The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Gregory King calls for uniform implementation of fitness training

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Feb 05, 2007
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Gregory King calls for uniform implementation of fitness training

Principal Correspondent

Bangalore: Indian cricket team trainer Gregory King expressed hope that the standardisation of qualified physios and trainers for fitness training will continue uniformly across the various State Cricket Associations.

King was speaking on the concluding day of the five-day `Level One' course for physios and trainers here at the National Cricket Academy. "The training methods have to be uniformly learnt and consistently adhered to across the various States. In Australia you have few States but out here with so many States, the demand for qualified staff is much more and it is a challenge," King said.

Creating a pool

"The idea is to have a pool of qualified physios/trainers so that the NCA can guide the State associations in hiring the right people. The aim of this course is to upgrade the knowledge and skill base of the physios and trainers to a common minimum level and to take it further from there. Level One may have been simple for some physios and trainers who have already gained the knowledge and expertise but there was also a fair bit of participants who probably found the course a bit tough. The resource team of Dr. K. Suratwala, Vaibhav Daga, Ramji Srinivasan, S. Basu and Vijay Rathore have put in a lot of hard work and credit for this course belongs to them.

"Physio John Gloster and I have given our inputs in terms of enhancing the course content besides giving a few lectures but it is the above mentioned staff who have done the hard yards," he said.

"Generally the physios had a fair bit of knowledge as they have done courses in universities and have been doing a fair bit of work. With them, it was only a matter of fine-tuning their skill-sets so that they meet the demands of a sportsperson. For instance an athlete has to recover fast from injuries unlike a civilian and the physio should be aware of that. As for the trainers, some more work has to be done," he said.

"Australia and South Africa have had support staff for ages but here in India, it has happened only in the last few years and the progress from that first step has been good. I do hope that the far-flung cricketing centres here also have qualified staff in the future. It is something for the BCCI and the State associations to work upon. We perhaps also need someone who will coordinate with the physios and trainers and ensure consistent implementation of training ideas and some standard procedures," he added.

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