KOCHI: The 21st Kerala State School Sports Meet is unique in many ways. One of its specialties was the inclusion of special needs students. Even though, it seems easy to get these students to participate in the events designed for them, the ground reality is something different.
The effort that has gone into preparing these children for events like handball was on display at the Sacred Heart HSS ground on Tuesday. TNIE spoke to the coach of the Ernakulam Handball team on the sidelines of the event.
Amerzlin Louis, who is a physical education teacher at St Mary’s HS at Chellanam, says, “All these children need is some encouragement to showcase some very good talents. Take for example this team of handball players who represented Ernakulam. They received training for just three days and the performance that they showcased has been an exemplary one even though they failed to get to the finals.” But how did he manage to get students to understand the ideas and playbook tactics?
“It was a bit difficult. However, I had prior experience in handling students with disabilities. This is my dream project. I want to train children with disabilities to overcome their limitations and soar high,” he adds. This is not the first time for Amerzlin.
“I have two students at my school who have physical disabilities. When I found they showed interest in sports I decided to give them a planned training regime and get them to win medals in sports meets,” says the PE teacher.
Take for example Nimisha, a para-athlete, who studies in my school, he adds. “She has a disability in one arm and leg. But that didn’t stop her from performing well in the Kho-Kho event along with her teammates. She went to the national sub-junior meet and won a bronze along with her team. It was later on that I learnt about the para games and we shifted our focus to long jump. She won a gold in long jump at the recently held para international athletics in Dubai. Now we are aiming for the Para Olympics,” says Amerzlin.
As for the training for the special needs handball team, Amerzlin started by ensuring that the team members understood the importance of being a team.
“Trying to teach them through words won’t work. So I had to turn it into a game. All the team-building efforts and then the actual practice were designed to ensure that the players were continuously engaged. It had to be fun. But the children responded well and this could be seen in their performance,” says the coach who himself is a member of the Indian Masters’ handball team.
The coach is now gearing up to come up with a plan to prepare the team for the sports meet next year.