Call in the experts and lets learn from losing

If the leaders in the major sports of cricket (in the region as a whole) and football in Trinidad and Tobago, wish to correct the deficiencies of their players in matches played over the past two years in their respective sports, then there may well be a number of essential lessons in revisiting the preliminary functions of each sport.

Matches may have passed, but how exactly do the administrators of these popular sports intend to address the path to improvement, not only of the current national players, but more so, the age group national programmes for the ‘potentials’?

The process of sitting by and hoping that the chosen coaches will deal with the present performance levels in the way that they have done in the past, will not solve the problems, but will only endorse the mistakes of the past.

Having seen some fine examples which were implemented by coaching experts in analysing major international tournaments, the best policy starts with seeking true experts in the sports to attend matches for the specific duties of analysing each area of the game. These experts will create a dossier for each player and identify his/her ability to deal with every aspect of the game.

This information, including the areas which need correction, should be handed over to the players and their coaches afterwards, to be looked at individually as well with the group at official meetings.

The next step will be to take the field amidst practice sessions in order to insist that the coaches address the errors and help the players make the necessary adjustments.

The same principle will apply at every match played by these youngsters for approximately one year. The repetition of these procedures will certainly identify any improvement and, by extension, lead to better results.

It is no different to the school teacher listening to the students, recognising their mistakes, then instructing them carefully and consistently.