SEPT sows football seeds

It would not look out of place to see a 10-year-old boy play truant over a cup of ice cream denied. It's an age children would like to get whatever they wish for. But for a bunch of 140 boys who are all aged 10 or below, playing football takes precedence over other matters one would normally associate with their peers. The boys drawn from three football-mad north Kerala districts of Kozhikode, Malappuram and Wayanad have got an opportunity to do what they love most thanks to the efforts of Sports and Education Promotion Trust.
SEPT, the Kozhikode-based organisation founded in 2000, has set in motion an ambitious project of unearthing football talent from rural Kerala. SEPT chairman Arunkumar Nanu says it all started through a chat group initiated by indianfootball.com. "The website was first looking for someone to start a football supporters' club in Kozhikode. After starting a fans' club, we thought why not give youngsters in our region a chance to learn football in an organised way. That's how our academies came up. Given people's interest for the game in north Kerala, everything fell into place smoothly," he adds.
The project has now spread its wings in seven centres across the three districts. Each centre has 20 boys and they train twice a week under the expert guidance of SEPT coaches. SEPT is especially a boon for poor youngsters in Wayanad. Football is immensely popular among the tribals in the hilly district, but the region lacks proper coaches. Every three months, the trainees all gather at one place for a special coaching session.
The Internet once again played a crucial part in luring a passionate Belgian coach to SEPT's fold. Jozef Achtergael who was on a charity trip to Andhra Pradesh had read about SEPT on the Net and he was soon on his way to Kozhikode. Impressed by the idea of unearthing talent from rural areas, Achtergael put his heart into the project. The amateur coach who is now the technical director of SEPT doubles up as a link between the academy and premier foreign football training schools. Nanu says the Belgian is driven by his desire to help out the underprivileged. "Achtergael spends a lot of time with our boys without charging a penny. It was his idea that we should catch the boys young. That's why we admitted boys aged 8 in our first batch in 2004," he informs.
Achtergael's firm belief in the latent talent available at SEPT has convinced him to look for Belgian clubs where the boys can go for training. Many Belgian clubs have a reputation of being feeder clubs to European big guns including England's Arsenal. If Achtergael's mission succeeds, the result can only be fruitful to India in the long run.
On the coaching front, SEPT has done exceedingly well. Everything is done in a professional and scientific way with each trainee assessed threadbare. If a boy is found to be losing his way, he is relegated into the second tier of the academy. But there aren't many instances of relegation so far. A Malaysian coach who visited SEPT this year was awed by the skills of the trainees. India's youth coach S. Balan too chips in with his regular inputs. In December, two German coaches are scheduled to conduct training sessions for the SEPT boys. Trainers at the academy also undergo refresher courses periodically.
The SEPT boys are already making waves. In an all-India tournament held in Goa earlier this year, they thrashed their opponents, comprising older boys, on their way to the title. In 2007, SEPT trainees will be touring Sweden and Finland to test their mettle against tougher teams.
SEPT's advisor T.M. Abdurahiman, retired head of the department of physical education, National Institute of Technology, Kozhikode, says the nursery is a first of its kind in India. "Tata Football Academy in Jamshedpur only trains older boys," he points out.
Abdurahiman says the main aim of SEPT is to make the boys enjoy the game. "SEPT takes care of all their football-related expenses. We've given each of them a Size 3 football to help them practise at home. The ball should never frighten them on the field. It should rather become an extension of their bodies. SEPT organises regular tournaments in the districts concerned so that the boys get used to competitive football. We also conduct inter-centre events," he adds.
Another important policy of SEPT is to see its trainees do well academically. "First of all, our project wouldn't have taken off without the support of parents. We also interact with the parents at regular intervals so that their boys are performing well at studies too. Youngsters playing football without going to school is a common occurrence in our area. We don't want that unwanted situation persist in our academies," he explains.
SEPT is alive and kicking only due to the individuals whose passion for football is infectious. Abdurahiman says his old students from NIT are contributing to SEPT's cause. There are bigger hurdles to cross. SEPT is planning to go fully residential from 2008 for which the collective financial support of a few individuals might not suffice. Those who are interested in contributing to SEPT may visit its website at trust.indianfootball.com. The academy's e-mail addresses are sept@sancharnet.in, trust@indianfootball.com. SEPT can be contacted over phone at 094472 76675, 094471 88282 and 098470 88816.

Age no hurdle for skills
A training session of the SEPT boys doesn't quite resemble a congregation of 10-year-old children who normally have a penchant to be playful. They are all ears to the coaches' instruction before being put through their paces. Neatly dressed in full football gear, the tiny tots who are almost of the same age group and height show their complete repertoire of skills once they get hold of a football.
Goalkeepers have a separate session where they learn to dive to stop thundering shots, jump to pluck crosses and improve their positioning sense. Devaraj from Wayanad looks every bit a natural wearing the gloves. His dives are measured and anticipation immaculate.
Field players perfect every trick available in a football manual - dribbles, dodges, freekicks, passing, shooting, etc. - under the supervision of coaches Manoj Kumar, Thomas Paul, Anil Kumar and Arshad.
The trainees are an eclectic mix of the best available talent in the region. From a Nepal boy settled in Kozhikode to a tribal boy from a sleepy village in Wayanad, the bunch has members with all conceivable social backgrounds. A stringent selection process has ensured that boys without a nose for football haven't got into the academy.
A mere peek into the training session is enough to be convinced of the boys' enthusiasm for the beautiful game. The disappointment on the face of a boy who missed training due to fever summed it up succinctly. He could not bear to watch his friends do what he couldn't on that day.
Mohammed Kamil does enjoy impersonating Ronaldinho, the Brazilian magician. From back heels to the trademark Cristiano Ronaldo step overs the trainees have it all.
Once the footballing lessons are over, the boys open up to reveal their enviable knowledge on the game and its stars. You name a big star; they have his bio-data on their fingertips. European leagues have avid followers in them. Watching the big guns on the TV every weekend has made them realise India's pathetic state as a football nation. They are also well aware that they have to ride two horses - football and studies - at the same time to have a better life in India.