KOZHIKODE: GVHSS Nadakkavu was among the first schools in the state to give proper football coaching to girls, but several government and aided schools in Kozhikode have now followed suit. Five-six of them have started programmes for students from classes V to XI.
“It seems girls are now more interested to play the game than boys," said St Mary’s HSS coach Babu Sebastian. “We had 18 students registering for coaching in the previous year. Now it has increased to 22," he said. The school team had participated in the 2017 U-17 Subroto Cup in New Delhi.
Meanwhile, football coaches in the district point out though girl students are deeply interested in taking up the sport, in several cases they are unable to learn football owing to parental pressure.
“A majority of the parents want their children to focus solely on academics. They believe that sports is just a waste of time. However, several students have proved that academics and sports can be carried hand in hand," said Jyothikumar M, physical education teacher, Government Girls HSS, Koyilandy.