Come rain, let’s train

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As the monsoon is at our doorsteps, most of the outdoor games will be at a standstill and the sports off season starts with the onset of the rainy season.

However, a set of football enthusiasts in Kozhikode will brave their way to the ground to train students. “This is no time to sit inside your home, but to venture out to the grounds to learn more about the game,” they believe.

Universal Soccer School in Kozhikode has been conducting a monsoon camp for the past 12 years and it’s one of the major football events in the district during this season. “The camp will commence in July when the monsoon is at its peak.

It has a different schedule from the usual summer camp and is a different experience for the footballers in the district,” says Universal Soccer School coach C.M. Deepak.

Usually, the camp attracts about 300 to 350 students. “Several players from a perimeter of 40km attend the camp. As the schools have opened, most of them are of the age group 18 to 19 years,” he explains.

“Conditioning is a major aspect of training during monsoon. The physical stamina of the players will also increase during the training session. It’s a lot different with the usual summer coaching camps. It was started by Olympian Rahman(sir),” he said.

“We will schedule the training according to the weather. Moreover, it is the best time to give tips on how to avoid injuries. The players will not get tired and several techniques can be learned easily,” he says, adding, “As this is the time of the Euro Cup, we expect more players. Moreover, this will be a good grooming session for the players in the off season,” he said.