Participants of the AIFF Grassroots Leaders Course at Trikaripur, Kasargod, Kerala. (Photo courtesy: AIFF Media)
Twenty four coaches from various parts of Kerala underwent the AIFF Grassroots Leaders Course conducted at Trikaripur, Kasargod from June 8-11. The course was hosted by the Directorate of Sports & Youth Affairs, Government of Kerala, under their ‘Kick-off’ programme in association with Kerala Football Association (KFA).
The four-day course, conducted by AIFF Instructor Shailesh Karkera and assisted by Chinmoy Bora, focused on coaching methodology at various youth age groups.
Arun K. Nanu, Founder and CEO of the Kick-off programme, was one of the key figures in organising the course and also sat through one of the sessions and shared his experiences.
AIFF Instructor Karkera stressed on the “holistic nature of the overall experience,” and how the commitment of the coaches involved in the course impressed him.
“The Kick-off programme envisages to identify talented children in the urban, rural, coastal and tribal areas in the state and our primary focus is on Grassroots football. This course provided our coaches with some of the best practices and coaching tools for working with various age-groups,” said Mr. Nanu. “I was impressed by the holistic nature of the overall experience for all those who were involved.”
“We wanted to ensure that we use the four-day course period to present the content in a simplified manner as most of the participants were native Malayalam speakers,” said Mr. Karkera. “It was really inspiring to see the hard work, commitment and dedication put into all of the sessions by the coaches.”
“Football is hugely popular in Kerala and the Kick-off programme is a novel project, one that will benefit thousands of players at the Grassroots level,” he further said.
The course concluded with a Grassroots football festival at the Rajiv Gandhi Synthetic Turf pitch featuring eighty kids.
(AIFF Media)