I was chatting to the dad of a young Pembroke tyro recently when all of a sudden he crosses his fingers and says, “Interpro squad next season we are hoping.” And I understand the attraction. It must be such a thrill to see your name included, a real milestone, particularly in an international squad, especially if you are still Under 13, still in primary school maybe, heading off to the winter training facilities at Bready or North County. You’ve been selected from hundreds of kids in your age group, remember, to develop your skills in a structured professional environment.
And it’s not just the kid who is excited, it’s the Mum and Dad and all the aunts and uncles since that’s the thing about being a parent these days, you don’t have to subtly work it into the conversation how well your kid is doing. Social media will take care of that for you, everyone following everyone else, folks congratulating you when you go back to your cricket club. Now all you need is to impress your coaches enough to stay in the next squad. That’s the biggest thing; now you’ve got there, you need to stay there. Listen to your coaches, your parents tell you; try to put their advice into action. They have a huge interest, after all: they’re driving you to training camps all over the country, not to mention the financial outlay, but they don’t mind supporting you since this is what you love.
All you need to do is focus, you are told. Focus and listen and learn. And keep moving up the adult teams in your club because that’s what the representative selectors look out for, which adult team you’re being selected on. That kid from the club down the road, the one who’s after your place, he got fifty for the Thirds last week, by the way. But hey, don’t worry about that. Just go out and play your own game. That’s always a good thing to do – play your own game. Or maybe you should dig in and not play any stupid shots early on. It’s hard to know sometimes. Because everything is different now. Your body has altered. You’re taller and you don’t move as well. The trajectory keeps changing when you are bowling. Or maybe others have grown and you haven’t and every time you hit the ball in the air someone sticks a big hand out and catches it.
You need more power - a new bat, maybe. Your dad shells out five hundred euro for a Gunn and Moore, the same as Ben Stokes uses. The best for the best, he says. You definitely have to make runs now. And you do. You survive through to the Under 15s and get all that lovely Ireland gear which you’d like to wear around your club only you can’t do that because you’ll look like a prize tool. Your brother and sister would enjoy a regular family holiday but instead they spend a week at cricket grounds in England watching you play. But they don’t mind. Not too much anyway. Because everyone is supporting you. You hear your mum on the phone to your aunt. She says you’re still doing great. And you are. All you need is to keep making runs or taking wickets. That’s the important thing – keep performing. That’s what your dad says: keep producing the results and selection will come. No pressure. Still you drive up and down the country. Thank God there are other kids in the same boat and you can share the driving. Only that’s hard because sometimes the session doesn’t go so well and all you want is to be in your own car with your own mum or dad and not to have to talk to anyone. You know you need a good start to the season. Everyone will be happy then. But the runs won’t come. It’s hard to know why; it’s not as if you’re playing badly in the nets. Your dad tells you to concentrate really hard. Your mum tells you to relax at the crease. They both tell you to listen to your coach. But which coach do they mean? Because there are a couple of international coaches and the interprovincial coaches or do they mean the new club coach? Because he has a different opinion to the one who was here last season. Other players in your age bracket are making runs. But hey, no problem. You’re still a good player, aren’t you? Of course you are. And competition is healthy, isn’t it? Some players are even getting into their club’s First XI. But their club isn’t as strong as yours so maybe the selectors will take that into account.
You’re Under 17 now. And there’s an interpro game coming up. You really need to make runs in this one. No two ways about it. But the important thing is to remain positive. That’s the big thing – positivity. Always be positive at the crease, everyone says. But what exactly does that mean? One coach tells you to make sure to play yourself in, the other thinks you perform better when you play your shots from the start. Another advises to make sure you get your back foot across. You’re ready, aren’t you? Sure, you are. Everything under control. Pads on, thigh pad in. You can feel it in your stomach, really deep in there; it’s deadweight, like a ball of dough. You carry it everywhere these days. Makes it so hard to eat on match days. Breathe nice and slow and easy. That’s the secret, control your breathing. And okay, here we go. Gloves on, helmet on. You got this, don’t you? Sure you do. Why does your bat feel so heavy? Look confident; it’s always important to look confident on your way to the wicket. Only your legs feel dead. And why is it so hard to catch your breath? What was it your coach said about head position? Should you try that trigger movement you used in the nets last week? Remember to play yourself in, but if it’s a really bad ball make sure you hit it. Make sure your eyes are level, make sure you get back and across, make sure you get your head in a good position, make sure you get a good stride in, make sure you let the ball come to you, make sure, make sure, make sure…….
Cricket, I imagine, is one of the sports with the highest levels of intrinsic pressure. So much is outside your control – a good ball, a bad call, a captain who loses faith in your bowling. A dodgy umpiring decision or the slightest misjudgement on your part. In the blink of an eye your day, previously full of hope and excitement, can turn to the most bitter disappointment. All of which can cause significant stress so cricketers operate with a heightened level of tension to the point where any extrinsic pressure can tip them over the edge and severely impair their capacity to function. And that’s with experienced adult cricketers. What teenagers experience, limbs lengthening and hormones on the rampage, may well be worse.
Just because a kid is technically adept enough to play at a particular level doesn’t necessarily mean that he or she is emotionally strong enough to withstand its rigours. Just because he or she is selected on a particular adult team or in a certain representative squad doesn’t necessarily mean that it is wise to invest fully into it.
My advice, unsolicited as ever, was as follows: never concede control of your child’s sporting happiness to an outside agency
Perhaps he took heed. Most likely not.
Peter Prendergast
August 2024