The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : All about good coaching

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Wednesday, Feb 18, 2009
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

All about good coaching

V.V. Subrahmanyam

Roadmap to success: George Selleck, author of ‘Coach Sense: Coaching to Make a Difference’ with Arjuna awardee Mir Khasim Ali and Yasmin Niyamat Khan, table tennis player, at the book release function in city.

HYDERABAD: Who is Dr. George Selleck? It could be the logical query amongst most physical education teachers or even coaches.

But, it need not be the case anymore after the release of his latest book ‘Coach Sense: Coaching to Make a Difference’ which was officially launched at Crossword Bookstore here on Tuesday.

For someone who was associated with the world renowned NBA League for eight years in many of its eventful programmes, Dr. Selleck believes that his book, published by EduSports of SportzVillage, should be a resource to improve coaching effectiveness and help create a lasting, positive influence on trainees.

“It essentially offers a roadmap for success to all coaches as it not just about skills involved in being a good coach but portrays them as tools of developing sporting values,” he stresses.

“I do believe that a good coach carries the responsibility of not only building the sporting talent but also touching the inner-self of these young athletes and shaping their entire lives,” remarks Dr. Selleck, also an experienced psychologist.

Although he is yet to interact with any Indian coach, interactive sessions are being planned with “EduSports to see that my experience can be handy to produce better sportspersons.”

“Success of a coach depends on his ability to feel the inside of the kid whom he is training. This is the lifeline for any success story,” he emphasised. “My book creates self-awareness amongst coaches even while revealing the ups-and-downs one has to face in handling this job,” the 75-year-old author pointed.

Mir Khasim Ali, Arjuna Awardee and former national table tennis champion, hoped the book would usher in the desired changes in Indian sport. “There are certain things which when told in a simple manner as in this book will produce the results,” he said.

Natural choice

“It is imperative for coaches not to impose any discipline and leave that to the natural choice of the child,” he remarks.

His former doubles partner, Yasmin Niyamat Khan, felt these sorts of books should do a world of good for the coaches. Dr. Selleck signed off reminding that athletes get better breaks in life when compared to high performing students as they perform in front of huge audiences and also understand the value of team work.

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