PUDUCHERRY: The passes have a semblance to Tiqui-taca. The children are fully immersed in their game. Unmindful of the sweat dripping off their eyebrows, they are all chasing the ball with their target in focus.“Santhosh and Karthik,” shouts R Ravi Varman, watching them play on the ground of Indira Gandhi Government High School in Katterikuppam in Mannadipet Commune.
The 29-year-old techie from Thilaspet — who has B Tech and MBA degrees — is living his dream and is on a mission to make many a future bright by developing sports in government schools in the rural parts of Puducherry. Though the love for football is in his blood, he could not pursue his passion, blaming it on his circumstances back home.
Years spent on computers or unending client calls did not dampen his love for the game as the techie, along with his friends, V Mohandass, S Maheswaran, Subramanian and AP Tarun, all BTech graduates, founded a trust — National Human Resource Foundation — in 2019 to empower rural students in sports, education and employment.
Mohandass, who played football with Ravi Varman in school, went on to became the director of sports and football coach of the trust. A batch of 20 students of the government high school were selected for training, and after getting approval from the Department of School Education, a ground was prepared by clearing the bushes and levelling the field. Former players from the village were roped in as volunteers.
Next comes the difficult part of buying football gear. Taking Ravi Varman by surprise, CM N Rangasamy chipped in by making contributions at the initial stage. Students are being trained on a daily basis, either before school or after school. Ten months of training and local matches later, they were exposed to tournaments in Chennai, Villupuram and Cuddalore. In the last one year, they took part in 10 tournaments.
The trust organised the ‘Mero Trophy Tournament’ in Puducherry which saw the participation of teams from TN and Kerala. The latest tourney was held on JIPMER grounds on July 15, where 35 teams took part.
Ask Ravi Varman, he would say most of his fellow football team members in school have quit playing as there is little opportunity to showcase their talents or to hone their skills. “A good number of them got addicted to ganja and alcohol and their lives started falling apart,” he says, adding that health benefits apart, sports will help keep alcohol and drugs at bay.
The trust has no plan to end its coaching with Indira Gandhi Government High School, as the techie says, he plans to form football teams in other government schools as well. “This is just the beginning. We are planning to take it forward. The next in our target is PONCOS Higher Secondary School in Lingerreddipalayam. We have already started the groundwork on October 1,” Ravi Varman says.
It’s not just football, the trust wants to develop other sports in which the students are interested. “This could be solo sports item or team sports like volleyball, cricket and the like,” he says, adding those who excel can move forward from State level to regional level and to national level and build a career in sports.
The trust was helping youth in getting employment as several lost their jobs during the pandemic.
By creating various networks with HR departments of several companies, management of private hospitals and organisations and Whatsapp groups of job seekers, the trust is assisting educated youth in getting placed. Hearing their mentor’s call, Santhosh and Karthik, both studying in Class 9, stop playing and run towards the edge of the ground huffing and puffing. When they are near, Ravi Varman whoops, unable to hide his excitement. “Both of you have been selected to the State under-16 team,” he exults.