A Candid Casual Conversation with our coaches

Days of consumerism at its very best. We are in an era where the consumer is the King of Kings and therefore is spoilt for choice. Internet has bought the world right to the doorstep of the consumer and thus has enabled the customer to pick from an array of merchandise be it in the from of physical products or services. A customer walks into a retail store, he not only looks at the product but checks if they are backed by authenticated standards of quality.  Example in India ISI is a benchmark for quality for all kinds of consumer Durables.

The Customer is asking more questions before settling down to a buy whether it is a product or service. It has therefore become very pertinent that when it boils down to coaching we offer to our wards world class facilities, infrastructure and training. Coaching has changed by leaps and bounds over the last few years. We at Gennext have always felt the need to keep ourselves abreast with the latest coaching practices and standards being followed the world over.

Several of our coaches have attended coaching clinics conducted by ICC in countries like Dubai and Australia. In this blog of ours we will share the views of our coaches who flew in to Dubai to attend a certification course conducted by ICC.

TBK decided to prod on further and have a small tete-a-tete with Kaushik .

TBK: Kaushik, This was a first time experience for you in Dubai. How was the experience?

Kaushik: Being the first time, I really did not know what to expect out of the programme, but they set the expectations right in the initial stages itself. They said that for me it was a Level 1 programme, since its the entry level, I would need to pick up the coaching methods for young cricketers who are 5-6 years old.

TBK: What was the one big point of differentiation that you picked up from Dubai:

Kaushik: It made a huge amount of difference, the way I used to approach coaching before and the way I am going to approach it now will be drastically different. They use a lot of unique and innovative methods in coaching which I am looking forward to implement over here. They assigned a coach to our group and treated us as learners of the game. I liked that approach a lot.

TBK: Thanks Kaushik for your inputs, moving on to Coach Aravind, Can you please throw light on the Coaching practices being followed in Australia?

Coach Aravind: A World of difference TBK. Just to give you a small example, In Australia they train a batsman to bat with both the hands, right and left.

TBK: Do you impart here to your wards what you have picked up in Australia?

Coach Aravind: Coaching has now gone global. With the improvement in technology and the availability of internet there are no gaps in what we treat as coaching here in India and what is being doled out as coaching in other parts of the world, I focus more on Physical Fitness and Diet. There is no big difference other than the fact that they have a proper planning of how to organise the nets, how the use of technology aids players, these are some of the unique practices you can say are being followed internationally. I focus more and more on quality rather than quantity which is something that I picked up during my stint in Australia.

Quickly Moving on to Coach Rama:

TBK: Coach Rama, How was your experience in Dubai?

Coach Rama: I had a wonderful time in Dubai. The most important thing that I picked up and was stressed upon there was that we need to make the children to love and enjoy the game cricket, rest all will follow. This shall remain my focus area going forward.

TBK: You handle the junior most group in the academy. What is the difference that you notice in yourselves after attending the camp in Dubai?

Coach Rama: As I said earlier the kids have to love and enjoy the game. Earlier I would come, decide on the drills and implement it. Now I go a step further. I come to the academy, plan out the various drills for the day, and at the end of the drill, I incentivise the children, with a small token of appreciation like a chocolate or a candy bar. This will make a big difference in the way the children approach the game.

TBK: The soft spoken Santosh is up next. He may look very soft by appearance but when it comes to cracking the whip, there is none better who can do it, Typical Butter in one hand and a Cane in the other style, not quite literally. :) Santosh, you have complete Level 1 now, Could it have come earlier?

Coach Sanch: I entered the game as a cricketer, not as a coach. As a player you think differently, primarily about your game and the cause of the team. As a coach you need to think in another manner. you are not wearing the players cap any more but that of a coach. When i started off as a coach I thought I will bring in my skills and experience as a player. But when it comes to coaching it does not really work like that. You have to think about a set of individuals and not just a single player. As Aravind pointed coaching is now global, no longer localised. Since I have had playing experience Level 1 came off much easier to me, Now whether it was a bit late or early, it best for the individual to judge.

TBK: The one thing that I have noticed about your coaching style is that you almost don the role of a school teacher the moment the session starts, Every Coach has his own style. Is this your style of coaching?

Coach Sanch: You are right . Every coach has his own style. I feel that a young player needs to be corrected the moment he makes a mistake. It comes off instinctively to me, almost a second nature. But there has been a drastic change in my coaching style post to attending the ICC Coaches Clinic in Dubai. Earlier the communication was one way primarily from my side, but now I ask the boys a lot of questions, depending on their skill sets and style. They come back to me with answers. Thats one big change I see in myself after attending the Clinic in Dubai.

