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Kick-starting their GOALS
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A friendly trio's efforts have proved to be fruitful for children who love sports
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Veteran footballer Sriramulu giving tips on throw-in to children.
DISAPPEARING PLAYGROUNDS, tight academic schedules and unhealthy distractions from the visual media restrain children from taking to sports. Physical activity is important for a child's overall development.
It is a sad commentary on urban development that even as there is progress all around, there is little opportunity for the younger generation to take part in games, for either the grounds no longer exist or there is no effort to develop interest in them. So much so, they get hooked to television.
In a bid to find a way out of this, three friends hit upon a novel idea: why not take children to a playground and provide them physical training and also impart football skills. "This, we thought, would give the children enough physical activity, help those with an innate talent in the sport to come up, get into their school team and from there, branch out," says Soruban Jude, a human resources manager in a software company and a former member of the Loyola College football team.
Jude and his friends Johnson and Anand had their children in mind when they worked on this plan. However, the love for the game and the predicament of every child in the 6-16 age group, made them decide on widening the horizon. The result: a novel idea has gradually grown into a mass movement in the city. In a year's time, they started the physical training-cum-football coaching routine on Sundays and all holidays at the playground in the campus of the St. Louis School for Deaf and Dumb. Over 60 children, including three girls from various parts of the city, have benefited.
"At least 20 of them found their way into their school team," says Jude with a sense of satisfaction. "We had arranged three vans to pick up the children by 6 a.m. from various points in the city and drop them back at the end of three hours of training, after providing breakfast," he says, adding that a fee (approximately Rs. 100 per day) was charged for the services rendered. "Two handicapped children were trained free of charge," he says.
Much to the surprise of the friendly trio, the response, particularly after the news of their efforts spread through the media, was encouraging. In fact, it was the parents who seemed more demanding than the children for the benefits were there to be seen. "We had a child who had inwardly bent legs that affected his gait. After hard work on the ground with lots of running and stretching, the boy's walk improved as did his sense of confidence. Besides, he had learnt a few tricks in football and experienced the thrills of sprinting," Jude says as an example of the successfully conducted venture. Another child was able to get rid of cold and cough, which bothered him regularly.
As he looks back, Jude is proud of the monumental work they had put in to piece together their idea under the banner `Chennai Football Training'. "I must have gone and checked over 250 grounds in the city. Some were out of bounds, some unsuitable and a few clashed with the institution's own schedules. Finally, it was the St. Louis school authorities in Adyar who obliged to provide access for a fee," he says.
What surprised them was the discouraging reaction from the City Football Association. They were more interested in laying down conditions and rules. It is a different matter that the CFT could go on its own and also get the services of three coaches — Jeffrey, Sriramalu and Jayakumar.
Bowing to the wishes of parents, the CFT, he says, has planned to introduce from this month training in basketball and volleyball as well at the same venue. Even reducing the fee is being considered. The fresh programme will open up opportunities for more girls to take to sports. The next session of the CFT is scheduled to start around September-end when examination schedules of schools would have been over and holidays would have started. If the experience so far for this integrated programme is any indication, Jude and his friends can get ready for a busy time ahead.
S. R. SURYANARAYAN
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