If I had My Way, Sports in India Would be SOOOOOOOoooooooooooo Di fferent.

So....lot of discussions going on India's prospects at Olympics, what with 1.1 billion people, and only 77 delegates with hopes of couple of medals, with even fewer actual tally.

 

I am not the one to critisize only. I'd like to make India great in sports. I love to see a contigent of over 500 athletes with almost all of them being medal hopeful and over 20 percent a sureity.

 

But I don't think our government can help us achieve it. So  in my plan, I have no place for them. Politicians are bad for India. I use help of forgotten sportsmen and women, technocrats, sports lover, businessmen and women and above all, 1.1 billion Indians.

 

Get to the basic. We have to catch them young. Those already in sport and representing the country may not be the best.

    So, I want to start a school which even though has equal commitment towards excellence in studies and sports, does not force every student to excel in sport AND curriculum. Those good at studies, they enroll in clubs like math club (with goal of competing in math olympiad), science club, arts club, may be even somthing like Eureka club, whose sole purpose is to develop ingenuity in kids, trying to invent new things and patent them.

    So, I'd have one Vice-Principle to over look these activities.

 

    There would be another Vice-Principle, whose job is to make sure students who have prospects for sports do atleast ok in studies but excel in sports. Makes sure there's equipments, gym and coaches for students and they are trained as if they are training for olympics.

 

    I would invite retired sportmen, who now have long been forgotten. Why waste such good talent. I'd make that before accepting the job, they understand they have to coach winners. They must adapt to new technologies, new styles, have younger assistants who are always working on how to improve each player and study the competition to be always one step ahead of them.

 

    I would hire scouts, nothing new, it's being done in US....both for studies and sports, whose sole job is to go around country, more so the rural areas and try to enroll the kids with natural talent to my school.

 

    Now, all this needs a lot of money. Well, I am not going to politician to beg for money. There are so many corporations and people with enough money to support such cause. Tatas, Birlas, Reliance, Infosys, TCS, and even Intel, Philips, Motorola, ECC, L&T, Ford, Maruti...I am sure if they see a good proposal, they would be more than happy to support such a cause.

 

    Start one school ,and slowly and steadily, open more andmore such schools under one umbrela.

 

    I would start with sports such as hockey (the school should have astroturf for practice), all atheletics (which don't need much investment), weightlifting, swimming (start with community pool and then own one).

 

I think, we have enough talent to win 100s of medals. All we need is plan and effort from past to help future. Let us not waste our vast pool of talent. Both teachers and parents have to changet heir attitude towards sports. We can and should control the world of sports.

 

SO LET'S DO IT.