Gurcharan Singh: Great master with adaptability
Posted on May 08, 2008 at 13:41 | Updated May 14, 2008 at 23:29
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Asked to reveal the secret formula of making great players, Gurcharan stresses on letting a budding cricket rely on his natural talent.
"I only rely and focus on the natural talent and work accordingly. I don't believe in changing the natural flair. Too much coaching may destroy a talent. So, it is important to let a player take his own course. If I see coaches trying to do too many things with a youngster, I stop them,'' says Gurcharan, who has coached at Air Force Bal Bharati School, Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, St. Columba's School and Khalsa College, apart from training a number of students in the National Stadium which was part of the NIS and then the SAI.
He maintains: "More than stressing on the techniques, the job of a coach is to ensure that a player is regular, punctual, and keen to learn. Then comes the 'age of attractions (16, 17 or 18 years), and that is the time where a coach has to play an important role. He needs to make sure that a youngster keeps his focus. And if during that stage, he is taken proper care of, he is made."
Even at this age, Gurcharan is open to new ideas and is ready to adapt to the needs of modern-day cricket. Being a wonderful analyst with a great cricketing brain, he believes in moving with time and making his students do everything that is required in today’s world.
Talking about the importance of fitness in modern day cricket, he says, "It has all boiled down to fitness only in today's cricket. The talent can never come up unless a player is fit.”
The coach himself takes a 4 km walk everyday and gives special emphasis on his own fitness apart from his wards, after finishing the coaching sessions.
"We have arranged special fitness classes in the coaching centre where we seek the services of renowned physiotherapists, trainers for every student. We have with us a couple who have represented India in athletics and are specialized in physiotherapy. All the cricket teams playing in Delhi – whether it is the Ranji team, or the Under-19 or Under-22, seek their help and I think we are lucky to have them with us," says the former Railways Ranji player who turned out under the legendary Lala Amarnath when the team had seven other Test players on the ranks.
Coaching for more than three decades, Gurcharan has literally turned stones into gems but if he is asked to name a few prominent talents from his current bunch of students, who he thinks are capable of making it big in international cricket, he becomes a little apprehensive.
"These days it is very difficult to say because you never know if a student, who is there with you for five years, would be there with you forever or not. Earlier, a boy who would come in standard VII would stay with you till he is 70, but now the things have changed. There are many cricket clubs that have cropped up, who offer the students handsome amounts and they just go away. Some of them also have financial constraints, so, I also don't stop them," explains the coach.
The times have certainly changed and in this money-luring age, the coach sounds worried for the future of these young boys.
"Parents are short on patience. The impatience shown by the parents is damaging the training of these students. You require time to make a full-fledged player," emphasises Gurcharan.
But his commitment towards the game is unchanged and he can be an inspiration to many, who in today's world have forgotten the essence of this gentleman's game.
This man’s motto hasn't changed and he maintains, "Worship this game which has given you everything in life and it is likely to give you more and more. Be patient and honest!"
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