TBK: Do you follow someone as a Role Model Coach?

Coach Sanch: I Do not have anyone as a Role Model Coach. But someone who I always look up to as a coach is Guru Kedarnath. His style of coaching is based on a simple two way communication. You go to him with any problem, he will give you a set of question within which you will come up with a solution. I would say that the day I start to follow that style on a regular basis, I can stake claim to being a good coach.

TBK:The next coach up front is someone exemplary, someone who fits the role of a coach to the Tee. Someone who Ashwin himself goes up to seek advice or to correct flaws in his technique, Coach Srinivasan. He is a coaching manual all by himself. I was dying to know what upgrades were made to the software of Coach Srinivasan post visiting Dubai.

Coach Srinivasan: When you meet the right person in life, it gives you to improve your own standard of living. Similarly when you go to ICC, it is the right place not only for me but for any aspiring coach. It is the best place to learn and become better, definitely for me as well, it was the right place to improve myself. I have done this level before in different academies, but since this comes from a world class body like the ICC, I have definitely picked up different flavours from the coaching perspective.

TBK: What are the plans going forward? I am sure you have picked up something in Dubai that you would want to implement out here in the academy in Chennai.

Coach Srinivasan: In India they have a sort of Guru-Sishya culture where the Guru teaches and the student picks up the teachings and adds it on to his skill base. There it is different. The International coaches interact a lot with the student. In the western world more emphasis is placed on going together,growing together. That is something that I already know but will lay more emphasis on going forward. There are unorthodox playing techniques as well, like that of a Malinga or a Ajantha Mendis. What they say is to work along with the players in their own styles and make them to feel comfortable. Thus interaction with the players becomes so very important.

TBK: Coach Subash is up next. He comes up with a very cheerful countenance, ever smiling and very helpful. He is always supportive and gives a patient hearing to each player.He encourages the players to make notes at the end of each and every session, to see where they are and where and how each player can improve. Tell me Subash, How was the Dubai Experience?

Coach Subash: First at the very outset I wish to thank Gen Next Cricket Academy for having given me this opportunity to attend this unique Coaches Cricket Clinic in Dubai. Coaches as you would know play a great role in a teams success or failure. You will be aware how Gary Kirsten propelled the teams fortunes in the 2011 World Cup or for that matter even John Wright. There were a lot of key takeaways from my trip to Dubai. There they laid a lot of emphasis of player interaction with the coaches. In the Junior level coaching due importance was given to how to make Cricket a fun game for the kids and allowing them to fall in love with the game. This is something that we follow here at the academy. The coaches in Dubai told us about the importance of planning each session. Another Point that I wish to add is that the coach is always in a position to give very valuable inputs, something that a player may not realize. For me, when I have any doubts as a player I approach Ashwin. For example I was always under the impression that to detect the arm bal, you have to notice and recognize it at the point of release. Ashwin made me to understand that the give away for a arm ball is the bowlers run up, a step prior to release of the ball. These are the kind of inputs that a coach can give.

For us at Gennext Cricket Academy it always about giving more to our wards, and ever being seen as giving the best in terms of value for money. In the words of our Founder Mr. Ravichandran "Allow the kids to have fun, give them maximum exposure, Let them play in the centre pitch for there is nothing like a real match situation." This blog is not about a Marketing pitch that we are making, its about telling the world the kind of international coaching standards that we follow and how we keep upgrading ourselves,year on year, season by season. We would like to conclude this blog with a quote from Team India Under 19 Coach Rahul Dravid "I think we judge talent wrong. What do we see as talent? I think I have made the same mistake myself. We judge talent by people's ability to strike a cricket ball. The sweetness, the timing. That's the only thing we see as talent. Things like determination, courage, discipline, temperament, these are also talent."

Its Us Vs Us

An ideal morning for a lovely game of Cricket. There is nip in the air, clouds are a little low lying and there is this gentle air that is blowing across the ground. Typical Picnic morning English conditions when you may want to snooze around in lush green environs watching a lovely game of cricket. So when the COO of our institute asked TBK to come over and cover an interesting match as a reporter I was game for it. Now This was indeed a very unique match being played between Gennext Cricket Institute and Tamil Nadu Sports Journalists Association. 

