreds of children attend per shift and hardly get four to five minutes to bat or bowl. So, a new trend has caught up this summer where parents are opting for personalised one-to-one coaching. “Today because of the popularity of the game many children flock to coaching in summer.
But because of the number of players in each batch, they may not get enough time to hone their skills,” said former Tamil Nadu Ranji player and selector R Venkatesh, who gives personalised and regular coaching. “While growing up, one should have fun playing the game.
Gully cricket is something that every great cricketer in the country has played and it has shaped the career of many too. Unfortunately, due to lack of open spaces and varied interests, gully cricket is not played by all the aspiring cricketers,” pointed out Venkatesh.
“There are huge advantages of personalised coaching. A player can spend quality time with the coach and over a period of time certainly improve his game as there is a regular track of what he does. Here depending upon the players’ skill sets one can get a particular type of bowler to bowl to,” said Venkatesh. “One-to-one coaching costs are high, but after a basic training period, players can be clubbed into 2-3 players’ sessions. This is costeffective,’’ added the former Railways player.
The other problem is, parents chase success and want their wards to be Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli or MS Dhoni. “It is important to first analyse the skill sets of the players and take an honest call as to what they are good at. Based on that a coach can tell whether he can be a batter or bowl spin/pace. But having said that, today, a player has to be two-dimensional to succeed.
He has to have a flair for both (bowling and batting) and work under the right coach (spin specialist). Plus, a player has to ensure that he gets to play a lot of tournaments to have match practice which is important,” pointed out Venkatesh.