Cricket coaches have to become creative: Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid needs no introduction. One of the finest batsmen that world cricket would ever see, the former India and RCB skipper was appointed as the Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in July 2019.
NCA located in M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru is the main cricket facility of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) established to train and develop budding cricketers who have the potential to represent the men in blue.
Rahul Dravid spoke to TOI on the challenges of training players during lockdown, programmes for the junior cricketers, and plans for the upcoming season.
"Our strength and conditioning experts (S&Cs) and physios are in constant touch with them (players, through online mediums), monitoring players' programmes and loads," Dravid told TOI. "Since some cricketers are recuperating from injuries, they require a different level of attention. Even with the training programmes, it isn't quite possible for all the guys to go for a run."
"Some have access to gyms but most don't, so the coaches have had to become creative and provide the athletes the best possible solution, keeping in mind that the players need to at least maintain current strength and conditioning levels, if not become better."
A new flexible approach to fitness was needed to monitor the progress of players, especially younger talents.
"The training is different for different individuals and is largely based on what is available and how we can use it best," said Dravid. "We have to be flexible in our approach. Metrics that we use in a normal situation include weights lifted, distance run, and exertion levels. These get uploaded on our Athlete Management System (AMS), which we use to track all the athletes."
"However, during this unique time, our S&Cs have had to be more flexible and the metrics range from "number of sessions" done for someone with basic home facilities to our usual metrics for someone who has access to in-house gyms," he added.
"All contracted players are being offered support online and being checked regularly to ensure they are safe and taking good care. This includes their injury management and injury-prevention programmes as well as the training programmes. There is regular communication between the NCA staff and all the players."
'It is best to wait and watch,' says Dravid who spoke about the planning for the coming seasons. But in this situation there is no assurance that on-field play will resume soon.
"It is best to wait and watch. There are much larger things at play and the future is uncertain," Dravid said. "All our camps for the summer, which is a busy time for NCA, have had to be put on hold. The monsoon which arrives in most parts of India from June will add to the challenges."
"We do have a few contingency plans in place. Safety is the priority for everyone right now. Once things become clearer, we will be able to react. I guess that's true of all sport in the world."
Dravid is happy with his well-structured staff at the NCA, who are working tirelessly to provide support to all the athletes who are a part of the academy. To improve their skills, expertise and knowledge, special programmes have been set up for the coaches too.
"To have a group of highly experienced and qualified coaches working together at the NCA, it just allows us to broaden our horizons and provide more support to all the athletes that we are involved with."
"We have had coaches who have been working with the under-19 cricketers and India 'A' and women's teams, also providing support to athletes that come to the NCA for short upskilling stints or even some minor corrections/adjustments during rehab," said Dravid, who was appointed in his new role in Indian cricket last year.
"We also have other coaches who work along with our 'head education' Sujith (Somasundar), to develop and deliver coaching courses across the country. We had also identified some experienced Level 3 coaches as faculty. The team will start these courses once the lockdown ends."
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