‘Strength and Conditioning for Cricket is becoming an integral part of the sport. With the Australians leading the way with their athletic ability in the field as well as their speed of running between the wickets In Touch Cricket sets individualised programmes for the player that will make them the best athlete they could possibly be.

 

Recent interview with In-Touch Cricket Academy coach Kieron Vorster for http://www.harrowdrive.com relating to S&C in Cricket.

• How important is strength and conditioning to cricket performance? Interestingly enough I would say extremely important. All the players are better athletes; they are stronger and faster compared to 15/20 years ago. Now with the introduction of 20/20 cricket some cricketers are playing all forms of the game and there is enough evidence out there to prove the fitter you are the quicker you will recover in order to play at the high standards required all year around. If you are fit in body, you will be fit in mind and there for will have stronger powers of concentration when out in the middle batting as well as having less chance of your body breaking down with injuries.
• How will you be working with the kids at the academy? Initially it will be an education as to the importance of S&C in cricket. Then it will be to introduce them to all the areas of importance that a cricketer will benefit from. Once they have mastered the technique in all areas then we can start doing some progressive work so each individual can visually see improvements. It is not about getting everyone looking good for the beach as a lot of people naively say; you have to work with the boy type and what part they play as a cricketer. It will be very individualised.
• What kind of equipment do you consider as essential to improving players fitness? If you got a field and cones you can get a lot done. Worst case scenario you can work on relative strength (body weight) exercises i.e. press ups, dips, lunges, squats and pull ups. If you have got a budget to work with then I am a great fan of the Olympic Lifts and their benefits to the individual athlete so an Olympic Bar or Training Bar and if extravagant then a platform to go with it. If the budget does not stretch this far then these can start to be taught with a broom handle as they are quite technical lifts to grasp.
• What are your aims? My aims are to make each individual athlete the best they can be physically and I know Matt Homes will do the same from a cricketing perspective so we know that they will maximise their talent short and long term to what ever level they may be. There will be no stone left unturned.
• What are the unique challenges of working with younger cricketers on strength and conditioning? The biggest challenge will be for them to buy into S&C for the long term benefits. I am a great believer of ‘You can take a horse to water but you cannot make them drink it’ and in time if one athlete is left behind due to the fact he has not kept up with the S&C then the proof will be in the pudding so to speak.
• How much time will you have to work on S&C? S&C will be individualised and if we identify that one athlete needs more work physically then someone else then the time and effort needed will be put into that person. We plan on initially giving the squad 1.5 hours of fitness but when the academy grows it will be broken down into squads lasting one hour.
• What would a session be like in season and out of season? In generic terms the bulk training will be done in the off season which will mean intense loads and quantity whereas in the season it will be quality work and not quantity done at high intensity. More maintenance work will be prescribed in the season so they maintain the high levels of fitness gained in the off season.
• What are the unique physical elements that cricketers go through compared to other sports? A lot will depend on the cricketer and what I mean by that is, is he a bowler, batsmen wicket keeper or all rounder. In general terms it is extremely anaerobic, lots of rotation, strain through the shoulder girdle as well as lunges if you are a wicket keeper. You could be out in the field for 6 hours in a day if you are playing a Test match which is a long time for an athlete to perform.
• Will you be testing, if so what will you test for? I will be testing, and primarily I will be looking for those athletes who are fast up to 20m, I will be looking at their lower limb power as well as their individual leg push off power, I will be doing an anaerobic test with aerobic recovery and a core strength test.  
• 'core stability' is quite the buzz phrase in cricket fitness, yet the definition is often unclear. What does it mean to you? Well controversially I am more concerned about core strength/ rigidity as there is a big difference. Core Stability is about doing certain exercises in a slow controlled fashion holding neutral spine. Well we know that in Cricket there is an enormous amount of trunk rotation done at high speeds/ velocities and in order to stop the body from breaking down they need to have good core strength/rigidity. I have a core set of exercises that I believe have stood the test of time which I will be using. Do not get me wrong there is a place for Stability training but this can be prescribed by the physio and monitored by them.
• What age groups will you be dealing with? The age groups we will mainly focusing on is from 10 to 18 but having said that we will look at the grass roots from the U8’s s well. The earlier we can get them the better as to install good habits.
• How will you overcome resistance to S&C methods from players and parents?  I think this is very easy, right from the start it is really important to communicate with the parents as to the importance of S&C in cricket and the benefits it will provide for the individual. You can compare them to the current role models from an athletic point of view i.e. Andrew Symonds Paul Collingwood, Michael Hussey, Kevin Pietersen to name a few.
• How many sessions per week will you have with the players? This is a tricky one as it will depend on the commitment of the individual, in an ideal world minimum of four times per week. It is like anything, the more they do the quicker they will improve and see the results. 
• Will you be doing S&C work on the same day as skill/technical work and if so does that provide a challenge? Absolutely, there will be no challenges as long as there is communication between the coach and the trainer so each compliments each other and benefits the athlete and at the In-Touch Academy that is what we are basing the academy on- COMMUICATION and TEAM WORK!