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In February this year, Dr Swaroop Savanur joined Matos' support staff as the team's mental conditioning coach. Before this, he was the mental trainer for the Vidharba Ranji team. Asked about the pressures the youngsters will face in the course of the tournament, Dr Savanur said, “Pressure is a part of any competitive sport. The beauty of the sport is the space it gives to express ourselves under pressure"
The countdown has begun for host India as they make their debut in the FIFA U-17 World Cup. The boys in blue will take on the likes of Colombia, Ghana, and the United States of America in their group clash at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi.
They will face off against teams with World Cup experience, used to playing a certain standard of soccer. In contrast, the Indian U-17 team was created from scratch. They have no World Cup experience, and all they have in terms of exposure are trips (to over 12 countries) that they undertook over the last two years, playing club and national teams.
The players also had to deal with changes in their coaching staff. If, earlier, it was Nikolai Adams, the team is now being coached by Portugal's Luis Norton de Matos. On Wednesday, the Indian football team arrived in New Delhi—their initial base in the tournament, and had their first practice session in Gurugram. Coach Matos declared, “The Indian team is raring to go out and make history.”
In February this year, Dr Swaroop Savanur joined Matos' support staff as the team's mental conditioning coach. Before this, he was the mental trainer for the Vidharba Ranji team. Asked about the pressures the youngsters will face in the course of the tournament, Dr Savanur said, “Pressure is a part of any competitive sport. The beauty of the sport is the space it gives to express ourselves under pressure. Just like technical and physical skills, the mental aspects should be learnt and practiced.
Dr Savanur said the young players were well aware of the tough task that lay ahead of them. They are battle ready—mentally. “They know they will come up against seasoned outfits, and they have accepted it.”
Giving an insight into the preparations for the actual competition, which will be far tougher than any they have played so far, Dr Savanur said they have told the boys to not think too much about the results. “The fact is that India is playing in the World Cup for the first time, but the boys should give their best.”
Working in tandem with head coach Matos, Savanur has been busy conducting group and individual sessions with players. The focus is on helping the boys to understand how to improve their technical skills by applying the right thought process behind it. “It is a developmental approach. If a player wants to improve his kicking, then he should improve his focusing abilities. Breathing is a technique. For some, it is thought control, using good self-talk and visualisation tactics,” said Dr Savanur.
The squad of 21 was announced earlier this week by coach Matos. Dr Savanur described the young team built from scratch as “a really well-knit, cohesive bunch of players who have played together for a long time. They play as a unit, it comes naturally to them.”
