Local cricketers benefit from motivational training

National cricketers, drawn from the Under-15, Under-19 and senior women’s team, were recently the beneficiaries of a two-day seminar on motivation in sports.{{more}}

Held at the Girl Guide Headquarters at Level Gardens, the seminar was conducted by Barbadian Sports psychologist Dawn-Marie Layne.

The interactive sessions looked at areas such as “Goal Setting,” “Motivation – Intrinsic and Extrinsic,” ”Self Determining Theory,” among others.

Layne, 26, who has represented Barbados in the West Indies Cricket Board’s women’s tournament, used the many upheavals currently swirling in West Indies cricket to assist with her presentations.

Hailed as a timely intervention by the Kishore Shallow executive, coach of the Under-19 outfit Parnell Browne told SEARCHLIGHT of the impact of Layne’s output.

“It was a timely seminar …We have seen many players come up from the Under-15 and Under-19 levels, who go on to the Windwards and even the West Indies, and we did not have such a programme to prepare their game mentally,” Browne said.

Speaking from his first stint last year at a national managerial level in the Windwards Under-19 tournament, Browne recalled that one of his concerns then was the absence of that mental toughness.

“They did not have the focus needed and some were not prepared mentally… They were easily frightened…. Apparently that is why we did not do so well,” Browne lamented.

Browne noted that although it was a short interface with Layne, he and the coaches plan to pass on the knowledge to the players, using the methodologies proposed.

Meanwhile, female cricketer Ronelia Fergus said she found the session to be enlightening, as it cleared up some of her misgivings.

“From the session, I came away acknowledging that cricket has a greater psychological side and not only that physical part, which I mainly relied on…I am going to use as much as possible the things which came out from the facilitator,” Fergus told SEARCHLIGHT.

A debutant in last year’s regional tournament in Dominica, Fergus admitted: “As females we tend to set goals at a high level and not work towards them.”

Fergus noted that Layne was able to get across her message to them, particularly since she can give a female perspective, having played the sport at the regional level.

The seminar forms part of the overall Strategic Plan, as fashioned by the executive of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Cricket Association.(RT)