Aravinda’s alert against parented cricket in schools today
View(s):On one side all the media masquerading was going on with the Indian Premier League and its filtering tentacles that set the chairs of some people who were involved in the Sri Lanka Premier League on ‘alert mode’. In another corner, a section of Sri Lanka Cricket also took time to have an inner look at their other surface activities.
They sat their being concerned about the lack of talent that is coming in from its main base — school cricket. Then when they dug deep into the matter they found out the two main contributory factors, especially in the bigger institutions, which had been their main feeder point for almost a century.
These schools, especially from Colombo, Kandy and Galle, have had the right facilities and the right outlook towards the game and thus the game of cricket has become a tradition. As a result these schools have provided more than 60% of the national larder as long as the game has been a social factor of this country.
But with the pressures of the global village concept and the island’s changing job market, a major portion of the kids have taken the right turn at the T junction and only a few have continued along the left path and also concentrated on extra-curricular activities. The kids who take the right turn join the rat-race where school, tuition and books get a few letters added to their name and a steady job for the rest of their lives.
The lads who take the left turn still pursue their inherent abilities in sport and other allied activities, but, our topic stops at inter-school cricket – the subject that we are concerned about.
However in cricket the standards have gone down and the concerned administrators delved into the matter to see what’s cooking. The stark reality hit them like a slap on the face. In most of the traditional schools, they found it was the parents and the Old Boys who play the game and not the schoolboy itself. In this scenario the kid is only a pawn that is being used by the elders and it has hampered the quality of products that are coming through the system into the national grid.
With this in mind, the Sunday Musings took precious time off the Lankan batting legend Aravinda de Silva who imparted his views on the matter.
Aravinda, after giving careful thought to the matter, began, “Firstly, we must remember that the child needs support from his parents and elders. However there is a huge difference between encouraging your child in his activities and interfering in the day-to-day activities of a school or a club on selection matters and coaching matters. I think this is detrimental to any child and the child’s growth.”
De Silva said when he was young his father was very supportive and whenever he was involved in either tennis or cricket he would be there but always left him alone to indulge in it to the best of his abilities. Even when they were going for a match he not only would take him but many members of his school team, but his involvement ended at that point. He then added, “The best thing that I learned through him was that you must not influence your peers about your child when it came to coaching or selecting. That made a real difference in me. Always I had to work very hard and prove myself to represent the school, the club or any other grade of the sport.”
Then Aravinda came up with another small anecdote. He said that when he was about 14 his cricket coach Mr. Walter Perera had asked his father that if he was against him being played in a first eleven match and the father had replied it was all up to the school in selection matters and the school should do what is right for the institution.
Then once when Aravinda was dropped from the Under 19 team for a tour he was very upset, but when he went home and told his father he had replied that things would iron out on their own, adding. “You only have to work harder.”
“These little things did a world of good to me. I was never under pressure. I always had the freedom to go out there into the middle and play the game to my abilities while enjoying what I was doing. That is why I think I always played my natural game there in the middle at whatever level it was.”
“Even when I was playing tennis as a child I remember when some of the kids make a mistake their parents used to shout at them, but my father used to wait on a side and if I happened to lose the game at the end of it he would say, never mind we’ll go and do something else and take my mind off that frame. I think that is the thing that you do have to follow even at the top level. If things are not going right, you must indulge in something else that would take your mind off that frame.”
Then he said that the guidance of his father was supportive and did a world of good to him. “Now I see a big difference in how the parents are involved in most of the kid’s activities. I know it has become that much more competitive than before and it is understandable when they see how a person makes a life out of sports (especially in cricket). The parents are attracted; they want to give their kid that opportunity. They always feel that their kid has the potential.
“Yet, at the end of the day I think that every parent must understand that the kids must be left to do their own thing and mature on their own and learn through mistakes. This will not happen if they try to interfere too much. For example if a parent is pushing and influencing others to give their kid the opportunity there is the chance that another kid who really deserves that place is being left out.
“In the process what is going to happen is there is going to be resistance towards the kid who comes through influence from other players, other parents and everyone. Then as a result that kid will find it hard to handle the pressure at that young age and that can really destroy that kid who comes through the backdoor. I think competition among kids happens all the time and it may happen even among siblings. Yet, as a parent you must let them enjoy what they are doing.”
De Silva then said that one of the main things that a parent should do is to inculcate discipline in their children. That is something that should begin at home; they should teach them time management, how to divide their time between studies and sports. He said once they inculcate those few lines, the kid must be allowed to progress on their own.
Finally he added, “In this scenario there is lot to be done by the officials too. The principals, the prefects of games, the master-in-charge of cricket and the coach, I think they are the ones who should set the first example. If they fail to adhere to an above the line regime, I think it is obviously going to affect the kids. If things do happen in this manner I know the sport is going to suffer. The talented person will always feel threatened and disheartened. This means the disheartened person may give up the game. If talented cricketers are not going to get the opportunity it is going to affect the sport. The end result will be the country would stand to lose a cricketer who could serve them well in our future endeavours.”
PS: Wish this prescription could be passed on to each and every parent who keeps pushing their sibling to become a sore thumb in society.
(Our readers thoughts on this matter are welcome)
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