It’s athletics this time

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Summer sports camps are aplenty during the vacation period. But apart from the usual team sports, two athletes and a coach in Kozhikode have joined hands to churn out something different to the kids – a camp on athletics.

“We thought about coming up with a summer camp in athletics. This is the first time we are trying a short-term camp on athletics and it has already received a good response,” says V.P Haridasan, athletics coach in the Devagiri Sports Academy that conducts the camp.

About 40 children are getting trained in athletics everyday in the 10-day camp at St Joseph’s College, Devagiri Ground in Kozhikode.

These kids, most of them from the corporation limits, have a tight two-hour schedule everyday and former international athletes are taking the sessions. Moreover, the camp, which is for age group 8 to 15 is free of cost.

“When every club is going after team and recreational sports, we thought about doing something in athletics.

From the camp, we will select best students and groom them. About 15 students have exceptional skills and if groomed properly would be an asset to the future,” he says.

The other coaches who are helping Haridas are V.V. Vinod, (sprinter who have participated in SAAF games) and A.V. Santhoshkumar (former university player and veteran athlete). Besides, Haridas and company have roped in the help of their students who are now athletes.

“The camp is a basic one and is aimed at promoting interest in the sport. We are giving general exercises and skill development training to the children.

The day starts with jogging and we also give them exercises to get stability, mobility and coordination. The kids are given training at the beach also in strength and endurance,” he says.

“It would be a great opportunity for us too as we can also learn several lessons on grooming kids, especially the difference between training on ground and beach.

Besides promotion for athletics, we also aim at increasing the stamina and physical fitness of the students. However, some kids will be selected to our future programmes,” he said.