India’s best ever international track and field games performance (102 medals including 38 gold) in the recently concluded Commonwealth Games 2010, has generated unpreced-ented euphoria and public interest in sports education. The overwhelming consensus within athletes and sports pundits is that this is a good time to begin root and branch reform of sports education, and build modern infrastructure for children to engage in sports and games. Not entirely coincidentally, a determined corporate campaign to weave structured sports education and training into the school experience, has already begun. Dismayed by the lack of a sports culture and awareness that “Indians are academically well adapted but necessarily not well-rounded”, sports and soccer enthusiast Dev Roy has stepped up to the plate to co-promote the Bangalore-based FitKids Education and Training Pvt. Ltd, which combines sports evangelism with enlightened capitalism.
A graduate of R.V. College of Engine-ering, Bangalore with an MBA from the University of Chicago, Roy (37) began his career with IBM, USA in 1995 followed by stints in the Bank of America and Dresdner Bank. In 2007 he was appointed the youngest managing director of Barclays Capital, London, a position he held until 2009, following which he took a leap of faith to return to India. “In my 12 years in the corporate world I realised that success is often determined by how we deal with failure and setbacks, and that sports and games are the best laboratory to learn how to deal with reversals and successes. Hence while planning my return strategy, I shortlisted India’s fast growth education and health sectors as requiring prime attention,” says Roy.
Last December (2009) after “six months of intense research” FitKids Education launched its Leapstart programme for K-VI children. “Leapstart is a unique age-appropriate sports and physical fitness training programme to help children develop basic athletic skills. Our belief is that sports development and training must begin as early as kindergarten as it’s the key to producing not only world class sportspersons but also for facilitating all-round success and wellness in life,” he says.
Roy believes that FitKids Education’s partnership with SPARK (Sports, Play and Active Recreation for Kids), a US-based research and public health organisation whose sports curriculum is being implemented in over 1,000 schools in 30 countries worldwide, is certain to pay off and catalyse a sports and fitness revolution in K-12 education in India. “To design Leapstart we have taken SPARK — the world’s most researched and field-tested physical fitness programme — and customised it to suit the Indian environment. For instance we have included cricket in the gamut of sports to which children are exposed in class III-VI,” says Roy who has also promoted a health company, Nephrolifecare Pvt. Ltd.
Market response to the company’s Leapstart programme is encouraging. In the short span of six months since its launch, 15 schools in five cities (Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Cochin and Ooty) have signed up for this whole school sports education programme with each student billed a modest Rs.125-225 per month. Under the Leapstart package, subscriber schools’ physical education and sports teachers are continuously trained and supervised by Leapstart’s expert instructors, with state-of-the-art play equipment supplied by Fitkids Education.
“To develop a competitive national sports culture it’s crucial that the natural love of play in children is developed through early and sustained sports education. There are no short cuts to gold or other medals in international sports and games arenas. At Leapstart we have set ourselves the target of reaching 100 schools over the next year,” says Roy.
A great leap forward in sports education seems on the cards!
Summiya Yasmeen (Bangalore)