Keeping the ball rolling 

​Every evening for the last two years, the DDA park of Dwarka’s Sector 9 is packed with hope. Shashi Kumar, a sports education teacher at Shyama Prasad Mukherjee College, coaches 50 children to play v
Keeping the ball rolling 

Shashi Kumar, 26  

Teacher and Volleyball Coach

Every evening for the last two years, the DDA park of Dwarka’s Sector 9 is packed with hope. Shashi Kumar, a sports education teacher at Shyama Prasad Mukherjee College, coaches 50 children to play volleyball and nurtures their dreams of becoming international players. Most of his students are girls. 


Five years ago when Kumar was studying to qualify for a physical education instructor’s job at a government college in Surajpur on the outskirts of Delhi, he began to train students in volleyball as a hobby.


“I told the principal I wanted to train the kids. The school authorities did not like it. But I didn’t give up. Finally, the authorities let me train students for free,” he says.


In 2014, Kumar’s protégés won the Inter-Zone Volleyball competition in Delhi. But he was told that he couldn’t continue teaching students since he was not the school’s sports teacher. “It was both a win and loss at the same time. It was a setback for me, but was a bigger loss for the students. Then and there I decided to become a university coach,” says Kumar. 


His work was rewarded when three of his girl students became national-level players.
“I don’t want to turn coaching into a business. We’ve created the Facebook group, Unit of Virtual Aspiration of Sport (UAV’S). ‘Virtual’ because it raises the sporting spirit among students,” adds Kumar, who now runs a sports shop. The money he earns goes into buying equipment and essentials for training students.


“I have problems giving my students a proper diet. I pay for the equipment from my salary, but a nutritious diet is essential, which I am unable to provide,” he rues. Ninety per cent of his volleyball trainees come from underprivileged backgrounds.


In spite of the Prime Minister’s drive to build toilets all over the country, the DDA park lacks a bathroom, forcing students to use the facilities in a nearby church and a temple. Both shut their doors on them a week ago. “Since the park is not assigned to us, the RWA and DDA officials tell us to stop our practice here,” says Kumar.


The ball is out of their court for now.
 

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