One was that I was a tad bit nervous as I was covering a match between journalists and Cricketers. It was a match between Men who wield the Pen and the Keyboard and the Men who wield the bat and the ball. Why then the title "Its Us Vs Us" Well I am of the opinion that here was a motley group of sports journalists who day in and day out cover the matches of the cricketers, cornering their glory milestones, being their biggest critique, splashing newspaper headlines with their glorious achievements and making heros out of mere mortals. So in a sense there is no real match out here but the coming together of individuals, the coming together of expressions just for the cause of fun and celebration. Indeed Us Vs Us.

My daily morning begins with the newspaper and so when I came across a set of names to go along with my blog I was in a sense very excited because I was being given an opportunity to write about the gentlemen from the fourth estate. I have always made it a point to begin reading the newspaper from the sports page, like the Urdu script, that being my fascination for sports. So when names like TN Raghu,Santhosh kumar, N Srinivasa,Venkatnarayan,S Sudarsan,Dipak Ragav,EK Sanjay, Srikanth,Ashok Venugopal,Vivek Krishnan,S Bagawati Prasad pop up in front of your eyes in Bold, you are in a zone where you get to write about a group of gentlemen who write day in and day out for you.

Coming to the match itself. I never intended to do a ball by ball ball coverage, neither an elaborate article of who win or who lost. TNSJA came together, Thanks to Balaji Sir, Sudarshan and Baggs whose idea it was to play this match. We grow up in life ,become adults and make a mark in a chosen professional field, yet the child in us refuses to die down. Exactly what happened on the Cricket Field today. The esteemed gentlemen from the press wielded their bats with a lot of clout and willowful power. A Few sixes and fours rained across the field. With all that breeze around its never easy to clear the ground that too with a tennis ball, but TNSJA were clearly here to have some fun and display that they as adept at wielding the bat as they power their pen . We were pleasantly left surprised at their fielding prowess. A few stunning catches and we had to dig in to playing some amount of serious cricket. The Game of Cricket had emerged victorious.

Our most respected Ravichandran uncle was there in person to give away the prizes to all the winners. We wish to thank Manna Foods India for those lovely gift hampers, Specsmakers for their goodies and Dollars & Pounds for their Gift Vouchers. It was indeed a wonderful gesture on the part of the sponsors. The event in totality was a feel good factor, end of the day it is these wonderful gentlemen who represent us in print and the joining together of hands bodes very well for the cricketers and the journalists. On the whole a very pleasant and happy outing and I am sure that this is just the first such event of many more to come.

Happy Birthday Ashwin

Each time I step on the hallowed grounds of Gennext Cricket Institute, I know that I am in a different zone. I know for certain that I am in for a visual treat for the body mind and soul. I can pick on each person who works over here and everyone will have a positive story to relate to. I call it hallowed grounds because here is where raw talent is molded into an all round human being. Today also happens to be the day when our mentor Ravichandran Ashwin was born. We all got together to present to him on his day a collective bouquet of memories and conversations with people who mean a lot to him, who have spent quality time with him and have been a part of his life outside of his own immediate family. Rightly said that he is extremely focused on his goals and a person who strives for perfection. A Few others say that Ashwin is someone who is not averse to experimenting. Some said that he is full of pranks and a very loving person to be around with.  For me as TBK I have found him to be very simple and most easily approachable. To be reborn as a new avtaar, that of TBK, the credit goes to you my friend. As I was crossing the Pondy Bazaar Signal, a gentleman on a two wheeler accosted me and said "TallBoyKarthik Sir I keep reading your blogs on Ashwin." Thanks to you a new passion is born and a new personality carved out.  Happy Birthday Ashwin from all of us at Gennext Cricket Institute. Have fun reading this blog and have a wonderful day.

Ravichandran Uncle-Founder Gennext Cricket Institute

I recall that there was nothing called a birthday celebration in my own childhood. However all that changed the moment my wife came into my life. Ashwin was born and my wife would deck up the entire house with all kinds of baloons and festoons. Little Ashwin would get up in the morning and wear his new clothes and go to school with a packet of chocolates to be distributed among his school friends. Later on in the evening Ashwins friends would come home and we would have a party at home with soft drinks and chips. Ashwin would enjoy the evening with friends, playing some games and they would all have fun. I am thankful to the Almighty for having blessed me with a son like Ashwin. I am also thankful to the Lady Gynaecologist- Dr Saraswathi Ramachandran in whose hands I saw Ashwin for the first time, the day he was born. I am not in touch with her but wish to meet her some day to thank her wholeheartedly. Happy Birthday Ashwin-Lots of Love and Blessings from Appa and Amma.

