BHUBANESWAR: A coach must communicate to take pressure off players and build their confidence, said former world cup winning coach Dav Whatmore.
Speaking to sports broadcaster Sreeduth S Pillai at the Ekamra Sports Literature Festival at Kalinga Stadium here on Saturday, the former cricketer, who coached Sri Lanka during its world cup win in 1996, said, “It is the communication... How you (as a coach) manage and say to individuals that will make them feel at ease and take their pressure off makes the difference.”
Whatmore said a coach is active everywhere other than the game. Once the game starts it is up to the player. Commenting on India’s recent loss in the Cricket World Cup, he said it was all relative to the surface they were playing. “The team was so talented that it could have easily accounted for the Australian team, except for the difficulties of the pitch when you lose the toss” Whatmore said.
He said India was clearly the best team in the competition. “Even I had predicted that India will lift the world cup and have an early finish. But that didn’t happen,” he said.
The festival witnessed panel discussions on diverse topics. State agriculture secretary Arabinda Padhee in his address said, “Diversity is key to our health and wellbeing.” He said from his interaction with sportspersons, he came to know that food matters the most in their sports journey, to build resilience and strength in their bodies.
International athlete and 2016 Rio Olympics finalist Lalita Babar during a panel discussion with Harper Collins associate publisher Swati Chopra asked youth aspiring for a career in sports to refrain from any kind of doping and follow the diet of a sportsperson to achieve the goal.