TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF BEING A BASKETBALL COACH

What began as PASSION - in my early childhood - has become a WAY OF LIVING LIFE today for me. But the trials and tribulations of being a basketball coach have taken its toll. Indifferent versus dedicated students - successes versus failures - anger at some - smile at some - YOU NAME IT - it was all there. I WON and I LOST. Falling in love again and again - and then trying to LIVE OUT the heart-breaks - a roller coaster ride for a sensitive man who tried play by the rules - but couldn't because the rules stifled his creativity and sensitivities.

SAVANDURGA - MAKALIDURGA - KABBAL DURGA and so many other hillocks were regularly climbed - as if breathing was possible only on hill-tops. The words like ASHATHON - MICRO OLYMPICS - HANDBALL [ASHA STYLE] - and NO DRIBBLE BASKETBALL with 50 children on either side. People thought I WAS A FOOL - the children had their PIED PIPER - and as we played I fell in love with what I was doing - and obsessed with the children who were playing with me. It was a JOURNEY - I wouldn't exchange with any one.

Maybe, one day I will write my detailed auto-biography - till then this small note should do. We were all happy go lucky fellows during those days. No permissions problem - parents just saw the JOY ON THEIR CHILDREN'S FACES - and they didn't have the heart to say NO. One box of puliyogore and curd rice with Rs.10 as bus or train charge - was enough to go for an unbelievable camp. Hundreds upon hundreds wondered and fell in love with what we were doing. Where are we going next -was the question - as we reached the top of a hill. Far away, across the horizons the other hillocks TEASED US - and next week we set off in a new quest. TUMKUR - CHINTAMANI - KANAKAPURA - DODDABALLAPUR and so many other towns became familiar names.

Enivronmental classes in these ECO-COCOONS made a deep impact on many students. And as we saw the vanishing `heavenly spots' - anger came - and a withdrawal began. Trekking was replaced by Basketball. The empty ghostly basketball courts were suddenly crowded. A few people didn't like it. Court after court - we were thrown out. Orphaned - we ventured further and further from home in search of a basketball court. The dream of building a RESIDENTIAL BASKETBALL SCHOOL for people who couldn't afford - was looking so impossible. But every dark cloud has a silver lining. I was being noticed by clubs and schools - and I was invited to become A COACH. The cup of my joy filled up. Now I had a basketball court all to myself - at least, that is what I thought.

The local team didn't like us. We didn't bother - and in a short period - we were beating them hands down. SWORN ENEMIES were born. And as the crowds built up - parents started walking in tow with their young sons and daughters - I WANT MY CHILD TO LEARN BASKETBALL from you. I began a journey which continues to this day. I am so and so - and I want my children to learn the game FROM YOU. This is equivalent to a Ph.D in basketball for me. Life has given me so many knocks - now I have become KNOCK-PROOF. I have my share of `people' who do not like me - and they are justified in doing so - because I have not been exactly a saint. And therein, lies the story of my life - continued PART II -

THE DEATH OF INDIAN SPORTS

The catharsis that causes the decay of Indian sports begins in THE SCHOOLS. Mercilessly loaded with `whimsical desires' of their parents and teachers - THE CHILDREN - are Denied the very basic right to play - IN THE NAME OF EDUCATION!

ARE YOU VIOLATING THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF THE CHILDREN TO PLAY

THIS is an extract from DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD AS ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF U.N.O. India is a signatory to this historic document.

Principle 7 The child is entitled to receive education, which shall be free and compulsory, at least in the elementary stages. He shall be given an education which will promote his general culture and enable him, on a basis of equal opportunity, to develop his abilities, his individual judgement, and his sense of moral and social responsibility, and to become a useful member of society. The best interests of the child shall be the guiding principle of those responsible for his education and guidance; that responsibility lies in the first place with his parents. The child shall have full opportunity for play and recreation, which should be directed to the same purposes as education; society and the public authorities shall endeavour to promote the enjoyment of this right.

Read this as many times as you wish to - then go and stand in front of the mirror and ask yourself whether you are violating this fundamental right of your own child/student. I wish to repeat

The child shall have full opportunity for play and recreation, which should be directed to the same purposes as education; society and the public authorities shall endeavour to promote the enjoyment of this right.

THINK ABOUT IT BEFORE YOU GO TO SLEEP - now you cannot run away from your responsibility!

JUST BECAUSE YOU PLAY BASKETBALL - DONOT GO OVER-BOARD!

