Former hockey players lead sport's hopes at grassroots level

Bengaluru: Tanav Rajashekar’s shot at the goal from the top of the arc was feeble. The ball barely traveled a couple of feet away from him. The seven-year-old gave a toothy grin and took another shot and then another, until he put it past the goalkeeper.The seven-year-old wasn’t the only one trying hard to learn the nuances of hockey on a weekday morning. There were 50 others, each testing and learning skills. Watching them train, it is hard to believe that until 14 months ago, some of them didn’t even know the sport existed. Now, their five-day training routine is filled with a sense of passion and purpose.This has been made possible by the Yes For Hockey forum, an initiative led by a group of former players from the state who are determined to take the game to the grassroots level. The core includes 1998 Asian Games gold medallist Sandeep Somesh and former players Gayathri Shetty, Pushpa Subbaiah, Sowmya Suvarna and Suhasini Prasad while 1980 Olympic gold medallist MM Somayya and retired bureaucrat N Sivasailum are mentors.The group started working with govt schoolchildren in April last year. Now, it has over 300 children from six Bangalore Public Schools (BPS) — in T Dasarahalli, Kodigehalli, Thanisandra, Hegganahalli, Jeevan Bhima Nagar (JBN) and DJ Halli.An MoU between Yes For Hockey and the Department of School Education and Literacy was signed last year. The department foots the bill for kits and equipment, while the organisation takes care of the salary of 12 coaches and the players’ post-training nutrition.CREATING OPPORTUNITIESSomesh told TOI that, based on his vast experience in various roles within the hockey system, his one big takeaway is that grassroots make or break the game. “We often talk about dwindling interest in hockey and the lack of participation from schools, but where have we created opportunities for kids to play?” he said. “As a team, we decided to take the sport to schools. We’ve started small, but the vision is long-term.”For the kids, it’s a win-win and a huge opportunity. Some of them watched India’s men’s hockey team train in the run-up to last year’s Paris Olympics, an event that left them starry-eyed with dreams the size of the several hockey fields stitched together. The bronze medallists have been an inspiration, with striker Mandeep Singh among the favourites.“I’ve always wanted to play hockey because it is our national sport, but I did not have an opportunity,” said 16-year-old Raju V from the JBN centre, which won both the boys' and girls' titles at the inaugural intramural tournament between the six centres recently. “When I got one, I didn’t want to let go of it. One day, I want to play for India like Mandeep. His schoolmate Juee Bala has a similar aim.EARLY RISERSThe players’ interest in the sport is highlighted in their commitment to the morning training session, which gets underway at 7 am. Most of them are up at the crack of dawn. Since most parents work as unskilled daily laborers or housemaids, the older children help with the chores before walking to the ground, which is a few kilometers from their homes.Some, like 14-year-old Debolina Mandal, go the extra mile to ensure they strike a balance between studies and hockey. “I wake up by 4 am and study for an hour before getting ready and walking to the ground, which is three kms from my house,” said the goalkeeper, whose parents work as housekeeping staff in a private hospital.Since the players come in early, Yes For Hockey ensures they don’t go hungry to school. They are fed fruit and biscuits after training.Like the players, the coaches also have a backstory. A case in point is Govindraj S, one of the two coaches at the JBN centre. The youngster, who represented Karnataka and Goa at the national level, grew up at St Mary’s Orphanage and is a product of the first batch of trainees from the Jude Felix Hockey Academy.“Hockey changed my life, and I wanted to give back to the sport,” he said. “I want these kids to experience how sport can redefine their lives, just as it did mine.”WAY FORWARDThe smiling faces are reward enough, but Yes For Hockey strives behind the scenes to ensure it happens. “Annually, we need about Rs 8-10 lakh to run a centre. Sponsorship isn’t always easy to come by. People like Gayathri and Sowmya have dug deep into their pockets to keep it running,” said Somesh.But that hasn’t stopped them from expanding. Phase 2 of the project begins in Sept with the addition of four new schools to the programme.