Coaching ‘makes me forget my age’, says ACS (I) cricket coach Sarika Siva Prasad
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Sarika Siva Prasad, 65, has been coaching cricket at Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) since 1998.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
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SINGAPORE – Cricket coach Sarika Siva Prasad is trim, fit and sports a head of black hair – the moustached senior easily looks decades younger than 65.
He has been coaching Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) cricketers since 1998, a job he credits for keeping him youthful and on his toes.
“Although I’m 65 now, I don’t feel that age because my whole life I spent with youngsters. It keeps me really happy, it makes me forget my age and enjoy what I’m doing,” he said.
He has been a mainstay of ACS (I) cricket, having joined the school over two decades ago. They have since won at least 37 titles across all three divisional championships. In the 2024 season, the A, B and C Division teams clinched gold at the National School Games – their fourth clean sweep.
Now a Singapore citizen, Prasad arrived from India in 1997 to work for the Singapore Cricket Association. He was posted to ACS (I) when the school requested a strong coach to work with their struggling team.
Sarika Siva Prasad leads a training session for his A and B Division teams at Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) on Aug 1.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
Recalling the moment he was informed of his posting, he said: “Definitely there was excitement. When I came here, the environment was very, very good. I really enjoyed that. I had a very good rapport with the school, as well as with the teachers.”
One of the things Prasad has enjoyed in schools cricket is the long and storied rivalry between ACS (I) and Raffles Institution (RI).
While he has won seven A Division titles since the school’s maiden season in 2007, Prasad told The Straits Times that their first in 2010 remains the most memorable. It was their fourth match-up against RI in the final, after finishing runners-up to their arch-rivals in the previous three.
He recalled that “the players that particular year were all the more determined that they wanted to do well and see how they could achieve a victory in the final”.
Timothy Singham, 32, was the team captain then. Now a clinical psychologist, he said: “To finally get over the line and to be able to win the title, it felt like a pivotal moment in the history of ACS (I) cricket.”
Achieving success with teenage players is no easy task, and Prasad shared that his strategy is to encourage and support them.
“It’s not easy to play any sport, so it’s very easy to criticise, but we keep encouraging them and supporting them and be behind them all the time. They will get interested and they do better,” he added.
This approach has worked on Aarav Sharma, 17, who joined ACS (I) four years ago.
The JC 1 student said: “It’s been really great. I’ve really grown as a player a lot under him. He’s been a constant figure of support throughout it all.
“It’s just the way he tries to nurture each one of us, even in training, he gives everyone a chance.”
Singham added that Prasad “has a real gift for knowing exactly the right words to say to his players at just the right time”.
The mark the coach has left on his players extends beyond the cricket field.
“Even now in my professional life, there are regular instances where I remember the things that Sarika instilled in us. He taught us more than cricket. He taught us about life,” said Singham.
Prasad does not intend to let up any time soon, saying: “This is what I wanted to do all my life and I really enjoy doing this. I still want to continue till my last breath, if my body permits.”