Sudarshan-COO Gennext Cricket Institute

It's a privilege for us at Gen-Next to have Ash as our mentor. I love his sense of humor & the fact that he has no airs about him. The Knowledge transfer from Ash to our Gen-Next coaches have done them a world of good & has helped us in running a successful academy. Happy birthday, Ash! Wishing you a fabulous year, I know you will ace the challenges that lie ahead. Keep inspiring Gen-Next as you always have. #Ash31

Srinivasan-Head Coach at Gennext Cricket Institute

I have always felt that Ashwin is extremely open minded towards feedback. I would say that he is an ideal student of the game of cricket. Whenever he has sought my counsel I have offered the same to him . The best part of his character is that he implements suggestions given to him almost immediately. He is never satisfied till these inputs are put into practiced and implemented to perfection. Once he wanted me to work on his sixer hitting abilities specific to the swing of the bat and the bat flow. So I helped him perfect the art. Soon after this in a One Day International match against New Zealand at home, India needed one run to win and then Ashwin came into bat. He could have easily taken a single and finished the match but Ashwin chose to finish the match with a huge sixer. He was keen to try the shot that he had just picked up. Post the match he messaged me with a child like exuberance on how happy he was at hitting that six. Such is his eagerness to learn new things and experiment. I wish Ashwin a Very Happy Birthday and many more successes and laurels in the years to come.

Aravind-Coach at Gennext Cricket Institute

I enjoy your company buddy and Wish to continue this partnership for many more Years to come. Happy Birthday Ash.

Santosh-Coach at Gennext Cricket Institute

We were playing a school game against the Salwan Boys high school Delhi at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore. We got 171 in 50 overs and they were 101/1 in about 27 or 28 overs.We needed to take wickets to win the game since it was a low total. Ashwin came on to bowl and he literally gave away only 1 to 2 runs every over. At the other end, we were alternating with myself and Kedar bowling. Whenever he gave away less than 3 runs in his over, he would come running to us and tell us that the since there were less runs scored in the previous over, we can try for a wicket in the next over and in the process even if we gave away 5 or 6 runs it was alright.He used to bowl tight overs in one end and let us take wickets from the other end.Eventually we went on to win that game by 2 runs. But his thought process at such a young age was so different from the others and his ability to think in pressure situations is what makes him an unique individual.
Wish him a very happy birthday and may he reach greater heights.

Subash Chandran-Coach at Gennext Cricket Institute

Ash's personal qualities are something which are very remarkable & that’s the reason he stands out as a cult cricketer. He treats his family and close friends as his highest priority & never allows others opinion invade his strong beliefs & goals. He is extremely analytical & knows his strength & weakness clearly. We have seen cricketers doing typical conventional styles but many were afraid to take risks & try new things. He has huge guts to experiment and innovate. For that you need to work hard and prove yourself. While many criticized his experimentation, when he succeeds the world appreciates his qualities and style for instance his carom ball, leg breaks etc. Each a masterpiece of his own making . I will call him as cricket Einstein or Steve Jobs of cricket. His basket always has plenty of ideas to be picked & all captains including Kohli have acknowledged the same till date. I remember in one of the practice matches long time back, he started bowling like Sunil Narain & he bowled one ball in his action in an international match. Another one is his high sense of humour. He is huge prankster & loves having fun. He will not spare anyone close to him including lovely dogs as well.

Kedar-Coach at Gennext Cricket Institute 

It was an under 16 state game versus Hyderabad at ACA-VDCA stadium.Back then R.Ashwin was an opening batsman who also bowled off spin, incidentally he scored a double hundred this game and went on to play for India under-16 later that year.They were 90 for 7 at one stage and one of their 7 down batsman Baljeet Singh i think that was his name,went on to score a hundred for them.The 8th wicket partnership was a big one for Hyderabad and they batted for a lot of overs.To break the partnership we tried all different things but unfortunately nothing worked. Ashwin bowled few overs - over the wickets CUTTING DIAGONAL like how a left arm spinner bowls around the wicket cutting diagonal.At that point of time we sort of laughed it off but looking back at it now that sort of thinking is unheard of 15 years ago.I think thats what differentiated Ashwin from the rest – his ability to see things differently and come up with different solutions for a problem.It was not just trying different solutions, it was the confidence with which he went about it made the difference.  Happy Birthday Ash...                      

