CHENNAI: Wind swayed across the city, and heavy clouds hung from the sky when I reached Chennai Government High School, KK Nagar. A few kids walked out, making their way home, while some stayed back interacting with their teachers. The clock’s hands showed a few minutes after 3 pm when I crossed the school arch and walked past the physical education department on the left towards the open ground on the right. The sprawling ground with scattered colours of red and yellow jerseys caught my attention.
Here, two boys and a girl were practising football. With a whistle, the coach guided them on the juggling technique. As Jerish J, a student of class 9, found it difficult to crack the skill, Balamurugan A, another student, stepped in and helped him. “Dei, ball la focus pannu da (Focus on the ball),” he encouraged.
While I was watching them play and making notes of the various techniques practised, light showers began. The children ran back to the department for an unscheduled break. They sat down with me and spoke about their game...
Balancing books and ball
The 15-year-old Balamurugan participated in the India Khelo Football (IKF) in 2023. He qualified in the south zone match in Bengaluru but could not cross the line to win the cup at the Nationals conducted in Gujarat.
His skills are now recognised and he has been taking training sessions for the upcoming Chennai Kaalpandhu League (CKL) from coaches of Sportz Village, a school sports organisation, and additional training from Chennaiyin FC, a city-based football club. “I have been playing football only for the last two years but I have followed the sport for a long time now. My favourite footballer is Ronaldo and I love his rainbow flick technique. Someday, I wish to ace all the skills he has,” shares Balamurugan.
Passionate about the sport, he was unable to pursue the sport because of his family’s conditioning. “My parents have supported me only for the last two years, before that they used to say “only study”. This has now changed to “study first, play next”,” Balamurugan notes.
This support from his parents came after his association with CKL. His day starts at 6 am with football practice, which goes on till 8.30 am. He then attends his classes and runs to the ground at 4.30 pm for practice which goes on till 5.30 pm. He then reaches home and as per his parents’ advice, he studies through the rest of the evening.
A cause with a dream
CKL is a platform that provides representation to the students of government schools in sports. This is a part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of LatentView Analytics, a global digital analytics consulting and solutions firm. “The company has been engaging with government schools for its CSR. In 2019, the football lovers in the company came together to create a system wherein school children are identified and trained in the sport for three years,” shares Hariharan Kumaravel, assistant manager at LatentView.
The identification of the students is undertaken by Sportz Village, a vendor of LatentView Analytics. The work begins as early as the start of an academic year. Representatives from the organisation reach out to schools in 12 districts and test the skills of all the students from classes 7 to 9. “Sportz Village checks for availability of resources such as a playground. Students go through a set of drills and passing activities. The scouts assess the children based on how they dribble and play techniques and give them match exposure,” he explains.
Each student is assessed on their skills and the top 15 are selected to form a team. This team represents the school in the CKL. This year, a total of 30 teams are participating, of which 18 are boys and 12 girls. Joining them will be four boys teams and two girls’ teams will join as lateral entry. “Talents can be identified irrespective of gender. Our society is still conservative when it comes to girls playing sports. We have volunteers from the company talking to the parents and encouraging them,” mentions Hariharan adding, “We want these kids to play in Europe.”
Shwetha, another player in the league is currently in the capital city, is participating in a national-level competition.
The players are given kits that have all football supplies and nutrition, in the form of chikki and glucose, twice a week. “There are a few who only come for nutrition supplies,” points out Manigandan S, a coach with Sportz Village.
To the goals
The students are chosen from government schools that have minimal resources. “They see this nutrition as one of the nutrient sources and perform well in the selection process,” adds the coach. Later, the students pick up the necessary skills for the game. Once the children do that, they become competitive. They are taught dribbling, eye coordination, passing, heading, and other techniques of the game.
Manigandan points out that the initial days are difficult because some know the laws of the game and some do not. He says, “There are 17 laws in football. Teaching them takes some time. There are also few who have the skills in them. While we teach them, the students say ‘Sir, idhu enaku theriyum sir. Ippadi dhana pannanum? (Sir, I know this technique. This is how it should be done, right?) and they perform very well.”
Likewise, the students are competitive. During the practice sessions, girls and boys play together. “If it is a 50-50 ball, it is usually boys who run to attempt the ball. Here, girls run before the boys and play the ball,” Manigandan observes.
Big game, bigger hopes
With the same spirit, Shalini V, a class 9 student, says, “I like sports. I have participated in track events every year at my school. Football was new to me to play. My mother motivated me to take part.” Her mother Thenmozhi V shares, “I have been struggling without proper education. I do not want my kid to suffer like me. I want her to come up and achieve big things in her life. I always support and motivate her to do so.” Concurring Jenifer J, Jerish’s mother adds, “I wanted to play sports, but I couldn’t as my parents did not allow me. I do not want the same for my kids. I am here to support and make them confident.”
Jerish has been playing the sport since he was in class 4. “I am in ninth standard now and I want to play next year also. Just because I will be in tenth, I do not want to stop playing the sport,” he says. Playing the role of defender, Jerish wraps up our chat saying, “I have full support from my family and that is enough for me to win any game. Football is equivalent to my life and I wish to win the World Cup someday.”
Chennai Kaalpandhu League starts on September 9 and goes on until September 14 at SDAT grounds, Nehru Park.