Steinhoff Maties Cricket wants to win big with help from MHP : 2015-07-31
With the help of the Maties High Performance programme Steinhoff Maties Cricket wants to win one of the big three titles – USSA, Club Championships and Varsity Cricket – that has eluded them the past few season.
Coach Andrew Wylie believes that by using the MHP programme this season his team will not only benefit as players, but also as individuals. “The HP program certainly helps add to our professional approach at our club, the fact that it allows us to address many key areas in our players’ development should improve the quality of performance both individually and as a team. It gives us access to external support that we would not normally have access to and therefore allows us to offer a substantial program for young cricketers,” said Wylie.
Maties played in the final of USSA last season, finished second in the inaugural Varsity Cricket tournament in February and also managed to reach the final of the national Club Championships. Currently Tuks from Pretoria are Maties’ nemesis. “Our key objectives will be to continue our development as one of the major tertiary institutions in the country and finally clinch victory in one of the three major tournaments that have eluded us so narrowly last year as finalists in all three. As coaching staff though our development of young cricketers into potential franchise players remains a key objective.”
The Maties HP programme consists of three main categories: Performance Management, Performance Enhancement and Athlete Empowerment. There is also Sports Medicine.
Performance management is planning, monitoring and evaluation of the high performance programme custom developed specifically for the team, coach and/or athlete and includes quality insurance and special event training programme for tournaments like USSA. Performance enhancement involves strength and physical conditioning, performance analysis, vision and decision training and testing. These training sessions and tests are lab and field based.
Player empowerment entails sport-related mental skills training and knowledge development. There is also special academic and development support. Athletes can also rely on a long-term sustainable academic programme. The High Performance programme is focused on the player as a sportsman/woman and a student. “At its heart the High Performance programme is about attracting and retaining top athletes and coaches to an inclusive holistic and elite training environment that will offer opportunity for the them to achieve at national and international levels,” said Jenny King from Maties HP.
Wylie concluded: “The HP program excites me in that it allows us to add a new dimension to what we already do, and should assist in finding that edge we desire to continue competing nationally!”