CHENNAI: When former India all-rounder and coach Robin Singh set up his cricket academy in the United Arab Emirates, Stephen Vincent, a noted coach with a vast experience from Chennai, was among the coaching staff at the academy. He went on to become the chief coach under Robin. And now, Vincent is the head coach of the Dunes Cricket Academy who have three centres with turf wickets and Astro wickets with the main one being at the Karama Sports Bay Centre.
Indian coaches are sought after in Dubai as they have a fair understanding of the game and importantly in tune with Asian culture and food habits. “There is huge demand for coaching facilities for children at the grassroot level, the U-19 level and also the first-class level in Dubai. Parents believe that their children can enjoy the game and also be a professional as there are many more opportunities than in the past. So, cricket is much more popular here (Dubai) than in the past,” said Vincent.
Initially associated with St Patrick’s and St Michael schools in Chennai, Vincent later coached the MAC Spin Foundation. He first had his initiation at NIS, then completed Australia level 2 coaching and later completed level 2 in India. He also has a UK level 1 coaching certificate. His speciality is at spotting and grooming talent. He has the uncanny ability to fine tune the skills of talented cricketers.
Having worked and played for Indian Railways and in the TNCA I Division and Railway’s team in the league, Vincent has captained his school cricket team and has played age-group cricket for Tamil Nadu. “Having coached a couple of schools in Chennai and having motivated the then players to title wins, I have a good and fair idea as to how to spot talent. Plus my stint at the MAC Spin Foundation and Robin Singh’s academy gave me more exposure to hone the skill of emerging talent and also established players,” said Vincent.
Dunes Cricket Academy imparts coaching every evening on weekdays. On Saturdays and Sundays there are two sessions; one in the morning and one in the evening. “We coach both boys and girls in the age group from 6-19 years. We also coach senior players and have a men’s coaching programme at our facility.
There are three centres and we have flood lights and all the modern facilities for training,” said Vincent. “My coaching mantra is to keep it simple, work on technique to improve skill sets with emphasis on fielding and fitness,” he added.
Vincent has worked with the likes of Shahbaz Nadeem, Varun Chakravarthy, Martin Sanjeev, and Sunny Gupta in their formative years. One of the major pluses in his coaching methods is the exchange programme. At Bengaluru, every year his players go for a 20-day camp at Just Cricket to get a feel of the conditions and wickets.
Some of his wards go to former India player and noted coach B Arun’s Coaching Beyond cricket academy in Hyderabad and Chennai. “I send my players to Bengaluru for camps regularly. Some of them (are sent) to be with B Arun at his academy in Chennai and Hyderabad. Arun, a former India team bowling coach, is the best choice for young bowlers to train with,” he shared. Yug Sharma from the academy recently trained at Arun’s academy in Chennai, and Vincent model has yielded results. “Yug has been with us for a while and he is a very talented player. He got selected for the UAE Under-19 team on its tour of Bangladesh,” Vincent signed off.