By Marlon Munroe
Just a week after their appointments were made public, Cricket Development Officer (CDO) Reon King and his deputy High Performance Analyst (HPA) Robin Singh of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) have set their programme in train.
First they hired Police Sports Club (PSC) athletics coach Lyndon Wilson on a part time basis as the fitness and endurance coach.
This, according to the pair, has reaped dividends for the encamped 21-man national squad currently preparing for the regional first class tournament from January 8-March 1 of the new year.
After yesterday’s session at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH), Wilson said the players’ fitness had improved compared to the first week of their encampment.
Wilson declared that he was “shocked at their fitness level,” which he said was below par for a national side.
Yesterday he said that while some players were still lagging in the training, they were making a conscious effort to reach the levels of the more seasoned campaigners especially after he told them in their first training session that they had to do additional work when there were no structured training sessions.
Wilson dealt with the strengthening of the gluteus maximus, abdominal, shoulder and leg, and back muscles at yesterday’s session- all critical areas for a strong cricketer to deal with the rigours of first cricket especially when they have to travel between territories for the tournament.
“The players understand their roles and I am seeing tremendous improvement since they (players) have a long tournament coming up with only four days separating each game and the fact that they have to travel. We have been sticking to the principles of staying fit”, Wilson explained.
Wilson rationalised that his input will also help the cricketers with their rhythm and coordination. Additionally, with Singh, dealing with the video analyses, the squad will be well prepared for their upcoming assignment.
Singh said that he has video footage of all the players save for pacer Andre Stoll.
When Stabroek News enquired about nutrition in light of the extensive training the squad will be undergoing, Wilson said he made recommendations for the players to eat a lot of fibre and carbohydrates. He said he also warned them against the consumption of soft drinks. On the other hand, when he was asked whether a fitness coach should accompany the team he said that it was his belief that coaches should mostly focus on working on the flaws of the players and working on strategies to employ in the game. While he stopped short of recommending himself for the position, he said that the fitness aspect was a specialist area especially with the programme the Cricket Development Committee (CDC) has implemented for the squad.