The extended Sunfoil Dolphins squad and team management recently spent four nights away together on KwaZulu Natal’s magnificent North Coast and assistant coach Rivash Gobind believes the team building and strategic planning that took place during their time away bodes well for the team ahead of the upcoming season.
Two nights camping at the spectacular Cape Vidal within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and just past the coastal town of St. Lucia were then followed by a further two nights at the nearby Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve and the time together was a positive one for all.
“We try go away once a year during our pre-season phase just to get away from the ground and the pressures of the season,” explained Gobind.
“We looked to do a bit of strategic planning and build on our team culture and values as well as enjoying each other’s’ company outside of a cricketing environment.
“Cape Vidal and Hluhluwe are beautiful places in the world and we’re blessed here in KZN to have those sorts of places to visit,” he added.
The trip was a unique experience for a couple of the squad and while there was a decent amount of cricket chat ahead of the 2014/15 season, a large emphasis was placed on spending time together and further enhancing relationships within the squad.
“It was a first time out there in the wild and camping next to the beach for a few of the guys.
“We also got a couple of games drives in whilst we were up at Hluhluwe and saw some beautiful animals whilst we were there.
“All in all it was a great experience and it was good fun!” said Gobind.
The Sunfoil Dolphins won the 2013/14 Ram Slam T20 competition and in so doing earned themselves a spot in this year’s Champions League T20 which gets underway in a few weeks’ time in India.
However, despite the exciting opportunity to compete on an international stage, the team and its’ coaching staff aren’t about to fall into the trap of placing all their season’s eggs in one basket.
“We put ourselves in a great position last year and we’re going to the Champions League this year so that’s another trophy we get to compete for this season.
“In saying that though, we’re viewing the entire season as a whole and not just putting all our efforts solely into the Champions League.
“We’re looking forward to the entire season and hopefully we can bring home more than the one trophy we did last year,” said Gobind.
David Miller, Ryan MacLaren, Imran Tahir and Kyle Abbott did not attend the camp due to their involvement in the tri-series between South Africa, Australia and hosts Zimbabwe currently taking place.
Upon their return from the five-day camp, some of the Sunfoil Dolphins’ squad are now involved in the Global Softech 6’s competition in Pretoria before the whole squad regathers again next week ahead of their departure for India on Saturday 13 September.