Paddy Upton
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South African born Patrick Anthony Howard 'Paddy' Upton (born 5 November 1968) is a Cricket Coach specialising as Head Coach in Professional T20
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
, Mental Coach to professional athletes, Sports Scientist Executive Coach and
Professor of Practice Professors in the United States commonly occupy any of several positions of teaching and research within a college or university. In the U.S., the word "professor" informally refers collectively to the academic ranks of assistant professor, asso ...
at
Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia. Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn Ponds, ...
. After attaining his
Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
in
Sport Science Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sport and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally inc ...
at
University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...
. He worked as the
Strength and Conditioning coach A strength and conditioning coach (also known as an S&C coach) is a physical performance professional who uses exercise prescription to improve the performance of competitive athletes or athletic teams. This is achieved through the combination of ...
for the
South Africa cricket team The South Africa national cricket team, also known as the Proteas, represents South Africa in men's international cricket and is administered by Cricket South Africa (CSA). South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council (I ...
(1994–1998) and the
Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...
rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...
team (1999) Changing careers following a second master's degree in Business Coaching from
Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated MDX) is a public research university in Hendon, northwest London, England. The name of the university is taken from its location within the historic county boundaries ...
(2003), and along with
Gary Kirsten Gary Kirsten (born 23 November 1967) is a South African cricket coach and former cricketer. He has coached the Indian Cricket Team as well as the South African Cricket team. Kirsten played 101 Test matches and 185 One Day Internationals for So ...
as head coach, Upton was appointed Mental Conditioning and Strategic Leadership Coach of the
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
National cricket team in 2008. Under Kirsten and Upton, the team attained the ICC top test team ranking for their first time (2009), and went on to win the
ICC World Cup The Cricket World Cup (officially known as ICC Men's Cricket World Cup) is the international championship of One Day International (ODI) cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), ev ...
in 2011. Following this success, Upton was appointed Performance Director of the
South Africa Cricket Team The South Africa national cricket team, also known as the Proteas, represents South Africa in men's international cricket and is administered by Cricket South Africa (CSA). South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council (I ...
(Proteas) from 2011 to 2014, during which time they became the first team to simultaneously hold the Official ICC World number 1 ranking in all three formats of the international game. Between 2012 and 2018 Upton has been head coach in 12 professional T20 cricket seasons, for five different teams across three tournaments, including the
Indian Premier League The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's T20 franchise cricket league of India. It is annually contested by ten teams based out of seven Indian cities and three Indian states. The leagu ...
, Australian
Big Bash League The Big Bash League (known as the KFC Big Bash League for sponsorship reasons, often abbreviated to BBL or Big Bash) is an Australian professional club Twenty20 cricket league, which was established in 2011 by Cricket Australia. The Big Bash Le ...
and the
Pakistan Super League The Pakistan Super League (PSL) is a professional Twenty20 cricket league contested during February and March of every year by six teams representing six cities of Pakistan. The league was founded on 9 September 2015 with five teams by the Paki ...
. His accomplishments as head coach include leading the
Rajasthan Royals Rajasthan Royals (often abbreviated as RR) are a franchise cricket team based in Jaipur, Rajasthan, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Founded in 2008 as one of the initial eight IPL franchises, the team is based at the Sawai Ma ...
team from four years near the bottom of the IPL log to IPL Semi-finalists and Champions League finalists in his first season (2013), including a record 13 straight home wins. He joined the Sydney Thunder team after they had lost 21 out of 22 matches in the first three seasons of the Big Bash League, leading them to Big Bash League Championshttps://www.foxsports.com.au/cricket/domestic-cricket/big-bash/big-bash-league-2016-melbourne-stars-v-sydney-thunder-in-bbl05-final-at-the-mcg--live-scores-updates-live-blog/news-story/58c4bca8a6212d262775921a6ae3b704?nk=f65d8d3f7fcad7a1cf926d0df8d731d9-1 two seasons later, in BBL05. Upton has degrees from four different Universities, including two
Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
s. In 2015 he was awarded the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Achiever Award, awarded to Alumni who made significant contributions to their specialist fields and contributed to the development and well-being of society at local, provincial, national or international levels. In 2017 he was appointed
Professor of Practice Professors in the United States commonly occupy any of several positions of teaching and research within a college or university. In the U.S., the word "professor" informally refers collectively to the academic ranks of assistant professor, asso ...
at
Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia. Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn Ponds, ...
.


