NOT everyone gets to achieve the cricket coaching qualification that she landed recently.
Denisha Devnarain became the first woman in the country to attain a Level 4 coaching badge with Cricket South Africa.
Devnarain, 33, a former Proteas player, received official acknowledgement from Cricket SA of her groundbreaking coaching achievement last month.
She said she was “humbled” to have successfully completed the course and pledged to “produce high-performance athletes who are decent human beings”.
Level 4 coaches are usually entrusted with the reins of franchise or national cricket teams but Devnarain, of Chatsworth, Durban, is in no rush to operate at that level just yet.
She’s enjoying the work she’s doing at the CSA’s Centre For Excellence in Pretoria, where nurturing some of the country’s young talent is her main focus.
Devnarain took up the dual position of head coach of the CSA Girls Under-19 team and the Women’s Academy in 2020.
Her job entails running the entire high-performance department for CSA and working with provincial coaches.
She’s required to travel often around the country to impart cricket knowledge, with much of the “skills” work done in Pretoria.
“It’s quite intense, juggling between provincial and international cricket but I’m relishing the opportunity.
“There is the drive to win world cups and championships, and players leaving the academy must be capable of playing for the Proteas,” Devnarain said about the responsibilities.
“It’s challenging but I am happy and enjoying it. I will consider my next moves, which could even be with a men’s team, once my contract ends.”
Coaching men is not a daunting prospect for her.
Recently, Dolphins coach Imran Khan got her to work with some of his batsmen on facing spin bowling.
“It was a massive opportunity. I felt comfortable. It was great to even see national team players happy to take advice from me.
“That helped me a lot, and there is no reason why I cannot coach a men’s team in the future.”
Devnarain is at peace with the fact her playing days are behind her.
“I’m satisfied with my playing achievements, now I’m focused purely on coaching.
“With the knowledge I have now, I feel I could have done so much more as a player. But if I had a choice, I’d prefer coaching over playing. My satisfaction comes from producing players who will fly the flag with pride,” said Devnarain, who also has two university qualifications to her name.
“I could have chosen a career in commerce using my BCom degree. With support from my family, I chose cricket because I am passionate it.”
Devnarain had fond memories of playing Bakers Mini-Cricket at school with her good friend Trisha Chetty, who is an experienced Proteas player. She also remembers their challenges.
“It has been quite a journey playing cricket at the Road 217 sports field in Bayview, with limited coaching and guidance.”
But perseverance and determination enabled her to overcome the obstacles.
Her two outstanding traits were “perspective” and “empathy”.
“I show empathy because I am a compassionate person and I’m not working with robots. Not everyone has been dealt the same cards in life, so I try to live in everyone’s shoes to see their perspective.”
Devnarain was pleased with how the game has transformed and embraced women in cricket from the days when she began.
“The game for women has progressed so much that we have commercial rights, player rights, leagues around the world, TV time, and social media.
“We started out as semi-professions; I only got my first professional contract in 2015. The amount of money in the game now is substantial and will continue to grow.”
She appreciated the globally recognised online 11-week CoachED programme she was on previously, which is headed by Gary Kirsten, a former Proteas player and coach, who also won the World Cup as India’s coach in 2011.
“It had a massive impact on me. I also got insights from leading international coaches on the programme.
“I don’t think I would have been as equipped for the Level 4 course had I not been a part of the cohort of coaches who went on the CoachED’s Elite programme,” said Devnarain.
Kirsten confirmed that since CoachEd was launched in March 2020, 120 coaches from around the world had been on their Elite course, which was fully interactive.
“Coaches enjoy accessing a platform where they can educate themselves more on the modern cricket world.
“We also have Level 2 and 3 courses and about 500 coaches have come through since we started,” said Kirsten.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE