Former India hockey captain and coach Olympian Vasudevan Baskaran was greatly pleased with the progress of the boys and girls at the Olympian Baskaran - Sri Shakthi Hockey Academy situated at the Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology here.
“It is almost three months now since the Academy took shape and, the children have all learnt the lessons in a rather quick manner. They have completed the basics and it is time for them to move to the next level,” Baskaran told The Hindu here on Tuesday.
“They have really picked up. Now, I am teaching them different patterns of passing skills. The drills are for ten minutes each and I make sure they do not play the same pattern. A little bit of positioning needs to be done as well,” he added.
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The Academy, said to be the first of its kind in the State, had inducted school children from in and around Coimbatore to train them to be the stars of the future.
“The children are trained during the weekends. But this time, with the puja holidays in place, it is an extended session. From board and lodging to sports training and entertainment, they get everything free. All they need to do in return is to sweat it out at the ground both morning and evening. And, the children are doing just that. They are actually enjoying their stay. They want to learn more and do not want to leave the ground as well,” said the Arjuna awardee.
For a stalwart who had guided the team to the gold at the Moscow Olympics, how is it coaching young children? “It is nothing new for me. I have trained boys and girls in Odisha a decade ago. And, to tell you the truth, four of the girls from that bunch are now playing for the country in the Incheon Asian Games in South Korea,” said Baskaran, the director of the Academy.
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Sri Shakthi IET’s chairman S. Thangavelu is also a happy man. “The Academy is going as per schedule. We are working hard on making it full fledged at the earliest.”
“I am not a hockey player but it is our national sport. We were eight-time Olympic champions and the world looked at us in awe. I want my country to redeem that position and we will continue to steadily contribute towards it,” he added.
Sri Shakthi IET is in the process of tying up with a leading international school to give it a professional touch. It also plans to have an astroturf in place at the Academy by January next.
“We will appoint three coaches of which one will be exclusively for the girls,” said Baskaran.
“Once everything is in place, we will pick children from Class V and VI. It will be an all India selection. And, once that is done, there is no turning back. It will be serious training, tournaments and taking wings to go places,” he concluded.