Anand Narasimhan-Coach at Gennext Cricket Institute

First time I saw Ash when he was sitting on the road side shop and having soup (I guess it was 2011 or 12 if i am correct, sitting on the median and having that soup) That's the first sign of Ash to me!! And till now he hasn't changed a bit. The way he comes to ground whenever he has time and talking to the players and giving them advice, is something that is unique to him.The good thing about him is that he makes sure that, the particular person understands what is required from him,explained in such a way that he stands to deliver!! Thats the beauty about him!! Wish him all the success in future not only in cricket in life as well with family and his friends 

Shekar-Operations Manager at Gennext Cricket Institute

Year 2010 at Sathyam Cinemas. Occasion: CSK merchandise unveiling. Ashwin, one of the three chief guests for the event, kindly obliged a 24-year old boy with an autograph. 7 years later, after a gazillion laurels and distinctions, Ashwin has helped the autograph-seeking boy in making a career out of cricket. The boy in question is ME. Ash, I am indebted to you for what you have done to me in this short period of time. Wish you a rocking birthday. May you remain an ageless warrior continuing to inspire people to enjoy whatever they do. Wish you an amazing year full of laurels.

Kumar-Facilities Manager at Gennext Cricket Institute

Ashwin anna means a lot to me in my life. He keeps encouraging me both on and off the field. He insists that I should be proficient as far as my English and Computer skills are concerned. He constantly wants me to up my skills and better myself as an individual. Anna is a very simple person and loving at heart. Once his personal driver had to leave the ground on some urgent work. So Anna asked me drop him home on my two wheeler. I quickly went to a shop bought a hankerchief. He covered his face, with the hankerchief,wore a cap and I drove him back home on my bike. I can never forget this incident. Happy Birthday Ashwin Anna.

Rama-Coach at Gennext Cricket Institute

Happy birthday Ashwin anna. Street Cricket it was the first time we met and guess there was no looking back from there on.. Ice Boys, Rain Cricket and much more fun that we had together... May God shower his blessings on you and I wish you have a wonderful year ahead... 

Kaushik- Coaching Intern at Gennext Cricket Institute

I have been a  fan of Ashwin from 2011 when I started following him.. but never thought that 7 years later would be working under his guidance. The first time I met him he said "don't work for success, but do justice to the role assigned and other things will follow ". It seriously inspired me!! During the initial days I used to call him Ashwin sir at times but as days passed he had me into a comfort level and nowadays its more like speaking to my brother. I have seen him from close for days and learnt a lot from him including his hunger to perform and succeed. I admire the way he sweats it out during the training sessions to get himself up for the upcoming tours. Every time he comes to the ground in session times, he never misses an opportunity to spend some time with the boys, giving them sound advice what they need as a upcoming cricketer!  I have finally found a place myself to  express my passion and under the guidance of Ashwin. Wish you many more happy happy returns Ash Anna !! God bless you for a brilliant successful cricket career !! My Advances wishes for the Cricket record of fastest to 300 Test Wickets !!

Guha Kartikeyan-Coaching Intern at Gennext Cricket Institute

                                                                      

















Happy Birthday Ashwin Anna. Every cricket fanatic's dream would be meet an international cricketer and my craziness and love towards the game has not only made me to meet you but also provided me an opportunity to be a Gen-Nexter... You got to know me through my works, especially the "200th different batsman" one... One thing I like in you is the way you constantly update yourself-courtesy the ever-improving analysis methods. Incidents that I fondly remember are when you made Vijay Mallya pay back for his laugh during the 2011 IPL auctions by picking up his big fish Gayle in the 4th ball of the final. During the spells when you get a good rhythm going, one of my friends with whom I spend watching most of India's matches compares the rhythm of yours to a drummer mesermarizing his audience with the sticks. I pray to the Lord Almighty to bless you with good health and fitness to achieve more for the nation through your illustrious career. Now, How do I sign off??... My special way... with a stat... You have taken 494 international wickets... 6 away from 500... only 29 players have achieved the milestone of 500 international. wickets in their career... Hope you round off to become the 30th soon and provide me more stat-aches...

Srinivasan Venkatachalam-Coaching Intern at Gennext Cricket Institute

It is a dream for every cricket fan to take a picture with a international cricketer. glad that I can share my thoughts some with India's legendary Spinner, each time he visits the institute.. It was my first day of Summer camp at Gen Next as a student. I was really excited and was bowling in the nets Sudarshan the COO of Gennext Cricket Institute asked me "Hi Srini, How is the Program" I replied "Super Anna I am enjoying it." Then came the moment perhaps I had always dreamt about. Ash was running around the ground and after he finished his drills he came across to the nets where I was bowling . He just had a look at one ball that I bowled. He immediately asked me "Are u a Dale Steyn fan??" I was shell shocked that after watching just one ball he knew that my bowling action resembled that of Dale Steyn. After that he called me as Dale for several times. It was nice to hear an international player call me by name with tag it along with my idol's name. I am just 4 months old at Gennext Cricket Institute. I am a coaching intern for the junior boys. Thanks to that legend for giving me space in his wonderful institute to work with some wonderful human beings.Wishing Ashwin Anna a Very Happy Birthday. Hope he spins out many more batsman in the future and creates more history in the cricketing arena...

