'Building mental strength essential to improve the game during the pandemic': Delhi Bulls Physio John Gloster

Veteran physiotherapist John Gloster opined on Monday about the need for teams and sporting bodies to value mental health and its various aspects. To ensure the holistic wellbeing of players, he recommended personalized attention for each player, going beyond the playing XI. Having been a former physio for the Indian cricket and IPL teams, Gloster acknowledges the changes taking place in the modern game and argued for a feedback-based mechanism to help individual players handle mental health issues. With lockdowns, bio-bubbles, hotel quarantines, and COVID-19-related travel restrictions, these issues got accentuated further, leading to injury and fitness issues.  

The 2021 season of the Abu Dhabi T10 League is halfway through its schedule, and one of its leading franchises, the Delhi Bulls, is now among the top 3 performers on the points table. As the newly appointed physio for Delhi Bulls, Gloster says that the coaching staff has adopted a creative approach in producing the right environment. He mentions that identifying the minutest details of a player’s daily schedule could help iron out issues on a case by case basis.

The pandemic has caused angst amongst the sporting fraternity, as they were worried about their livelihood, physical fitness, injuries, family welfare, and several other aspects. Speaking on the sidelines of the T10 League, Delhi Bulls’ Physio, John Gloster, said, “It makes the role of support staff that much more important, as they work on providing players with the physical space, nutritional diet, and personalized engagement to be in good spirits. From picking the right hotel accommodation to helping players relish comfort food, we are going out of our way to keep our players positive.” 

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Citing accessibility constraints of Indian players to training facilities during the initial periods of the lockdown, he mentioned how picking up simple fitness activity, and hobbies helped them divert their minds away from external pressures. Some of these issues pertain to financial commitments, franchise expectations, and fears over long durations of inactivity. He further emphasized how working with players on developing mental strength, and spending quality time with families, is essential to prepare them for upcoming tournaments and manage a quick reset.

Speaking also about the ongoing tournament, Gloster said, “We pulled off two consecutive wins and fought hard in the third. We are supporting each other through this period, and we are quite confident about performing in the coming games.”

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Speaking on Delhi Bulls’ performance and John Gloster’s appointment, Owner of Delhi Bulls, Neelesh Bhatnagar, said, “John was the right pick for the role as he is an experienced professional, with a brilliant record of working with the best teams in the world. The support staff has done a great job during a testing time such as the pandemic, and they’ve got our back for everything. We are impressed with how the team adapted to the situation and secured two emphatic wins, and I am sure we’ll continue with this performance.

The league had been postponed to January this year, following the COVID-19 pandemic and several travel restrictions imposed by various countries. The 4th edition of the Abu Dhabi T10 League is currently underway and is scheduled between the 28th of January and 6th of February.