As I start to write this, I find it obligatory to toast to my readers. We have collectively been through one of humankind’s toughest periods – the Covid-19 pandemic.
Each one of us has had drastically different experiences through the pandemic but each of our experiences is equally valid and important all the same. It wouldn’t have been easy getting through without your next-door neighbour or that close relative that resides far away or the millions of essential workers that made sure the gears of society kept running.
I would like to resonate my feelings of gratitude to whatever has allowed us to be here for our dear ones and the continued opportunity to keep working to impact lives. I also deeply empathise with the countless people we lost, it is our responsibility more than ever now to make the future better.
Before Covid-19 had hit India, and more specifically my hometown Chennai, the scale at which youth football programmes were developing in the city was phenomenal. There were academies that were running leagues, and the number of competitive sports that kids got to play had significantly increased over the years, and football was among them.
The first Covid wave had brought all ongoing sports competitions and programmes to a halt. No one knew how long the lockdowns would last. Restrictions were lifted only for them to come back upon us harder than ever due to the second wave. This time, it felt like doomsday, the feeling of wanting to work but unable to do so was painful. You could only imagine how it must have been for the kids who wanted to play but simply could not.
Sport has been an important tool in four lives in tackling the amount of strain the pandemic brought upon whole communities across the globe, events and matches that restarted and kept going were important sources of distraction and brought some relief to all those days of being stuck at home.
Football, the sport that I endear and work in, was supposed to be best worked upon in the outdoors with groups of players coming together to train and work as a team, and having to stay put at home took away the very foundation of the sport. Classes were shifted to online mode, and teaching methods and content were refined to suit a more individualised approach. It didn’t feel ideal but it was the best we could do under the circumstances and it worked.
All through this time, one thing was evident in my mind – the suffering is temporary and sports will be back where it belongs soon, it always does. When the pandemic seemed to ease out and with more and more people getting vaccinated, sports activities resumed and academies were starting to run programmes again. I sought an opportunity that would allow me to stand for my beliefs and share in my passion for coaching football.
Great Goals
A youth football academy that runs programmes for girls and boys across the ages of 3 to 16 in Chennai was restarting operations and I couldn’t wait to hop on. I had been following them since they had started in 2015 and most importantly, through the pandemic, the academy got on board innovative and passionate people who I would rate as their biggest assets.
The genuine desire the founders and coaches have to help each kid that joins their programme improve, this is an easy formula for growth and success for both the academy and the kids who participate Soon enough, I was on the great goals fields doing what I love best – coaching kids to play football.
At present, I stand witness to the wheels of development starting to churn again and a lot of activities falling in line as they were pre-Covid.
I strongly believe football is going to thrive in the years to come. I would like to document this journey of development through my blog. I will be documenting the people who work in sport, the kind of work that is being done to instigate quality in development, the various activities that happen around the city and their outcomes, and most importantly the kids who play and their experiences.
Before signing off, I want to make sure that we understand the pandemic isn’t wholly over and it is here to stay; it is like a boxing match with 50 rounds and playing the long game is the wiser thing to do.
If anything the darn virus has taught us it is to value what we have and to appreciate one another but to a far greater extent I think the sport has somehow along the years played an innate role in teaching us the resilience to keep fighting back. The major sporting events that got shut down are back there are kids playing on the fields now, there is an air of victory and a sense of relief going forwards, and the Team and I at Great Goals intend to fight hard to keep the fire and spirit of football burning bright and strong.
I sign off with a victory call as we deserve that much thus far.
Until next time.
About the author: Prithvi Jagan is a Youth coach at Great Goals.