Team DC kicked off preparations for the upcoming IPL season with a player conditioning pre-season camp at the Inspire Institute of Sport in Vijayanagar - a state-of-the-art sporting facility founded by JSW Sport that assists Indian athletes in chasing their Olympic dreams. The three-day camp had ten of our players from the squad, who made full use of the opportunity to get to know each other off the field, indulge in team bonding activities, and also enlighten themselves about the mental aspects of modern-day sport.
The camp got underway on February 1, as the players were welcomed to the facility and addressed by Mustafa Ghouse, CEO, JSW Sports. Timothy Harkness, an elite sports psychologist, who has over the years, worked with top athletes such as India’s only individual Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra, and the Chelsea football club, then took over the reins with an inspiring talk on player mindset. Skipper Shreyas Iyer then spoke of the team’s goals for the upcoming season.
Day 1 began with the players taking a tour of the fabulous facility at the Inspire Institute of Sport. The players were impressed with what they saw and spoke highly of the world-class Sports Science Laboratory, the High Performance Centre that houses the Gymnasium, the Combat Hall, and the athletics track. The team then participated in an open discussion on winning mentality, spearheaded by Tim, along with valuable inputs from Assistant Coach Mohammad Kaif and the Head of Scouting Pravin Amre.
The afternoon was reserved for one-on-one sessions for players with the team physios and psychologists, where the support staff got a better understanding of the players’ individual requirements. The players wrapped up what was an intense day, full of learnings and discussions, with a round of badminton.
If Day 1 was all about strengthening the mental side of the game, Day 2 had a lot of intense physical activity in store for the players. Led by Ronald Simms, the head Boxing Coach at IIS, the players went through rigorous drills of high intensity circuit training at the Combat Hall that tested their endurance to the hilt. Boxing was a first for most of the players. Challenging as it might be, it was impossible to escape coach Simms’ strict eye!
Mr. Parth Jindal, Director of JSW Sports, then ensured that the players got their minds off the draining sessions, taking them on a tour of the JSW Steel Plant in Vijayanagar. The players were intrigued on their visit to India’s largest steel plant, where they also met some employees who exchanged insights with the cricketers. Skipper Iyer even found time to interact with the team’s fans on social media when he went LIVE on Instagram.
The last evening was reserved for employee engagements, where the JSW employees and their families got the chance to interact with their favourite cricketers and ask them questions about the IPL. The players were at their charming best, enthralling the capacity crowd at the JMAX theatre with their witty replies. The evening culminated with a gala dinner where the players were invited by Mr. Jindal to his residence.
Day 3, the last of the camp, had the players sweating it out at the IIS gymnasium, along with indulging in some fun social media activities. To cap off a fantastic 3 days, Timothy Harkness’ closing speech on Chelsea’s Champions League triumph in 2012 provided the players with the perfect motivation to start their preparations for the grueling season ahead in right earnest!
Team DC kicked off preparations for the upcoming IPL season with a player conditioning pre-season camp at the Inspire Institute of Sport in Vijayanagar - a state-of-the-art sporting facility founded by JSW Sport that assists Indian athletes in chasing their Olympic dreams. The three-day camp had ten of our players from the squad, who made full use of the opportunity to get to know each other off the field, indulge in team bonding activities, and also enlighten themselves about the mental aspects of modern-day sport.
The camp got underway on February 1, as the players were welcomed to the facility and addressed by Mustafa Ghouse, CEO, JSW Sports. Timothy Harkness, an elite sports psychologist, who has over the years, worked with top athletes such as India’s only individual Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra, and the Chelsea football club, then took over the reins with an inspiring talk on player mindset. Skipper Shreyas Iyer then spoke of the team’s goals for the upcoming season.
Day 1 began with the players taking a tour of the fabulous facility at the Inspire Institute of Sport. The players were impressed with what they saw and spoke highly of the world-class Sports Science Laboratory, the High Performance Centre that houses the Gymnasium, the Combat Hall, and the athletics track. The team then participated in an open discussion on winning mentality, spearheaded by Tim, along with valuable inputs from Assistant Coach Mohammad Kaif and the Head of Scouting Pravin Amre.
The afternoon was reserved for one-on-one sessions for players with the team physios and psychologists, where the support staff got a better understanding of the players’ individual requirements. The players wrapped up what was an intense day, full of learnings and discussions, with a round of badminton.
If Day 1 was all about strengthening the mental side of the game, Day 2 had a lot of intense physical activity in store for the players. Led by Ronald Simms, the head Boxing Coach at IIS, the players went through rigorous drills of high intensity circuit training at the Combat Hall that tested their endurance to the hilt. Boxing was a first for most of the players. Challenging as it might be, it was impossible to escape coach Simms’ strict eye!
Mr. Parth Jindal, Director of JSW Sports, then ensured that the players got their minds off the draining sessions, taking them on a tour of the JSW Steel Plant in Vijayanagar. The players were intrigued on their visit to India’s largest steel plant, where they also met some employees who exchanged insights with the cricketers. Skipper Iyer even found time to interact with the team’s fans on social media when he went LIVE on Instagram.
The last evening was reserved for employee engagements, where the JSW employees and their families got the chance to interact with their favourite cricketers and ask them questions about the IPL. The players were at their charming best, enthralling the capacity crowd at the JMAX theatre with their witty replies. The evening culminated with a gala dinner where the players were invited by Mr. Jindal to his residence.
Day 3, the last of the camp, had the players sweating it out at the IIS gymnasium, along with indulging in some fun social media activities. To cap off a fantastic 3 days, Timothy Harkness’ closing speech on Chelsea’s Champions League triumph in 2012 provided the players with the perfect motivation to start their preparations for the grueling season ahead in right earnest!