There are many who are `impressed' with my grass root promotion of basketball. Some of them call themselves as `LIVING THE GAME' - and are unable to concentrate on their studies. They do great dis-service to the game.

Just because you play basketball - do not go over-board! Have a balanced life. Team Sports in India [other than cricket]haven't been a rewarding career. Hence it is important to build your career [I am not staying STOP PLAYING or STOP PRACTICING] which is rewarding - and also sustain your interest for the game in a balanced way. It is because of unbalanced attitude of some of the players - the game gets a bad name.

The OBNOXITY [foolish desire] of MUST PLAY under 13 - 16 - 18 in state or national level is another fraud on majority of the children. Not every one will get into the team - Not every player selected in the team IS THE BEST PLAYER - so try your level best and leave it at that. ASK AN EXPERIENCED COACH and you will get enough information about `what would happen if you make it to the state/national level. NOTHING WILL HAPPEN. Other than bloating your EGO - and maybe a certificate or a medal here and there - NOTHING WILL HAPPEN. You won't get the moon, surely. Even, for example, if somehow you get into the Indian team itself - WHAT WOULD HAPPEN.

ASK AN INDIAN BASKETBALL PLAYER - I am not answering that one - as it would annoy many people.

YOUR CAREER IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING - and let no one tell you otherwise. My only concern is why SPORTS cannot go along - that's all. So go and study hard - AND PLAY HARD!

I HAVE OFTEN THOUGHT OF GIVING UP - BUT SOMEHOW I CAN'T

Promoting the game of basketball for the last THIRTY ODD YEARS has taken its toll on me. The rewards have been NON-EXISTENT - other than the warm smiles of my students. And when I see lakhs of crores being looted in the name of `PROMOTING SPORTS' - I feel cheated. Some of the elite schools have built beautiful courts on which hardly ten to fifteen people play the game. Almost all publicly accessible basketball courts are abused by all and sundry - no maintenance is done.

BUT THE WORST THING is the lack of MOTIVATED COACHES. There are plenty who `coach' but they have other agendas on their mind. I have seen it all and I shudder with fear for the children who are `guided' by such coaches. AND THAT IS ONE REASON I have continued coaching - in the hope that at least I could help few children get the right type of education from this game.

The clubs take their coaches for granted - there is hardly any motivation - the parents send their children to `while away their holidays' - those few who have learnt few skills - refused to learn more - and are on a EGOISTIC FLIGHT to a dark hell. They hate everyone and are not the role models that they should be.

I HAVE BEEN TEACHING LESSER AND LESSER OF BASKETBALL and more and more of ATTITUDE - because that helps in promoting the game in a right way. There are many who donot agree with me. I couldn't care less. This is my way - and I am not ready to give up yet. But some time when I am alone - I FEEL the need of GOOD BASKETBALL COACHES to be of primary importance - especially for the younger children who need this game as much as the GAME NEEDS THEM!

A JOURNEY - LINE NONE BEFORE!

In two days, I lived a life-time. When I set out at 1 am from Bangalore in my SCORPIO, I knew we both [scorpio and me] could take whatever was dished out to us by way of dirty mud and jelly filled roads - BUT EVEN THEN I WAS SURPRISED! It brought out the best in both of us. MAPS TELL LIES. National highways marked boldly can suddenly have ditches as big as moon craters [OK OK - a little smaller] and you can expect to hear the suspension almost scraping the bottom. AND SUDDENLY out of nowhere, small village roads - open up with garlands in hand - where you can hit as high as 130 Kms.

A LIFETIME indeed! I saw a girl child of 7 years full of dusty hair but with a wide smile which I will carry in my memory for the rest of my life. She looked at me - as if challenging me - WILL YOU CHANGE MY LIFE? And I knew I wouldn't be able to. The stifling albatross that hangs around us `middle class' will not allow me to take a stick [ make that SCORPIO ]and walk [drive] away into the big wide world - however so much I may want to. I HAD FAILED YET AGAIN.

But I will try - till my last breath - I WILL TRY. The dusty, rocky and barren country-side interspread with boulders forming into hillocks - it is a KARNATAKA where even after one hundred years nothing will change. Oh No, there will be changes - mining for natural resources will keep destroying land, people and all living things whose habitat it has been since time began. A GREED OF FEW - is stripping away any chance that may be there - the living world of animals and plants is heading up a nozzle of extinction.

