Pep talk from Lara

St. George's, Grenada - Brian Lara may be keeping a low profile these days, but the champion West Indies batsman made it his business to come to the Shell Cricket Academy of St George's University to share some inspiring thoughts with the 23 students.

Lara's visit two weeks ago was the highlight of the third phase of the programme, academy director Dr Rudi Webster said during the inaugural graduation ceremony here Wednesday.

"Brian was brilliant and he showed a side of himself that many people have never seen," Webster told the audience at the Bell Lecture Hall on the True Blue campus.

"His candour and honesty were striking. He talked about the factors that are necessary for success and spoke at length about his triumphs and failures, his strengths and weakness, his mental highs and lows, and his past and his future."

Lara, the double world record-holder whose high standards as a gifted left-handed batsman have fallen off in recent times, agreed to make himself available to the academy following his early return to the Caribbean from the Zimbabwe tour because of injury.

"He also spoke about the pressures which superstars face and the need for a strong support network in the system to help them deal successfully with those pressures," Webster said.

"I think he was trying to tell us that when those pressures were hitting him such a system was not in place."

In an effort to deal with such pressures, the academy conducted sessions in which great emphasis was placed on mental skills training.

Webster, a noted sports psychologist who has gained respect in the Caribbean and internationally, was very happy with the results.

"The confidence of the players improved and their self-image changed," he said. "Suddenly, players who earlier appeared to be shy and lacking in confidence started to show initiative and surprising qualities of leadership.

"The players started to appreciate fully the importance of the mind and body to get the best out of themselves."

The graduands were taught several mental techniques to help with goalsetting, motivation, concentration, self-acceptance, self-confidence, patience, and the prevention and management of pressure and anxiety.

The graduation ceremony marked the end of the three-month course in which the students, whose ages ranged between 18 and 23, were involved in a wide-ranging programme called The Four Cornerstones of Winning Cricket.