Importance of professional coaching and guidance from grassroots level

MCA U-14 & U-16 Inter-school tournament (Picture Courtesy- MCA)

There is no denying that Cricket is a religion in India. Probably because of its stature in the society, the sport has reached inexplicable heights. It is by far the most glamorous sporting choice of this country.

Plenty of Indian children aspire to become the next Tendulkar or the next Dravid and so on, but the lack of support and opportunities force their hands. This is where the importance of professional training and grooming from grassroots level comes into light.

Generally, in any of the sports including cricket, if a child is made to start early, the result will be conducive in most of the cases. However, Indian sports infrastructure is not at the level of countries like the United States, China, Australia, South Africa and so forth.

And this difference in infrastructure has created a huge gap between us and our international counterparts, in terms of sports. This fact should clearly explain the value of a start at younger age, which is not as commonly practised as it should be in our country.

There are a lot of talented players around the world, who fail to catch the limelight because their talents were not refined at a young age. The reason being, either there was no training facility available near them or they did not have a suitable financial condition to go there.

Contrary to common belief, cricket is one sport which has a reach to the grassroots level in India. There are a number of organisations and schools which provide a better level of training facilities for youngsters all over the country, without creating much of a financial fuss for the player and his/her family.

Professional coaching centres mould the player from a young age and strengthen their base. Once the basics of a player are tightened, he or she can build on from it and become even more efficient.

Cricket in a country like India needs patience and perseverance. If a player starts from a young age and takes coaching at a professional institute, then sooner or later he/she will excel.

Institutes or organisations which provide coaching facilities to youngsters are in abundance in India. Cricket Academies of almost every state provides coaching and training facilities from the grassroots level.

For instance, Mumbai Cricket Association starts professional coaching for players from the Under-12 age group. With the induction of T20 into cricket, BCCI started conducting All-India U-13 T20 tournament along with the club level U-14 tournaments.

Prior to the U-12 age group, schools play a big part in encouraging young talents. The inter-school tournaments are a vital cog in noticing a youngster’s talent and promoting it as well, and there are quite a few schools in India who encourage sports impartially.

Notably, some organisations and companies have also come forward and taken the initiative to promote the young talents and help them prosper. Wonder Cement’s initiative “SAATH7 CRICKET MAHOTSAV” is one such step in this direction, the inauguration for which is planned for 3rd November 2015.

First ever cricket World Cup winning captain for India, Kapil Dev will be the chief guest for the launch of the event. The sole aim of the enterprise is to bolster nascent cricketing talents in the country.