Uvashree-Coaching Intern at Gennext Cricket Institute

Wishing you a very happy and joyful birthday Ashwin anna. It's a privilege to work in your academy and I consider this as a golden opportunity to kick start my career. May God shower his bountiful blessings on you (with success and peace to you and your family). May this year bring you many more 5-fers and Centuries...

Gennext Cricket-Fresh Perspectives for a New Season

Rome was never built in a day. It took years of spirited effort, process, team work, patience, dedication and above sacrifice to build the great city. We at Gennext Cricket Institute truly believe that we have a system in place to churn out outstanding human beings, role model citizens. When tiny tots walk into our park at the beginning of each season, it is our charter to the parent that we will transform the child into a champion. Now here by Champion we implore the reader not to mistake it to be a Champion in the game of cricket. We assess skills, train, mentor, identify areas of improvement and then provide for necessary feedback to the parents. This is exactly what makes us stand out as an institute that specializes in excellence not just Cricket.

It was a bright sunny morning at the institute when TBK ventured forth with his two sons, enrolled them for a new season. You must be getting to whats cooking. With TBK around a blog must be round the corner. So he goes around for a customary walk round the park, camera in hand, he has been granted that extra special privilege of walking around, talking to coaches, bowling a few balls, attempting a few knocks and loading a few customary bytes of information. There have been quite a few times when the author has had inspirational sessions with the Mentor-In-Chief Ashwin and the Chief's Chief Ravichandran Uncle as he is popularly referred to in local circles . Each of these sessions have been nothing short of inspirational. But more of that in another blog. Today TBK catches up with Sudarshan in a candid conversation about this season, lets now hear on:( By the way Sudarshan and TBK have forged a great partnership something on the lines of Vikram-Vedha. TBK asks the question, Sudarshan gets it right each time. Spoof TBK vanishes with the blog in hand) Well taking off from the last scene in the movie, guns pointing at each other they decide to spar with each other over a blog. Yenna Sudarshan Sir, Oru Kadai Sollava?(What Sudarshan Sir, Shall I tell you a story?

TBK(Aka Vedha): Hello Sudarshan(Aka Vikram), Can you elaborate more on the kind of packages being run this season. It would be highly beneficial for parents who wish to enrol their children for cricket coaching at Gennext Cricket Institute.

Sudarshan(Aka Vikram): Apart from the weekend coaching programs called Straight Drive that is being run for all age groups, we have specialized programs for Sub Juniors, Juniors and Seniors.

For the kids at the Sub Junior level- ages between 6-9 we have a program called Evolve, which runs on four week days in the morning. As the name suggests here we look at evolving the childs basics skills and the development of the game. Here we do not jump start the child into a red cherry or the cricket ball immediately but with passage of time as and when we feel that the child is ready to graduate to the next level.

Vision 20-20 is the next program in our basket. Here the age group that we are looking at is any child aged between 9-12. More than the age of the child here we also assess the child, depending on their current skill sets and their abilities we induct the child into this particular program.

High Performance: This is the last of our products but highly specialized in terms of training. The program runs on all five days of the week from Monday through Friday. Lot of inputs are being focussed into this program, Individual fitness levels are linked into, and reports are generated for each and every ward at the end of each month.

TBK (Aka Vedha): You have answered well Sudarshan(Aka Vikram), but there are more challenges ahead for you Viki boy. Can you please talk about any innovative ideas being implemented at Gen-next.

Sudarshan(Aka Vikram): We have started a new concept called open wicket sessions where the players are encouraged to play in the open without the nets. In the nets the shot may look beautiful in execution but you can never really gauge the power of the shot and the reach, but in a open wicket session the player gets to know his actual power hitting capabilities. Also the batsman gets to know the gaps in the field, whether he pierces the gaps in the field or clears them convincingly. Second  keeping in tune with Modern Day Cricket we have power hitting training sessions to cater to the increasingly popular T20 format. Lots more on the plate, we will keep rolling them out in the near future.

TBK: Impressive Suds boy.  Seeing the rise in popularity of the game in India specific to women, What are the plans to encourage more girls to take up the game of Cricket?

