Saturday 16 May 2009

Jonny Wilkenson's lesson


That famous drop kick that helped England win the World Cup in Rugby in 2004 will remain a sporting high light forever. The Cup is named after Web Ellis, the schoolboy in the little town of Rugby in England that so desperately wanted his team to win the soccer football match, that he picked the ball up and ran through the defenders to place the ball in the back of the net! Little did he know that he had just invented a new game that would be played all over the world for a long time to come!
Back to Jonny Wilkenson. Jonny was an extrememly dedicated and committed player from an early age. He was the first out on the field to practice and the last one to leave. He would kick a thousand balls before a test match just to perfect his art of kicking with both legs. By the way the famous drop kick was done with this 'wrong' leg: he booted it with his right leg and not his usual left foot with which he broke all the records for points scoring in his era.
His mother was so nervous when he played that she used to go grocery shopping while the game was being televised. When he won the cup for England she was in the shopping mall when someone told her: your son has just kicked the winning drop kick for England!
In his book, Playing Rugby My Way, he gives some of the most expertise coaching tips to young boys (and girls) who want to improve their game. He exposes his techniques of kicking, drop-kicking, grubber-kicking and line kicking; he tells how he draws an imaginary line from a specific point on the ball through the posts to a lady sitting in the stand behind the posts and aims to put the ball in her lap!
He reveals the secret of tackling an apponent by aiming to hit him with your shoulder on a spot on his shorts or on his leg; he instructs you how to side step an attacker and how to guide the ball when you pass it to a team member, either to the left or the right. Jonny even encourages young players to eat their vegetables and fresh fruit!
He admits that he was a fanatic, a spartan as far as practicing was concerned. He never allowed himself to rest at all and tried to reach perfection in his skill. He never allowed himself the simple pleasure of wallowing in his success at any time.
But when he turned 30, after multiple serious injuries, he realized that he had not enjoyed his life at all.
Then he wrote another book to tell the young sportsmen to learn how to take time out to go to the beach or play the piano without feeling guility about not practicing...it was a bit late for Jonny whom we all admired as one of the best fly halves the world has ever seen! But it is not too late for our youngsters to take a tip from someone who has been out there and designed the T-shirt for success in sport and worn it for a long time!
The most amazing aspect of his famous drop kick is the fact that he booted it with his wrong foot! He normally kicks left footed, but when the moment came he turned to the other side and slotted it over with his right foot! He obviously practiced this for many years until the moment came to use that acquired skill.
Obviously his opponents did not expect him to kick off the wrong foot so they were compeletely taken by surprise.
There comes a moment when all the hard work and practice pays off - as in rugby, so in life.

Surfing's the key to good batting!


The Indian Professional League (IPL)T/20 competition is currently being held in South Africa due to the unrest and danger in the subcontinent since the Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked in Pakistan by militants. International cricketers no longer felt safe in open stadiums in India and therefore the competition shifted to South Africa where it is drawing full stadiumns. As the competition enters the final few weeks the top run scorer is Matthew Hayden. He has notched up at least 100 more runs than his nearest competitor.
In an interview to ascertain the secret about his top form he mentioned two major aspects: number one: he has retired from the International Test Match scene and has no concerns about being picked or left out of the Australian test squad. Number two: he says he spends more time in the Atlantic ocean than on the cricket field during the competition.
Matthew is a surfer and his present form in surfing has overflowed into his batting. He says he is very relaxed at the crease and simply expresses himself in every innings.
In a long outdrawn series such as the IPL one can think and play cricket all the time, but one needs to have a balance, according to Hayden. Surfing takes his mind of the strenuous demands that top level cricket can make on any batsman. He also has no stress regarding his selection and therefore he can bring all his energy, his experience and his skill to bear on the IPL competition and above all enjoy what he is doing!
It is absolutely a pleasure to watch him cart the ball from all the world's top bowlers to all corners of the field (well, a cricket field is an oval, but the simile would bear up under the present circumstances!).
All of us need to find a way to balance things in our lives: we need to know when it is necessary to take some time out. It has to do with the Sabbath. Unless one has a Sabbath's rest on a regular basis you pay the price in some other way: either through stress or sickness or some other form of repayment for not resting.
Mat Hayden gives us some good advice here and his present form as a batsman is enough proof in the pudding! (Once again a strange simile but it would do the job I think).

Thursday 14 May 2009

Outside my Comfort Zone


Steve Waugh's autobiography 'Out of my Comfort Zone' has wonderful insights into the life principles of a man that really made it to the top in International Sport and managed to stay there for a very long time.
The writer of Hebrews in the Bible tells us to imitate those who through faith in patience inherit the promises. Both Steve and his brother Mark showed promise as young cricketers and kept on working hard at their game to become one of the few pairs of brothers to play on the International scene at the same time. Steve easily acknowledges that Mark is the better cricketer and he does not hesitate to say he never thought of himself as better than all the other players. He admitted that there were many other better cricketers than him - but there were definite reasons why he not only played for Australia but also captained the national team for so long.
Many guys do not travel well. They always complain about the conditions in the sub-continent when they have to go and play against India or Pakistan or Sri Lanka. They get sick from the food or the water, the hotels are not up to standard and the cricket facilities are not what they are used to. Others miss their wife or family too much. Some just make it misreble for all the team members and they have a negative influence on the team. With the result that they never get picked again...
Steve learned to travel well and his secret was simple: learn to live outside your comfort zone.
As a youngster Steve had bad skin and he was bashful. In school he sat at the back of the class and combed his hair over his forehead to hide his acne. He had not technique with the ladies and admired his brother who had the knack he lacked.
As a batsman he had no great shots but he was willing to take a bouncer on his body instead of trying to hook the ball and be caught at fine leg. He gutsted it out with many painful blows to his body. He had a lot of problems with his physique and often had to take tablets just to stay on the field.
But he learned to play as if he would be the man of the match giving it everything he had all the time - even when he didn't feel up to it. It earned him the respect of his team mates and eventually the captaincy.
He had to overcome his own defiencies in every area of life just by staying out of his comfort zone and in the end that is where he spent most of his life. He married a lovely girl and they have 2 daughters and a son.
When asked what his greatest moment in life was everyone expected him to refer to some specail moment on the cricket field, but instead he said, it was when his first girl was born!
Both brothers hardly ever saw their family for almost 11 years because of the demands of International cricket which kept them busy for almost 11 months per year. This was a great sacrifice - out of their comfort zone.
There is a price to pay for any achievement in life, that is why Jesus said you have to consider the cost of something before you embark on it.
I have spent a lot of my time travelling to other lands and have had to be a man alone most of the time - it was a sacrifice for both Nola and my family as well as a hard thing for me to do: but I can safely say that I have reached over 50 nations now with the Gospel of Jesus Christ! And I am still batting...out of my comfort zone.
Most people just want things the way they like it all the time and never venture outside of their comfort zone. They never taste the adventure that life has to offer. it is all out there - outside your comfort zone.
Think about it!