Youth Lead the Way: ASA’s Vision for Holistic Sports Programme

Sports and physical activities are increasingly being recognised in India as contributing to physical, cognitive and social benefits for children, and are being viewed as more than mere recreational activity. With this growing recognition over the past decade, children and youth participation in sports has witnessed a rise.

As sports participation has increased, so has the need to ensure access to safe playgrounds, sufficient sports equipment, and quality programme delivery by qualified and competent coaches. On the other hand, it is essential to emphasise the holistic development of the children through engaging training sessions. Multiple research studies have highlighted that children drop out of sports due to overtraining and over-emphasising winning at a young age. Hence, it is important to ensure well-designed programmes where coaches are equipped to work towards ensuring children access their fundamental right to play by facilitating a positive learning experience for children through sports participation.

Furthermore, reports highlight the shortage of qualified coaches to meet the growing number of children accessing sports in India. Such gaps call for the need to raise the child-to-coach ratio and subsequently ensure quality in programme delivery.

Acknowledging these gaps in the quality delivery and the shortage of coaches, Anantapur Sports Academy (ASA) has launched initiatives such as youth volunteering and youth leadership programmes to upskill the youth in rural India in coaching and refereeing roles. The initiatives further support the interested and committed youth in gaining coaching/refereeing certifications from their respective sport federations to enhance their livelihood opportunities across India.

Contributing towards upskilling and leadership development among rural youth in Anantapur and Sathya Sai districts, ASA recently organised a five-day coaches' workshop in cricket, football and hockey sports. 74 coaches (15 females) attended the workshop covering a holistic range of topics including coaching methodology, long-term athlete development (LTAD), sports skills, life skills education, and first-aid. The holistic approach to the workshop design and delivery ensures that the young coaches are equipped with appropriate knowledge resources and tools to deliver quality and engaging sessions for the children. 

Rajini P., a young coach from the grassroots, talking about the coaches workshop stated: “Communicating with different age groups was a challenge for me. Even when you give them the instructions, the athletes do not understand them properly. The workshop gave me ideas on the importance of communication skills and how to conduct an effective session for the children.”

Another major highlight of these coaches' workshops is the introduction of a life skills and value education curriculum titled “Play, Learn, Grow!”. Together, the Swiss Academy for Development (SA4D) and ASA have designed the life-skills and value education curriculum for the U-12 and U-16 age categories. The curriculum provides a framework for the young coaches to use sport and play as a medium to facilitate a positive learning experience for the children. 

Further, these workshops offered a great opportunity for the youth from different rural parts of Anantapur and Sathya Sai districts to connect and learn about a diverse range of topics before being introduced to coaching children. The theory and practical-based delivery combined with group tasks ensured the coaches had hands-on experience during the five days. ASA believes these workshops combined with the youth’s commitment would prepare them well for their respective sport federation’s coaching licence and eventually enhance their livelihood opportunities across the country. 

“We at ASA ensure that our children receive the best learning experience to excel in their lives. With a longer vision, we also focus on training our youth to explore more opportunities. The introduction of the Coaches Workshop was to fulfil these goals at the ASA programme. Over the years, enhancing the knowledge of the coaches, we have created a better learning environment for our children and more opportunities for our youth,” says Vamsi Krishna Gyalam, ASA Grassroots Coordinator, talking about the recently concluded coaches' workshop.

Coaches' workshops facilitate opportunities for learning among rural youth and ensure the youth are skilled with knowledge and appropriate tools to take up coaching. Initiatives like youth volunteering and youth leadership programmes, through coaches' workshops, play a key role in bridging the existing gaps in the quality delivery of sports programmes and the shortage of coaches. Furthermore, they build a strong foundation for the future of children and youth alike in accessing opportunities and benefiting from sports participation.