Gary Kirsten feels 'Indian'
In his latest newsletter Kirsten talks about how it feels to be the coach of India.
An interesting read:
First of all, many thanks to so many of you for the words of encouragement and support I have received over the last few months. From the moment I accepted the job I have been inundated with good wishes, not to mention requests for interviews! Apologies if I have been unable to respond personally to all of you, but I'm still trying.
I was never in doubt about the enormity of the position as coach of Team India but if I had been unsure then I certainly would not be by now. I have only been in Bangalore for a few days but I'm settling in very quickly, as I knew I would. My wife, Deborah, hasn't been to India since the South African tour of 1997 and is amazed by the changes the country has undergone. Having two small children this time around will also ensure that it is a very different experience!
I am delighted to be able to confirm that Paddy Upton has agreed terms with the BCCI to join me as Mental and Fitness Coach to the national squad.
Paddy and I have a connection going all the way back to school days and, of course, he was part of the South African National Team as fitness trainer in the mid '90s while I was playing.
More recently we became business partners when we established Performance Zone 18 months ago, a business focusing on assisting people to improve both business and sports performance.
Our third partner in Performance Zone, master coach Dale Williams, will be looking after our business interests while we focus on Indian Cricket. There are some exciting new projects we are working on and we'll tell you more about them in our next newsletters.
The most obvious question I have been asked about the beginning of my two-year contract has been about the fact that we are playing against South Africa. Whilst I appreciate the fascination and irony about the scheduling, I must say that everybody else seems far more fascinated by that aspect of the contest than I do.
To be honest, having spent three highly enjoyable and productive weeks with the Indian team in Australia, and having maintained almost daily contact with Anil and Mahendra, I feel completely 'Indian' as we approach the series. I won't ever renounce my nationality, obviously, but I like to think of cricket as a completely professional game and I am a professional. But it goes beyond that. I feel passionate about the Indian team, and Indian cricket. The Indian team, given its numbers and resources, should be dominating world cricket. On the field as well as off it! I would love to be a part of that happening.
My time with Sachin, Rahul, Anil, Sourav, MS and VVS - as well as the incredibly talented youngsters in the squad, has been invigorating and inspiring. I can't wait for the real stuff to begin.
We will continue to use this newsletter to keep you up to date on what is happening within our world. With the South Africans coming out to India in the next few weeks, our first challenge is going to take them on with the best that we have.
Thank you once again for your generous support and please pass this newsletter along to anyone wanting to follow our progress in India and keep up with the latest thinking in the world of performance.
All the best
Gary
An interesting read:
First of all, many thanks to so many of you for the words of encouragement and support I have received over the last few months. From the moment I accepted the job I have been inundated with good wishes, not to mention requests for interviews! Apologies if I have been unable to respond personally to all of you, but I'm still trying.
I was never in doubt about the enormity of the position as coach of Team India but if I had been unsure then I certainly would not be by now. I have only been in Bangalore for a few days but I'm settling in very quickly, as I knew I would. My wife, Deborah, hasn't been to India since the South African tour of 1997 and is amazed by the changes the country has undergone. Having two small children this time around will also ensure that it is a very different experience!
I am delighted to be able to confirm that Paddy Upton has agreed terms with the BCCI to join me as Mental and Fitness Coach to the national squad.
Paddy and I have a connection going all the way back to school days and, of course, he was part of the South African National Team as fitness trainer in the mid '90s while I was playing.
More recently we became business partners when we established Performance Zone 18 months ago, a business focusing on assisting people to improve both business and sports performance.
Our third partner in Performance Zone, master coach Dale Williams, will be looking after our business interests while we focus on Indian Cricket. There are some exciting new projects we are working on and we'll tell you more about them in our next newsletters.
The most obvious question I have been asked about the beginning of my two-year contract has been about the fact that we are playing against South Africa. Whilst I appreciate the fascination and irony about the scheduling, I must say that everybody else seems far more fascinated by that aspect of the contest than I do.
To be honest, having spent three highly enjoyable and productive weeks with the Indian team in Australia, and having maintained almost daily contact with Anil and Mahendra, I feel completely 'Indian' as we approach the series. I won't ever renounce my nationality, obviously, but I like to think of cricket as a completely professional game and I am a professional. But it goes beyond that. I feel passionate about the Indian team, and Indian cricket. The Indian team, given its numbers and resources, should be dominating world cricket. On the field as well as off it! I would love to be a part of that happening.
My time with Sachin, Rahul, Anil, Sourav, MS and VVS - as well as the incredibly talented youngsters in the squad, has been invigorating and inspiring. I can't wait for the real stuff to begin.
We will continue to use this newsletter to keep you up to date on what is happening within our world. With the South Africans coming out to India in the next few weeks, our first challenge is going to take them on with the best that we have.
Thank you once again for your generous support and please pass this newsletter along to anyone wanting to follow our progress in India and keep up with the latest thinking in the world of performance.
All the best
Gary
Labels: Coach, Cricket, Gary Kirsten, Paddy Upton
posted by Raj at 11:28 am
2 Comments:
So we have two South-Africans, a coach and a psychiatrist helping our team against South-africa. Nice irony :)
I read one other blog where people where discussing if Paddy would use his experience with South Africans as an advantage in working with India in this series. He might or might not. I guess it depends on his view of professional ethics.
The South Africans are more worried about Upton than Kirsten. And Upton has promised them that he will keep complete confidentiality. He says it is a doctor-patient relationship with each of the players.
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