From 2011 Cricket World Cup to Hockey Asia Cup: Paddy Upton's Winning Formula Revealed

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When you've mentored over 350 professional and international athletes across 21 different sporting codes, witnessed six world champions emerge from six different sports, and guided 25 World Player of the Year recipients to glory, you've earned the right to be called a legend. Patrick 'Paddy' Upton's extraordinary career reads like a sporting hall of fame directory. From helping India's cricket team achieve their first ever World Test Championship victory in 2009 to orchestrating their drought breaking 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup triumph after 28 years.

The 56 year old South African's Midas touch extends far beyond cricket. As Performance Director, he masterminded South Africa's historic achievement of becoming the first team to simultaneously hold the World Number 1 ranking across all three international cricket formats. His influence spans continents and codes. From guiding the Indian men's hockey team to Olympic bronze at the 2024 Paris Games to most recently crafting the mental framework that helped 19 year old Gukesh Dommaraju become the youngest chess World Champion in history.

Now, as India's hockey team turns their attention at the Asia Cup 2025 in Rajgir, Bihar, Upton continues to implement his psychological insights. Having coached in five Cricket World Cups and one Olympics, the man who transforms talented athletes into world class sports professionals spoke to PixelSports about the importance of fitness, mental condition and how hockey professionals are fitter than cricket professionals. 

“(In) Hockey if you are not super fit, you are not gonna win”

When asked about how hockey differs from cricket in terms of fitness, Paddy Upton had no hesitation in saying that it is almost not a comparison.

“It is almost not a comparison. (In) Hocket if you are not super fit, you are not gonna win. It’s a given, it’s a fundamental building block to hockey where cricket because it is a game of skill, someone can hide in the slips, they don’t have to run quick singles, a fast bowler in a test match can’t get away with being unfit but everyone else in cricket can get away, use their game intelligence and skills to get away with fitness. But (in) hockey, you are unfit, you are going to concede goals in the fourth quarter, it’s simple”, said Upton.The South African praised the work done by head coach Craig Fulton and fitness trainer Alan Tan and also heaped praised onto the players who had to train and remain fit, even in the heat of Rajgir and he goes on to say India are the fittest team, since the time he has been involved, in world hockey.

“Indian hockey team, the work ethic, the training ethic is remarkable in the Hockey team. They are just so super fit, they are super dedicated. In order to be competitive in the highest level of the game that’s one of the fundamental building blocks and between, you know, coach Craig Fulton and fitness trainer Alan Tan, they have done a great job in getting this team, we haven’t met another team in world hockey, since I have been involved that has been fitter than us and that’s been part of the goal, so between Alan Tan and Craig, they have done a great job and the dedication of the players to be able to do the hardwork, particularly in some of the heat that they are having to train in”, said Upton.

When asked head coach Craig Fulton about the importance of having Paddy Upton in the set up after India were grinding out matches in the group stages, Craig Fulton said, “It’s about keeping everyone composed when it’s not going our way but at the same time (being) fully focused when it is going our way.”

“The team mental conditioning really needs to be on point for sixty minutes”

Speaking on the importance of mental conditioning, Paddy Upton throws light on how in a sport hockey in which all the players who are involved in the game have to look out and cover for each other for sixty minutes, differs from cricket in which only two batters are involved at a time and even just one bowler and one fielder who is getting involved during bowling.

“Mental condition is important in all sports, the thing about hockey which maybe differs from a sport like cricket is players are having to connect with each other the whole time, everyone all eleven players are fully engaged in every play, all of the time. There has to be good communication, there has to be good connection they can’t be weaklings and if there is an error other people have to quickly come in and cover and solve their problem. Where in cricket very often when you’re batting there’s only two of you out there. Even when you’re bowling, there’s one bowler and one fielder getting the bowl and only really those two, maybe a wicket keeper, maybe someone backing up. So, at any point in a cricket game when you are fielding there’s maybe four fielders involved or engaged in one play. In hockey, there’s all eleven. So, the team mental conditioning really needs to be on point for sixty minutes and hockey is obviously such a high skill, such a super fast game, there’s no room for errors”, said Upton.     Paddy Upton's revelation that hockey demands a level of collective fitness and mental conditioning unmatched in cricket reveals exactly why his coaching philosophy has proven to be so adaptable across different sports. His emphasis on the sixty minute mental marathon required in hockey, where all eleven players must remain "on point" simultaneously, showcases the depth of understanding that has made him indispensable to India's sporting ambitions. As the Asia Cup unfolds, Upton's presence ensures that when the fourth quarter arrives, India will be ready, physically and mentally. After all, when you've guided teams to World Cups, Olympic medals, and world championships across multiple sports, the formula for success becomes second nature.