Sudarshan: At Gennext we have always believed that the game should be open to all irrespective of being a boy or a girl. In fact in the past we have had quite a few girls who have trained at our academy. One of our coaches is in fact a lady-Yuvashree who has represented Tamil Nadu in Cricket. Yes there are plans to get into specialized training for the girls as well much like our other programs. You will shortly hear from us in this regard.

TBK: The mentor of Gennext Ravichandran Ashwin has a packed schedule over the next few years. Does he have any thoughts on the path ahead for Gennext Cricket Institute:

Sudarshan: Never mind the next two years, its been always hectic for Ash ever since the inception days of Gennext. He is very much involved in the day to day running of the institute, constantly giving us his valuable inputs. Whenever he is in the city, he keeps visiting the institute and mentoring the kids. Not only that he interacts with all the coaches around, ensuring that they are abreast with the latest coaching methodologies and the equipments to be used. Ashwin has always been there with us when we need him and will be there with us in the future as well.We have expansion plans to be implemented including a few franchisee ideas that we are toying around with.

TBK: Brett Lee has stated in the media that India needs a pacer who can clock a 150mph delivery.  Any exciting pace bowling prospects in Gennext Cricket Institute

Sudarshan: Gennext High Performance Centre has quite a few promising quicks in the offing. We have Kaushik who builds up quite a pace. We are currently working on his bowling action so that he generates more pace. Then there is the 15 year old lad, promising fast bowler Prasanna who plays 4th division league in the city. We are hoping that Prasanna will be an exciting prospect in the next few years to come.

Well the lively conversation did come to an end. Vikram and Vedha decided to build truce, for the sake of a sequel, time being they walked over to the neighbor-hood shop for a generous helping of Elaneer water(Coconut Water). Entire state of Tamil Nadu seems to be reeling over an overdose of copious amount of Oviya tears(Wish we could do with Real Water not Reel Water. We pray for it to rain in Chennai) while Big Boss is away in Sri Lanka, on national duty making the Sri Lanka Batsman dance to his tune of spin music.






  

WHEN CRICKET BRINGS FOOD TO THE TABLE

One fine morning in April, after the Summer Slam coaching sessions had gotten underway, in walked into our ground a journalist from a leading national daily. What followed were interactions with our head coach Mr. Srinivasan and our COO, Mr. Sudarshan. Today, about three months later, the insights from the interactions have gone into a book titled Cricket Soru Poduma? authored by Bagawati Prasad, senior correspondent at The Times of India in Chennai. The book was launched on the evening of July 19 in Mylapore by a host of eminent cricket personalities.

Before we dwell into the specifics of the book launch event and the book itself, let us analyse, for a moment, the larger context of the game of cricket. Have you ever wondered what is it that makes a cricket match or a tournament successful? What goes behind the scenes to make the match a roaring success? Behind every cricket match is a whole gamut of activities executed by a team of people working in clockwork precision to deliver a world class experience at every level, be it a school level tournament organized by the state cricket association in a city ground or an Ashes Test match in a high-profile Melbourne Cricket Ground. The book profiles 22 such people who have been involved both directly and indirectly to deliver world class cricket experience at all levels.

The book officially launched
Photo courtesy : Srinivasan Venkatachalam

Back to the book launch event, it was graced by Mr. Dav Whatmore, present coach of the Kerala state team and former international coach, Mr. L. Sivaramakrishnan (popularly known as LS), commentator and former Indian cricketer, Mr. V.V Kumar, former India cricketer and Mr. Kasi Viswanathan, former secretary, Tamilnadu Cricket Association. Speaking first, Mr. Whatmore expressed his regret at not being able to read Tamil but he promised he would be the first to hit the stores if an English translated version comes out. Among others, LS narrated anecdotes about how video analysis helped India beat Australia in Australia in 2003-04, Mr. Kumar spoke on harnessing talent in the right manner and Mr. Viswanathan described the constant support the state association was rendering to the game. Finally the author, Mr. Prasad himself, described his experience of penning the book by drawing from his work experience of having interacted with a multitude of people from the world of cricket. Later our head coach was called up on stage, along with Mr. Ramki (cricket data analyst) to hand over a memento to LS.

From left : Mr. Ramki, Mr. Sivaramakrishnan and Mr. Srinivasan
Photo credit : Mahesh Ramesh

We in Gen-Next have every reason to cheer the book since it profiles our COO and our head coach in exclusive chapters. The former’s chapter profiles his journey from a software professional to cricket academy manager, about the power of using social media to promote oneself. The chapter on Srinivasan sir describes his journey from his early days in suburban Tambaram where he coached young kids until he moved on to take up full-time coaching responsibilities with GenNext. To make things sweeter, there is a chapter on Mr. V. Balaji, manager of our chief mentor Ashwin. But topping it all, the icing on the cake, is the book’s foreword, penned by none other than our chief mentor himself.

