Younger players need to toughen up

WEDNESDAY, SEPT 5: Our youth cricket players need to toughen up. I have seen players come off the field when they are hit with the ball and mentally they are done. It doesn’t matter if the ball didn’t hit them that hard, their minds have already taken them out of the game.

We can’t expect to produce a winning team at the national level when players give up at the first sign of adversity in league play.

And, even though Warwick has a lot of young talent, I’m talking about this as a Bermuda cricket problem.

They have to learn to play through injuries. I’ve seen players come off because they have a little blister on their finger. They don’t play through  it — instead they head for the club to get it looked at.

As you play the game of cricket, there are going to be some bumps and bruises along the way. Some of them are legitimate — everyone saw how tough the conditions were at Cup Match, and no one wanted to leave the game.

Pain barrier

The younger players need to learn to play out of their comfort zone. Much of that has to deal with their mental aspect.

They have to learn to play through the pain barrier. They have to learn to have guts and stay the course.

Sports is tough, they have to learn to be tougher. Many senior players play through their bumps and bruises.

Part of the reason some of the players are so soft is that’s what they have been taught in life. Something becomes a bit tough, give up.

They go and do something else instead of trying to work through whatever adversity they are facing.

Instead of facing that adversity head on, they walk away from it.

Behaviour

They have parents who either baby them or condone their behaviour. That’s the wrong lesson we are teaching our youth.

They have to learn to deal with the hard knocks of life — not everything is going to go their way.

Teaching them to toughen up, will help them battle through these tough times so it’s not just about cricket, but teaching them how to deal with life.

One way we can assist through cricket is making training hard. Make sure it’s not a bunch of soft drills. If they are diving around trying to catch balls and it’s hurting their hands, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

We as coaches have to help pull them through it.

I grew up playing with a lot of tough guys. If I got hit, I got hit. They didn’t baby me.