Sports Education

Preparing the ground for champions

For sports lovers in India, it’s an exasperating existence. "A billion people and not a single Olympic gold medal" is a commonly heard lament.

True. But on the other hand India has started producing sports heroes. There’s Sania Mirza, Sachin Tendulkar and Olympic shooting silver medallist Raghavendra Rathore.

But a billion strong nation needs to produce more than a handful of champions. How is this objective to be attained?

Heroes. Countries like the US and UK have numerous sports icons like Pete Sampras, Chris Evert, Magic Johnson, Jesse Joyner, Carl Lewis and Michael Powell. These sportspersons have won the top titles in their chosen fields and serve as star role models for children. Achieving any respectable level in sport requires sacrificing a lot of ‘fun’ things that kids do as they grow up. In addition, there is a constant fear of failure. When confronted with such negativity, having sports heroes provides the encouragement to persevere.

Social support. A study of any country doing well in games sports internationally will highlight how all sections of society are involved in sports activities. Nearly 40 percent of football viewership in the UK is female. At a football game in Britain, you may find grandma with her friends; young Timmy with his other five-year-old ‘mates’; Mummy with her gossip circle and of course Dad knocking back a few pints with the lads. When a society adopts sports (or a single sport) across age groups, the economics start making sense to sponsors and a virtuous cycle begins.

Neighbourhood sports. Players like Zinedine Zidane were discovered while playing on the streets of Marseille — not in the Stadt de France! Agassi did not grow up playing at Wimbledon or Flushing Meadows. Children develop their skills and stamina playing impromptu games in their neighbourhoods. Once basic skills and style are developed, professional coaching and disciplined regimens can produce world champions.

Sports infrastructure. Adequate neighbourhood playgrounds and world-class stadiums are the norm in Olympic medals grabbing countries such as the US, Russia, and China. Sports infrastructure does not just mean large stadia. It includes small spaces where kids can play safely and where community development norms ensure there are safe play areas equipped with decent infrastructure (e.g. floodlights for tennis courts).

Therefore if India is to produce Olympic medallists and champions in proportion to its population, a radical mindset change towards sports education is required within the parental, academic and government communities.

Encourage kids to play. Most residential areas don’t provide spaces for children to play. Indeed in numerous apartment complexes, kids are not allowed to play. If at all, so-called play areas are provided till the age of four. For children in the vitally important age group of four-15 years there are hardly any play options. Schools and government parks should be kept open and well maintained for children to play until late.

Parental support. Even if a child is not inclined to take to sport professionally, the life-lessons learnt through regular play ensure that the child grows up a well-rounded individual. If parents collectively encourage their children to put in a few hours of play everyday, sports stars will emerge purely from a statistical probability!

Developing and maintaining neighbourhood playgrounds. Lack of sports facilities and infrastructure is a commonly cited excuse for India’s poor performance in competitive sports. Neighbourhood grounds are of far greater importance for the development of sports culture than large stadiums that are never accessible to the general public. With encroaching urbanisation, friendly neighbourhood playgrounds are fast disappearing. Local communities should insist upon playing spaces and their maintenance.

Community involvement. When the Under-19 World Cup baseball tournament was held in Dallas, Texas a few years ago, nearly 1,500 volunteers worked free for a week to make it a success. Players stayed with families in Dallas; the city council let the organisers use the city grounds free of cost, and officials and referees were volunteers. From a commercial perspective, this takes care of the three largest heads of expenditure for any sports event (grounds, accommodation, volunteers). Moral of the story: communities need to get involved and support sports activities.

Sports in schools. School grounds are usually well located in the middle of residential areas, permitting children easy access. Parents and school officials need to work together to make the best use of school grounds after school hours.

If public opinion ensures neighbourhood play areas in town planning, and local communities are involved in sports activities, the larger battle to create a sports culture will inevitably be won. The next battle of converting a large pool of raw talent into world champions is relatively easy.

(Saumil Majmudar is the IIT-B and IIM-A educated founder-director of Sportz Village, Bangalore)