By Irineu Gonsalves.

SPORTS is a healthy and invigorat-ing activity. The very thought of it conjures up the image of sportspersons having good physical strength, stamina and agility. All of us need these qualities yet very few of us play a game or evince interest in sport. This not only indicates lack of sports conscious-ness among our masses but also prompts us to go into the reasons of oft-repeated complaints of poor performance of our sportspersons and athletes particularly in the international sports events. Let us probe what is wrong, where, why and how to improve the situation?

Lack of well defined sports policy is one of the significant factors responsible for the ailing health of our sports. There are many vital and fundamental issues not attended to with the earnestness and commitment necessary to make a mark on the sports scene. We are totally relying on the government agencies like the Sports Authority of India and other Associations to do talent scouting. And we know how effective and competent the agencies are.

In the fitness of things, it would be better if we put to use our own modus operandi of scouting talent. If we go around in the interior of the villages in Goa we would be seeing young boys mostly playing football. All of a sudden there is a full-throated exclamation of “GOAL”! One of them gets an unintended pass and he himself is surprised that he put the ball in. For them, it’s all in the game; the sheer joy of playing, no matter what the surface or the area is. To them, all that matters is the excitement. This is the scene almost all over Goa. The fact is that the love and the thrill to be a part of the game is obvious. Only proper guidance is missing to a great extent. So what can be done to improve the situation? In sports much more than money, it is the motivation which matters the most.

There are many clubs in the villages who, though they make feeble efforts like organizing coaching camps, are not really unearthing talent and supporting the young aspirants in every way. Perhaps one of the steps needed to inculcate sports consciousness among the village people where talent is in abundance is by organising sports activities all year round.

We can evolve a unique system in unearthing talent in the villages. And that is to conduct activities all year round starting June and ending in May the following year. The activities should suit every individual and should be spread in such a manner that the indoor games like chess, table tennis, carom, badminton, scrabble, etc. and other games like football, kabaddi, volleyball, swimming, boxing could be held from June to October. Cricket, athletics, basketball etc. could be conducted during sunny months.

To bring excitement to competition, it is a general practice to form Groups or Houses, similar to the type we have in schools or inter wards whichever is convenient. The first step is to choose leaders of the respective Groups/Houses/Wards. A detailed programme from June to May will have to be drawn with tentative dates so that everybody is aware of the whole year’s programme and accordingly prepare themselves. Care will have to be taken to see that the events do not clash with the examinations.

To make this whole exercise interesting, points will have to be allotted to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions and the records maintained. However, the records will have to be updated everytime an event has been conducted and put up in the village clubs’ notice boards and other public places like restaurants to keep one informed and generate interests. Parishes in the respective villages should play an important role since the main aim is to spot talent.

The venues where the events are supposed to be conducted will have to be mentioned in the programme. While indoor games will have to be conducted in the club premises, events like swimming, with prior arrangement, can be conducted in the swimming pools. The whole year’s activities must culminate with a Sports Day in the month of May. It has to be a whole day programme with Athletic Meet being the main attraction. A giant board will have to be erected to display the various disciplines of sports and the points accrued by the respective groups/houses/wards during the year.

Since the whole exercise is to unearth the hidden talent in the villages, the girls and boys who have shown keen interest and have potential in them to make it big naturally will have to be recommended for advance training to the Sports Authority of Goa or the Sports Authority of India or to the private academies.

Just as the formal education in school has provided boys and girls with a map to find their way through life, in the same way it should be the endeavour of these organizers to provide them with one to get them to the proper academies. This is the crux of the whole programme.

Although attitudes and priorities change the spirit of enterprise and dedication has to remain eternal. Every sports loving villager has a role to play in the implementation of this programme. As we are aware that success is based on commitment, all the people who have genuine interest should work towards this end. There will be opposition in the village by the habitual and perennial non performers. One shouldn’t give a rap for what they think. Because they haven’t done anything themselves neither would they allow others to do. The best thing is to ignore them.

The most important thing is to pool the vast experience of the people in the field and march forward. The main forces behind any transformation are the people who pioneer any movement for the improvement of the society and it can be achieved only through dedicated and selfless people.

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