The experiment of foreign coaches

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           Foreign coaches in sport is a topic that divides opinion more often than not. The people for it believe that foreign coaches introduce a different process which takes you out of your comfort zone and allows you to professionalise your performance in an optimum manner. On the other hand, the people for local coaches believe that these coaches understand you and your process extremely well and therefore they can help you go that extra mile through sheer passion and emotion. If I was a gambler and someone asked me to pick one, I'd probably bet each way on both coaches being successful. 

       Having said that I have noticed that Indian and by extension, sub-continent coaches don't tend to get hired by foreign teams. This is not to say that these teams are not competitive enough, rather a reflection on the belief (or lack of it) in the coaching style. India has produced some world-class cricket and hockey teams in the past, we all know of Dhyan Chand and Sachin Tendulkar as being world-beaters. But can you name a world-class Indian coach that has had success with a foreign team? The likes of Robin Singh and Sandeep Patil have coached teams like Kenya and been successful but I can't remember or know of any great Indian coach who went to an England, New Zealand or Australia and coached their teams for a considerable length of time. It can't be that we don't produce world-class coaches, because we do as evidenced by our own national team's success in various tournaments. Is it a cultural a difference or just a preference? 

       The paradigm may actually be shifting with a lot more subcontinental people actually getting into professional coaching, not just former players being given the role because they were greats but rather people who have done their coaching badges and their methods are backed up by evidence. One great example is my friend Ryesh Venkatraman who is a decent player but a fantastic coach who's methods are theory and experience-based and clearly, it's working because he has been coaching junior Bangalore teams who have tied with European clubs abroad with great success. I hope this is a pattern in the future and I can be one of those coaches.

      

         

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