Biography

Upton was born on 5 November 1968 in
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
,
Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...
,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
. He represented the Western Province Schools U19 cricket team from grade 10 to grade 12 (1984–1986), captaining the team in 1986. He represented the Western Province U23 cricket team from 1988 to 1992, as captain in 1991–1992, and played for the Western Province senior cricket team in 1990-91 and 1993–94, scoring a century on first-class debut. Upton played rugby for
Maties Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...
(
Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...
), for the
first XV Rugby union is a team sport played between two teams of fifteen players. This is a general glossary of the terminology used in the sport of rugby union. Where words in a sentence are also defined elsewhere in this article, they appear in italics. ...
at
University of Port Elizabeth The University of Port Elizabeth (UPE) was a public university located in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. UPE was founded on 31 January 1964, by an act of parliament, and held its first academic year in 1965. It off ...
(1990), as well as for the
University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...
(1991). In a strange twist, he received one cap (1990) for the South African Rugby Association team, an
apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
-era team comprising the best
black African Black is a Racialization, racialized classification of people, usually a Politics, political and Human skin color, skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have ...
(not white,
coloured Coloureds ( af, Kleurlinge or , ) refers to members of multiracial ethnic communities in Southern Africa who may have ancestry from more than one of the various populations inhabiting the region, including African, European, and Asian. South ...
, Muslim or Indian) players in South Africa at the time. Upton is classified white (
caucasian Caucasian may refer to: Anthropology *Anything from the Caucasus region ** ** ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region * * * Languages * Northwest Caucasian l ...
). In 1994 and at age 25 he retired from competitive cricket and rugby to take up the position of full-time Strength and Conditioning coach of the South African national cricket team. Following his work as Strength and Conditioning coach (of South African cricket and Western Province rugby) in 1999 Upton was a co-founder and managing director of Street Universe, a Section-21 (non-profit) organisation founded to rehabilitate the 400-odd hardened street children and youth living on the streets in the
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
CBD and surrounds. Thanks to the backing of Ex-
springbok rugby The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...
captain and later manager
Morne du Plessis Morne is an Old-French word for a small mountain. It may refer to: * Morne a Chandelle, a village in the Sud-Est department of Haiti * Morne-à-l'Eau, a commune in Guadeloupe * Morne Bois-Pin, the fourth highest mountain in Haiti * Morne la Vigie ...
, the organisation received funding from amongst other, the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Following Upton's resignation in 2002, Street Universe merged with another organisation under new leadership.


Strength and Conditioning coach

After completing a master's degree in Sport Science and at age 25, Upton cut his playing-career short to take up the full-time position of Strength and conditioning Coach for the South African cricket team, from 1994 to 1998. He was also involved as a key strategist with the team coach
Bob Woolmer Robert Andrew Woolmer (14 May 1948 – 18 March 2007) was an English cricket coach, cricketer, and a commentator. He played in 19 Test matches and six One Day Internationals for the England cricket team and later coached South Africa, Warwick ...
and then-captain
Hansie Cronje Wessel Johannes "Hansie" Cronje (25 September 1969 – 1 June 2002) was a South African international cricketer and captain of the South African national cricket team in the 1990s. A right-handed all-rounder, as captain Cronje led his team to vi ...
. In 1999 he changed codes to rugby, spend a year working as Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Western Province
Vodacom Cup The Vodacom Cup was an annual rugby union competition in South Africa. Annual Vodacom Cup competitions were played between its inaugural season in 1998 and 2015 and was contested between February and May each year. The Vodacom Cup was the succes ...
rugby team.


