Danny Pereira has also worked with various Indian cricketers
Physiotherapist Danny Pereira is the anchor behind Bahrain cricket team’s fitness.
DOHA
Every job has its set of challenges. That holds true for a physiotherapist cum strength and conditioning coach. Besides working on the field with the players and the gym, a physiotherapist needs to do a lot of backroom research, innovative so that his players perform to the optimal level.
Goa-born Dr Danny Pereira has been doing it day in and day out for the last 18 years. After working with the likes of Indian cricketers like Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Dinesh Kartik, it’s time for Danny to work with cricketers from Bahrain, which he has been doing for the last two years.
Blessed with an untiring level of initiative, an unwavering dedication and paying attention to its minute detail, Danny has been going about doing his job and overcoming the challenges.
“I always like to be on the field because it's more challenging so the more challenges you have, the harder you work the more you start thinking, so you need to come up with innovative plans innovative ideas so that's the challenge for me so I enjoy doing and that is what I'm doing,” said Bahrain-based Danny Pereira, a sports physiotherapist and a certified strength and conditioning coach.
Danny devises training plans in tune with sound scientific principles, supervises training sessions, evaluates athletes, maintains athlete records, and on occasion teaches strength and conditioning exercises to his players.
“Physiotherapy and strength and conditioning in any sport is a high-performance industry where you need to be updated. You need to follow a lot of research and you need to keep yourself every time upgrading yourself so that you give the players the best because every sport is growing and highly competitive,” said Danny, who did his school studies from Regina Mundi School Chicalim and Higher Secondary school from DeepVihar Higher Secondary school, Sada-Vasco.
He went on to complete his bachelors from Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Belgaum, and Master from Sreedevi College, Mangalore, affiliated to Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Bangalore.
With cricket tournaments taking place throughout the year in different parts of the world, the role of strength and conditioning coach is more in the focus, he says.
“You have leagues all around the world, you have different kinds of tournaments happening and there are a lot of players in tournaments. There's a lot of demand on the body so we need to even take care of the injury and look after the injuries, look after the recovery.”
Working in Indian subcontinent weather conditions is a completely different ball game when it comes to handling on and off the field needs of the players while playing in tough weather conditions of the Middle East.
BAHRAIN JOURNEY
“When I first came to Bahrain, they were looking to get qualified for the World Cup and so we played the World Cup qualifiers in Oman and unfortunately, we did not qualify. We lost a match very closely to UAE,” said Danny.
“After a few months, I got a call to come back to Bahrain, as they liked the way I work. It's been almost two years now I've been working with these guys and we've taken fitness to the next level,” he adds.
“I would like to thank His Highness Sheikh Khalid Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Mohammad Shahid CEO KHK Sports, Mohammad Mansoor Chairman Advisory Board, and Cricket Bahrain Managing Committee for trusting in me, my work, and my capabilities. Also, gratitude to Aashish Kapoor Head Coach for believing in me and giving me this opportunity to showcase my work.”
CONNECT WITH GCA, BCCI
Hailing from Vasco but now staying in Pilar, Danny kick started his off-field cricket journey with the Goa Cricket Association.
“I have been working in cricket for now past 18 years so my journey started with Goa Cricket Association where I worked as a sports physiotherapist for nearly 9 years. I then went to Baroda Cricket Association where I worked with them for two years then I moved on to the Uttaranchal Cricket Association,” said Danny.
Danny's sporting journey continued and his association with cricket grew stronger, when he had got to work with some current and previous players of the Indian team while working with National Cricket Academy.
“I worked with the BCCI, so I've been handling the national Cricket Academy camps for 12-13 years so MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik and others have been part of the camps and I've been working with them.”
“Mohammad Siraj, Yashasvi Jaiswal and all the guys playing now were all under us during the camps so right from junior cricket. We've been working with them and have been nourishing those guys with the physiotherapy needs and the strength and conditioning needs.”
Despite being based in Bahrain, Danny continues his link with Goa’s sportspersons via Midas Touch, his physiotherapy clinic.
“We look after a lot of sports players and a lot of other lay persons as well in physiotherapy
Over the years Danny, who has been known by players for his easy going and jovial nature, has another trait, his helpful nature.
“I have been always coaxing and always guiding a lot of youngsters, basically people, who love sports because I'm a guy who doesn't like to sit in the clinic but to be out on the field advising, guiding and mentoring future stars from the sporting world,” says Danny.
