I am not in the Windies with the South African team as many have asked….here is what I have been up to:
18th – Much to look forward to although Ella’s lack of enthusiasm about me leaving has more of an effect than ever before. Fortunately I was able to be at her 7th birthday party three days before leaving but that just seems to make it harder for her to accept me going away again.
Still, you have to do what you have to do and the opportunity to be part of a systematic rebuilding of the Zimbabwean national team is too good to turn up. Been planning it for the last couple of weeks and excited about putting it into place.
Forgot to take out cash from the ATM at OR Tambo before moving through immigration which was a disaster! It was a nightmare trying to get back through the various checkpoints to find an ATM — and much mirth amongst passport control who wondered where I could possibly have been overseas for 40 minutes.
Virtually impossible to get cash in Zim so it had to be done.
Met up with Butch at the Monomotapa Hotel on arrival in Harare and we discussed objectives and plans for the ‘camp’ starting the next day.
19th – Dreadful night’s sleep, mind racing but with excitement rather than anxiety. Butcher and I set off for Antelope Park, just outside Gweru, at 8:30 in order to arrive and check out facilities before the team’s bus arrived a couple of hours later. The drive was fantastic. Butcher played all his favourite music from the 60s and 70s and also some stuff by his son, Mark, who is building a career as a professional musician. It was very good.
Antelope Park exceeded our hopes and expectations. Accommodation was widely varied and it was a challenge to assign beds to the various players and management given that single rooms were a rarity and the “the family lodge” was basically a dormitory sleeping nine!
Would the players moan and grumble? Would they resent sharing rooms? We hoped not. And our hopes were answered with a wave of enthusiasm when the guys finally arrived, two hours behind schedule, with a bunch of goodwill and excitement for the days ahead.
Fitness trainer, Lorraine, organised some soccer which the boys always enjoy and then we had the first of what would be many hours in a hopelessly small “conference” room talking about the future and what our goals would be.
Dinner was cooked over an open fire, as was every meal, and it was all the more delicious for that. Everyone knew there was an early morning fitness session so went to bed early. They did not know what the fitness session would be!
The plan was always to make use of the beautiful surrounds of Antelope Park and include five ‘exercise stations’ en route. We mapped the course using Dale’s GPS at midnight!
Slept barely a minute of the 4 1/2 hours left by the time we got to bed.
20th — 5:45 a.m. start. Really cold! The squad are divided into four teams of five and have to complete three laps of the course as a team. No point in the fittest rushing ahead. The ‘catch’ is a round of general knowledge questions which have to be answered after each round. Some are tricky, but they become easier with each lap. However, they become harder to answer the more exhausted the players become.
“What is a tomato?” “What do you put in a toaster?” “In which country would you find the Indian state of Gujarat?” With the blood and adrenalin pumping, and the sense of competition having kicked in, simple questions produced some interesting answers. “Toast” was a common answer although there was one of “jam”. Several flustered players could find no answer to the final question — “Bangladesh? Pakistan?” they offered.
The objective was to prove that clear thinking becomes harder in times of physical stress. Whether bowling or batting, players need to learn how to cope when their hearts are pumping and brains spinning.
21st — Dale Williams, executive coach, begins his work. None of the players has had any experience of personal evaluation and they all appear to respond with massive excitement. Sports teams have a tendency to regard anyone who is ‘quiet’ or ‘different’ with suspicion. The point of personal evaluation is for players to be able to appreciate the strengths rather than the weaknesses of their colleagues.
The point was well made by Tatenda Taibu in evaluating the mornings exercise when he pointed out that his team, although held up a little by Andy Blignaut during the physical exercise sessions, would never have won without his mental dexterity and ability to answer questions under pressure. Everyone has a strength – as well as a weakness.
Sports scientist, Dr Austin Genes, addresses the squad on a variety of topics including nutrition, core strength, training routines and injury prevention.
Dinner was once again served over a hot fire and we gathered for a while in a circle around a roaring campfire. Players were talking to each other, something of a sad rarity on the two previous tours to the West Indies. All good so far.
22nd – A luxurious lie in until 7:00 a.m. meant for good spirits. Wholesome campfire breakfast of eggs, woers, beans etc. although the health conscious were able to have cereal and fruit. Brief chats followed on nutrition, media and IT awareness before another team building exercise which involved the construction of a building using nothing more than one packet of raw spaghetti and one packet of Prestik/Bluetack (whatever it is called. “Sticky Stuff is the preferred name in Zim.)
Height was the only criteria. The teams had one hour to construct something as high as possible without any other aid. The reaction was fascinating to observe. All four teams tackled the task with unbridled enthusiasm, but only one excelled. “Rock of ages” – comprising Taibu, Blignaut, Chigumbura, Ervine and Ed Rainsford – combined to construct a remarkable, triangular piece of artwork measuring over a metre and a half in height. The next highest was barely 40 cm. Although the architectural workwhich went into all four constructions was noted with admiration by coach Butcher.
At midday we were informed that we were to witness the “lion feeding”. Although Antelope Park is a renowned Lion preservation Centre, most of us were completely unprepared for what we were about to witness.
Seven adolescent but almost mature male lions are kept in the same enclosure and fed only once every five days. Seven large body parts from variously, goat, calf and a sheep, and arranged in the rough shape of a large carcass in order to teach the Lions the art of hunting. After five days the group ravenous. The “carcass” is arranged barely two metres from where we were standing in.
“Male lions do not share,” said our guide. “It can be very violent and quite ugly. Be warned.”
It was incredible to see. The seven males were let loose from 40 metres away and tore into the flesh with a ferocity that made all of us behind the security of a wire fence take three or four steps back. Nothing will ever challenge the sound of a belly roar from a hungry lion. Or seven! Amazing.
Easy drive to Bulawayo in the late afternoon and time for everyone to relax and grab a shower in “normal” accommodation once again
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