Mental coach

With a
sport psychology Sport psychology was defined by the European Federation of Sport in 1996, as the study of the psychological basis, processes, and effects of sport. Otherwise, sport is considered as any physical activity where the individuals engage for competi ...
major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
, and a second master's degree (in Business Coaching), Upton redefined his career to begin work as Mental Conditioning coach (in sport) and Executive Coach (in Business) in 2003. He has since worked as Mental Coach and/or Performance Consultant to over 20 professional cricket, rugby, soccer and field hockey teams across South Africa, India and Australia. He has also served as personal Mental Coach to over 100 professional athletes from 11 different sports, and across five continents, including cricket, rugby, soccer, golf, tennis, swimming and World Tour surfing (2003 – current). Upton worked for one season (2014) as Mental Coach and Performance Consultant to the
Eastern Province Kings The Eastern Province Elephants (known as the Multisure Eastern Province Elephants for sponsorship reasons) are a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup and Rugby Challenge competitions. They are governed by the ...
Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...
rugby team, under coach
Carlos Spencer Carlos James Spencer (born 14 October 1975) is a former New Zealand rugby union player and previously the head coach of the and the . He is currently an assistant coach for the New Orleans Gold of Major League Rugby (MLR). During his playing ...
.


Indian Cricket Team

Having been appointed the head coach of
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
in 2008,
Gary Kirsten Gary Kirsten (born 23 November 1967) is a South African cricket coach and former cricketer. He has coached the Indian Cricket Team as well as the South African Cricket team. Kirsten played 101 Test matches and 185 One Day Internationals for So ...
recommended the appointment of Upton in the dual role of Mental Conditioning coach and Strategic Leadership Coach. Kirsten described Upton's support and guidance as invaluable. The duo of Kirsten and Upton spent three years with the Indian team, during which time the team attained the top
test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
ICC team ranking for their first time (2009), and went on to win the
ICC World Cup The Cricket World Cup (officially known as ICC Men's Cricket World Cup) is the international championship of One Day International (ODI) cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), ev ...
in 2011 – with India having last won that tournament 28 years prior. Upton was brought back to the Indian team as a mental conditioning expert in July 2022, during the India tour of West Indies.


South African Cricket Team

Following success with the Indian Cricket team, Upton was appointed Performance Director of the
South Africa Cricket Team The South Africa national cricket team, also known as the Proteas, represents South Africa in men's international cricket and is administered by Cricket South Africa (CSA). South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council (I ...
(Proteas) from 2011 to 2014. During this period they became the first team to simultaneously hold the Official ICC World number 1 ranking in all three formats of the game. The Proteas retained the Number one ranking from August 2012 to December 2015.


Head coach

Between 2013 and 2018 Upton worked as head coach in 12 professional T20 cricket seasons, for five different teams across three tournaments, in Australia, India and Dubai. He was appointed head coach of a 6th team, the Durban Qalandars in South Africa's T20 Global League, before the tournament was postponed.


Indian Premier League

Upton was head coach of
Pune Warriors Pune Warriors India were a franchise Twenty20 cricket team that represented the city of Pune in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The team was one of two IPL franchises from the Indian state of Maharashtra, the other being Mumbai Indians. It was ...
in 2012, of
Rajasthan Royals Rajasthan Royals (often abbreviated as RR) are a franchise cricket team based in Jaipur, Rajasthan, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Founded in 2008 as one of the initial eight IPL franchises, the team is based at the Sawai Ma ...
for three seasons (2013–2015) and then
Delhi Daredevils Delhi Capitals (formerly Delhi Daredevils) are a franchise cricket team based out of Delhi in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is jointly owned by the GMR Group and the JSW Group. The team's home ground is Arun Jaitley Stadium, ...
for two seasons (2016–2017) in the
Indian Premier League The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's T20 franchise cricket league of India. It is annually contested by ten teams based out of seven Indian cities and three Indian states. The leagu ...
. Under his coaching, the Rajasthan Royals team went from four years near the bottom of the IPL log, to IPL Semi-finalists and Champions League finalists in Upton's first season (2013), which included a record 13 straight home wins at the
Sawai Mansingh Stadium The Sawai Mansingh Stadium is a cricket stadium in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. It was named after Sawai Man Singh II, the former Maharaja of the state of Jaipur. It is situated at one corner of the PKMB. The stadium seats 30,000. As of July 2013 ...
in Jaipur. He got appointed as Team Catalyst of Rajasthan Royals for IPL 2022 edition. His main job was to look after mental well-being of players in bio-bubble.