Photo courtesy : Bagawati Prasad

The event concluded with a photo-op of the personalities, profiled in the book, with the chief guests and the author. 

Standing : Mr. Srinivasan (third from right) and Mr. Sudarshan (partly hidden)
Photo courtesy : Srinivasan Venkatachalam

The title of the book translates into ‘Will cricket feed you?’ This is a common question asked by a majority of Indian parents when their sons aspire to become professional cricketers. The answer to this is a resounding YES ! Read the book to learn about more interesting personalities like video analyst, scorer, umpire, cobbler (yes, you read that right), throw-down specialist and lots more. Available in Amazon here. Happy Reading !

Happy BirthDay Ravichandran Uncle

Its been quite awhile since I tapped on my favourite keyboard, but thanks to Facebook, I was blessed with an opportunity to do what I like best, blogging. A match does beckon me to the screen. Today happens to be the final ODI-India Vs West Indies, however that does not distract me as much as the job at hand.

As I was glancing through the social media pages, I became aware that today happens to be Ravichandran Uncle's birthday. So my smart  device took over my senses as I quickly typed out a customary birthday wish on WhatsApp. Happy Birthday Sir. However I was not satisfied. I wanted to hear his voice today. There were two reasons for wanting to talk him, one to wish sir, the other was to get a few sound bytes from him to pen this blog.

So a call it was and the conversation went like this:

TallboyKarthik: Happy Birthday Sir....How are you doing?

Ravichandran Uncle: Thank you so much, where have you gone missing? (In that voice I could make out his genuine love for me and I am grateful for that loving concern, which is the case with anyone who knows him well, the same kind of loving regards for everyone)

TallBoyKarthik: Sir, work has kept me away from the ground and my sons school, daily routine, life has been quite hectic

Ravichandran Uncle: All that is fine but why are the kids not coming for practice?

TallBoyKarthik: Sir they go to school as early as 6 in the morning and I will have to find a way to get them to practice. I will be soon talking to Sudarshan about it.

Ravichandran Uncle: Oh Don't worry, we will figure out a way to coach them, just send them, and leave the rest to me to figure it out. By the way, How will they come?

TallBoyKarthik: Sir, They have cycles and since they are old enough, I guess I will ask them to cycle down .

Ravichandran Uncle: No don't do that, fix an auto, make a note of the auto drivers number and send them over. We will take care of everything and don't forget to inform Kumar about the auto. Kumar will also ensure that the kids are taken care of.

I was touched and most importantly was left wondering if such kind of love and affection happens anywhere else, I was for sure left short of words for the genuine concern he has for all the kids around. This is the same treatment meted out to each and every child at Gennext Cricket Institute.

So the conversation went on.

TallBoyKarthik: What is special for today Sir? Are you planning to go out somewhere.

Ravichandran Uncle: No Karthik, Today is just another day spent with my family and most importantly grandchildren. Today my granddaughter came running to me from her room singing the birthday song. I was so happy. I blessed her and gave her some money to buy whatever she wants.

TallBoyKarthik: Sir how would you spend your birthday when you were younger?

Ravichandran Uncle: It was just another day when I was young as well. I always go to a temple on this day. I just make up my mind on which temple to visit and then proceed. There was no concept of new clothes or anything like that. As the years rolled by things have changed. My wife would decorate the entire house on my birthday. Ashwin would give me some gift. Even Today morning Ashwin called me up from West Indies to wish me. Then in the evening, these kids always gather together, get a cake and then we have a small celebration. In their happiness lies my own happiness.

TallBoyKarthik: Then it must be a hectic day for you today?

Ravichandran Uncle: Yes it is. I love to see everyone happy. I called up Sudarshan today and asked him to take all the staff out for lunch at Saravana Bhavan. I have told you earlier as well. I take care of all my staff both at the institute and at my house. I don't like anyone going hungry. I personally ensure that everyone is well fed. That is how I spend my birthday. Till my parents were alive, I would fall at their feet and take their blessings.

TallBoyKarthik: As usual I loved having this conversation with you. Thank you sir and Wishing you a Very Happy Birthday once again.

Ravichandran Uncle: Thank You Karthik. Thanks for calling

Each time I have a conversation with Uncle I feel extremely light and then I am left with a valuable lesson of life: How much ever you grow in life, never ever forget your roots, never ever give up on being Humble. This is exactly what Ravichandran Uncle stands for.