Relentless Practice - The common factor amongst all Champions

At the beginning of May 2019, I was between jobs. On an advise from a well-wisher friend, I attended a Level 1 Table Tennis coaching certification, conducted at the YMCA, Alleppey. Shortly afterwards, I was allowed a chance to work as a part-time coach in the academy he runs. Having been involved in a lot of sports throughout my life, this is the opportunity I have been craving for.

It hasn't been smooth sailing right through. I have found coaching beginners to be reasonably easy - for the simple reason, they listen. For someone who believes he is yet to acquire proven credentials on coaching, slightly advanced players pose a challenge. I had to become assertive to deal with everyone. I needed to change - I turned to books for help.

I didn't spend time to arrive at a list of books I wanted to read. I chose something that was lying around - "Conquering the Mind" from Eknath Easwaran [had borrowed it from my brother in law, without really attempting to read it]. As I type this passage, I will have to honestly admit, I haven't crossed the first 60 pages. However, within the first few chapters, I read something extremely fascinating that will stay with me throughout my coaching career, however long or short it maybe.

Titled "Thinking in Freedom", this chapter predominantly talks about training the mind. The author cites the example of Rudolf Nureyev, who according to experts, is the best ever to have graced the ballet floor. In one of those instances when Mr Ekanth witnessed the practice session of these ballet dancers, he couldn't believe what he saw. He felt totally uninspired by a boring set of patterns the troupe has to repeat all day. An excerpt from the chapter below:

To me those dancers looked like galley slaves, standing there chained to the bars. 

The slave driver comes and says,

"Now: One, Two, Three; One, Two, Three" and they kick, kick, kick, day in and day out! People like me would say, "I'm not interested, Thank you.Where are the thrills? Where is the glamour? Who is that man to say 'One, Two, Three' and make me kick my heels in the air?

Yet, this is what is required to train every part of the body to listen to you.

You are on the stage in front of 1000 people. This environment is definitely not conducive for you to think and act. It has to happen naturally and for that to happen, you should have trained the body to respond exactly as you want it to.

One of the most successful batsmen of the modern era and unquestionably all-time, Virat Kohli once said, "To be consistently successful, you need to train relentlessly and that training has to be boring". Facing deliveries on an average of 85 mph doesn't give you the liberty to think and react. Spontaneity is the key factor and for the brain to become so, it needs to be trained with lot of devotion.

To return to where we started, I have observed a general resistance from our students to do shadow routines. To be really honest, it is a boring thing to do. But very similar to cricket, with the ball coming towards you at venomous speeds, you should have done the boring part over and over again for the body to act accordingly in games. To excel in any sport or art or skill, there is no substitute for relentless practice.

The next time I see a lack of interest from the kids during these drills, I will quote exactly this example and I'm sure I can make them understand. They only need close attention, guidance and some reasoning for acceptance. I will drive home the point, "Champions do not succeed by accident, they earn it through their dedication towards training".