Australian Big Bash League

Upton was head coach of the
Sydney Thunder The Sydney Thunder are an Australian franchise professional cricket team, competing in Australia's domestic Twenty20 cricket competition, the Big Bash League. Along with the Sydney Sixers, the Thunder are the successors of the New South Wale ...
cricket team in the Australian
Big Bash League The Big Bash League (known as the KFC Big Bash League for sponsorship reasons, often abbreviated to BBL or Big Bash) is an Australian professional club Twenty20 cricket league, which was established in 2011 by Cricket Australia. The Big Bash Le ...
for four seasons, from 2014 to 2018. His appointment came after the team had lost 21 out of 22 matches in the first three seasons of the Big Bash League (BBL01 to BBL03). Along with Captain
Mike Hussey Michael Edward Killeen Hussey (born 27 May 1975) is an Australian cricket coach, commentator and former international cricketer, who played all forms of the game. Hussey is also widely known by his nickname 'Mr Cricket'. Hussey was a relative la ...
, Upton guided the team from wooden-spooners to Big Bash League Champions two seasons later, in BBL05. In a 2015 interview, Australian cricketer
Shane Watson Shane Robert Watson (born 17 June 1981) is an Australian former cricketer, and occasional captain in all formats, who has played for Australia's national cricket team. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-handed fast-medium swing bowler ...
referred to Upton as 'one of the best coaches in the world'.


Pakistan Super League

Upton was head coach of
Lahore Qalandars Lahore Qalandars ( ur, ; pnb, لہور قلندرز; abbreviated as LQ) is a Pakistani professional cricket franchise which plays in the Pakistan Super League, representing the city of Lahore. The home ground of the team is Gaddafi Stadium. ...
in the inaugural two seasons of the
Pakistan Super League The Pakistan Super League (PSL) is a professional Twenty20 cricket league contested during February and March of every year by six teams representing six cities of Pakistan. The league was founded on 9 September 2015 with five teams by the Paki ...
, hosted in Dubai (2016–2017). The team finished in 5th in both seasons. Upton has degrees from four different universities, including two master's degrees. In 2017 he was appoint as Professor of Practice at Deakin University school of Business and Law (Melbourne, Australia). His degrees include; * BSc (Human Movement Sciences), Stellenbosch University * B.A Hons (Biokinetics), University of Port Elizabeth. (Including distinction for Sport Psychology major) * MSc (Medical – Sport Science), University of Cape Town. (Thesis: Prevention of Schoolboy Rugby Injuries) * M.A. (Professional Development – Coaching), Middlesex University (with distinction). (Thesis: Assessing professional cricket coaching (with distinction)) * Appointed Professor of Practice. Deakin University, Faculty of Business and Law (Melbourne, Australia) Upton's has published academic papers in the ''
South African Medical Journal The ''South African Medical Journal'' is a monthly peer-reviewed open-access medical journal which has been published in South Africa since 1884. It is sponsored by the South African Medical Association and published by the association's publishin ...
'' (Vol 86, No 5. 1996) and the ''
British Journal of Sports Medicine The ''British Journal of Sports Medicine'' is a twice-monthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering sports science and sports medicine including sport physiotherapy. It is published by the BMJ Group. It was established in 1964 and the editor- ...
'', (Vol 6. 1996) and has co-authored "The Beer Drinkers Guide to Losing Weight" (Penguin Books, 1997) and "Sharing the Passion. Conversations with Coaches" (Advanced human Technologies, 2006). * Author of ''The Barefoot Coach: Life-changing insights from working with the world's best cricketers''. Published May 2019 in India by Westland (Amazon), on Amazon Kindle (eBook) and self-published in South Africa. Ranked in Amazon.in top 50 sellers, and chosen by Exclusive Books (South Africa) as a 2019 Homebru Book of Choice.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Upton, Paddy 1968 births Living people Big Bash League coaches South African cricket coaches South African cricketers South African rugby union players South African rugby union coaches Coaches of the Indian national cricket team Pakistan Super League coaches