THAT MY VEHICLE - MY SCORPIO - went through all this with me seems we will yet again venture out - even to more remote places. We will together build memories - so that when I sit with people I love - I can share my PAINS and PLEASURES with them. And, of course, the dress rehearsal for my INDIA DRIVING keeps going on. Travelling from Bangalore to Chandigarh seems to be a very real possibility now. AT 58, what more could I ask?

ASK YOURSELF - WHAT CAN YOU DO FOR INDIA'S FUTURE?

As a young man, I was often angry that my country was so backward in sports. I used to talk endlessly with my friends about it. Reading the news, watching TV - commenting was our main profession. One day, my wife asked me - YOU TALK SO MUCH, why don't you actually do something. She set me on a journey from which I have never come back. The beginning was very humble - two badminton rackets and a shuttlecock. EVEN TODAY, my efforts are very humble. But I AM ANGRY. There are so many of us - who comment so much on sports - talk endlessly - but never get up from the chair and DO SOMETHING.

YOU CAN DO A LOT. Just go to the playground every day - walk, jog or run. Make someone catch you - IT IS SO JOYOUS! Collect a small group of children - make them play. Give them the JOY they so richly deserve.

I saw an old man exercising in the basketball court. I asked him, if I could join him. WELCOME, he said. Over a period of few days - others joined us. We made a rule - NO ONE WILL TALK during exercise. Today, the group is almost 50 strong and almost FIVE YEARS old.

YOU WILL HAVE MANY REASONS TO - NOT GO TO PLAYGROUND - throw all those reasons in the waste basket. India's future depends on your going to the playground and nothing shall stop you from doing it. The right to comment on others' successes and failures can only then be rightfully yours.

I SHALL LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED TO SEE MY COUNTRY AS A SUPER SPORTS POWER!

Never mind the impossibility of the task - I shall walk one step at a time. India shall see my experiment of SELF SUSTAINING SPORTS EDUCATION PROGRAMME incorporated in the educational system of a large school.

SPORTS EDUCATION FOR EACH CHILD - UNITS - GROUPS - COMMANDS
A unit of ten children will be mentored by a 7th standard student [FULLY TRAINED FOR THIS ROLE]. A group of ten units [100 students] would be mentored by a 10th standard student [FULLY TRAINED FOR THIS ROLE]. FORTY FOUR GROUP INCHARGES will provide SPORTS EDUCATION to 4400 students. FOUR SPORTS COMMANDERS [SENIOR VOLUNTEERS - EITHER TEACHERS OR EX-STUDENTS OR PROFESSIONAL COACHES OR ? ?]will control ELEVEN GROUPS [1100 students]. The number taken by me is for a specific school in Bangalore. This can be varied according to our choice.

DEVELOPING HAND AND EYE CO-ORDINATION from early child-hood through various fun games. The brighter ones are put on tougher variables. The brightest are pushed to highest levels. Competitions are regularly held to ensure sustained interest.

THE SKIPPING ROPE REVOLUTION - A simple skipping rope can provide endless joy and very high level of fitness. I have seen more than ONE HUNDRED different drills done with the skipping rope. This can be substituted by other materials - small or big balls, rings, batons etc to create enhanced interest.

THE GAMES PERIOD - Proper allocation of at least ONE GAMES PERIOD every day FOR EVERY CHILD in which specific skill enhancement is to be done. This can be complimented by providing weekend activities for different groups at different times. Those who are seriously interested in pursuing for competitive level - they can use extra time on Sundays or holidays.

CHILD DRIVEN PROGRAMME - When a child enjoys the games period - the learning will be enhanced. Initial teething problems must be squarely sorted out. A change in the mindset THAT IT CAN BE DONE must be driven home.

THE ACADEMIC TEACHERS must understand the SPORTS EDUCATION PROGRAMME because without their support it will not succeed. They must be made to understand that SPORTS enhances intelligence and increases focus.

REGULAR EXERCISE would give enormous benefits to the health of the children and we may yet see PARENTS DEMANDING SPORTS FOR THEIR CHILDREN.

These are very sketchy details. An elaborate project report which will mention the minutest details would be prepared very shortly for receiving FEEDBACK and INPUTS.

IF THE MIND IS WILLING THE SKY IS THE LIMIT. I had once conducted an enthralling basketball learning programme for 1300 children. Only recently I conducted a THREE DAY basketball learning programme at J.N.V. LEPAKSHI for 600 students. THIS CAN BE REPLICATED FOR ANY GAME - and by having variety of games - the children have a choice to adopt the game they love.