Paddy Upton
Encyclopedia
Patrick Anthony Howard Upton, known as Paddy Upton (b. November 5, 1968 -) is a South African cricket
coach
and former cricketer
. He has worked as the physical fitness trainer for the South Africa cricket team and the rugby team of Western Cape Province
. He is the current mental conditioning coach of the Indian national cricket team. He is also the mental conditioning coach at Gary Kirsten
's cricket academy at Cape Town
and his business partner.
, Transvaal
, South Africa. Between 1990-91 and 1993-94 he played cricket for the Western Province cricket team. He is a close personal friend of former South African cricketer Gary Kirsten
- working as the mental conditioning coach in his cricket academy in Cape Town and as his business partner in "Performance Zone" - a venture on sports performance improvement. He holds two Masters Degrees, one in Sport Science and another in Executive Coaching. Upton has been deeply influenced by Indian philosophy
and culture, describing that his spiritual journey began in India. Upton married his wife in a traditional Vedic
marriage ceremony in an ashram
in India.
and then-captain Hansie Cronje
. In 1999, Upton switched from working on physical fitness to mental conditioning in sports, taking an executive coaching program on leadership in business and sporting environments. Upton worked closely with Gary Kirsten, providing him support and guidance that Kirsten described as invaluable, and also helped Jacques Kallis
overcome personal issues related to the death of his father to improve his playing performance. Upton described his work as helping individual players understand and overcome specific fears and emotions that affect specific aspects of their performance.
strongly recommended the appointment of Paddy Upton as the mental conditioning coach and his assistant coach. Upton gave personal attention to the performance of Virender Sehwag
, keeping him hydrated and focused during his long innings of 319 against South Africa in the 2008 Chennai Test. Team India also won the world cup for the year 2011 under Paddy's coaching.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
and former cricketer
Cricketer
A cricketer is a person who plays the sport of cricket. Official and long-established cricket publications prefer the traditional word "cricketer" over the rarely used term "cricket player"....
. He has worked as the physical fitness trainer for the South Africa cricket team and the rugby team of Western Cape Province
Western Province (rugby team)
DHL Western Province is a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament. The team has won the Currie Cup on 32 occasions and has the most supporters of any Currie Cup team...
. He is the current mental conditioning coach of the Indian national cricket team. He is also the mental conditioning coach at Gary Kirsten
Gary Kirsten
Gary Kirsten is a former South African cricketer, and the World Cup winning coach of the Indian cricket team. He played 101 Test matches and 185 One-day internationals for South Africa between 1993 and 2004, mainly as an opening batsman...
's cricket academy at Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
and his business partner.
Biography
Patrick Anthony Howard Upton was born on November 5, 1968 in JohannesburgJohannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, Transvaal
Transvaal Province
Transvaal Province was a province of the Union of South Africa from 1910 to 1961, and of its successor, the Republic of South Africa, from 1961 until the end of apartheid in 1994 when a new constitution subdivided it.-History:...
, South Africa. Between 1990-91 and 1993-94 he played cricket for the Western Province cricket team. He is a close personal friend of former South African cricketer Gary Kirsten
Gary Kirsten
Gary Kirsten is a former South African cricketer, and the World Cup winning coach of the Indian cricket team. He played 101 Test matches and 185 One-day internationals for South Africa between 1993 and 2004, mainly as an opening batsman...
- working as the mental conditioning coach in his cricket academy in Cape Town and as his business partner in "Performance Zone" - a venture on sports performance improvement. He holds two Masters Degrees, one in Sport Science and another in Executive Coaching. Upton has been deeply influenced by Indian philosophy
Indian philosophy
India has a rich and diverse philosophical tradition dating back to ancient times. According to Radhakrishnan, the earlier Upanisads constitute "...the earliest philosophical compositions of the world."...
and culture, describing that his spiritual journey began in India. Upton married his wife in a traditional Vedic
Vedic
Vedic may refer to:* the Vedas, the oldest preserved Indic texts** Vedic Sanskrit, the language of these texts** Vedic period, during which these texts were produced** Vedic pantheon of gods mentioned in Vedas/vedic period...
marriage ceremony in an ashram
Ashram
Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo....
in India.
Coaching career
After his playing career, Upton began coaching at the provincial and national cricket levels. From 1994 to 1998, Upton served as the physical fitness trainer for the South African cricket team. He was also involved as a key strategist with the team coach Bob WoolmerBob Woolmer
Robert Andrew Woolmer was an international cricketer, professional cricket coach and also a professional commentator...
and then-captain Hansie Cronje
Hansie Cronje
Wessel Johannes "Hansie" Cronje was a South African cricketer and captain of the South African national cricket team in the 1990s...
. In 1999, Upton switched from working on physical fitness to mental conditioning in sports, taking an executive coaching program on leadership in business and sporting environments. Upton worked closely with Gary Kirsten, providing him support and guidance that Kirsten described as invaluable, and also helped Jacques Kallis
Jacques Kallis
Jacques Henry Kallis is a South African cricketer. As an all-rounder he is a formidable right-handed batsman and fast-medium swingbowler. He is one of the greatest all-rounders of all time, being the only cricketer in the history of the game to hold more than 12,000 runs and 250 wickets in both...
overcome personal issues related to the death of his father to improve his playing performance. Upton described his work as helping individual players understand and overcome specific fears and emotions that affect specific aspects of their performance.
Stint with India
Having been appointed the head coach of the Indian national cricket team, Gary KirstenGary Kirsten
Gary Kirsten is a former South African cricketer, and the World Cup winning coach of the Indian cricket team. He played 101 Test matches and 185 One-day internationals for South Africa between 1993 and 2004, mainly as an opening batsman...
strongly recommended the appointment of Paddy Upton as the mental conditioning coach and his assistant coach. Upton gave personal attention to the performance of Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag , affectionately known as Viru, the Nawab of Najafgarh, or the Zen master of modern cricket, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team. Sehwag is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler...
, keeping him hydrated and focused during his long innings of 319 against South Africa in the 2008 Chennai Test. Team India also won the world cup for the year 2011 under Paddy's coaching.