Let the games begin in educational institutions

CHENNAI : Physical Education and Training is a subject that is often overlooked and given less importance in higher grades in schools. In order to redefine sports education, Coimbatore-based entrepreneur MD Vishwanathan started Mission Sports, an organisation that employs smart sports syllabus to educate students about the importance of a scientific approach towards sports. It was incorporated in Bengaluru in 2012 with its corporate office established in Coimbatore in 2017. The team was in the city to launch its chapter and mobile app in the presence of its brand ambassador, badminton champion PV Sindhu, cricketer Murali Vijay and chairman of TT group, Arun Vasu. Excerpts from the interview with MD Vishwanathan follow.

Tell us about your journey and connection with sports?

I was a part of the soccer team since class six in school. From class eight, I started playing basketball and joined the sports hostel in Madurai until class 12. After completing school, I joined the Indian Army- Madras Engineering Group’s basketball team. I was training in Bengaluru from 1998-2002. Then I played in different parts like Rajasthan and Punjab. In 2007, I started coaching basketball teams in Bengaluru, Mysore, and Pune. Sports has always been a crucial part of my life.

Where did the idea behind Mission Sports come from?

During one of my training sessions at a school, the boys were repeating the mistakes on the ground event after theory classes. I decided to sit them down and visually explain strategies on the board. I drew a court, chalked out positions and weighed strengths and weakness of players for half an hour. The result was tremendous and kids remembered nuances better. Visuals help kids learn easily.

What does Mission Sports focus on?

We focus on training young students right from schools to expand their possibilities in sports, to stretch their talents, push their limits and achieve their optimum. The importance of sports has to be imparted to children at a very young age.

What does the curriculum offer?

The curriculum has been carefully designed using 2D and 3D animation and the latest technologies, with the support of leading sports experts across the world. This cloud-based sports curriculum can be accessed by all schools using smartboards and laptops. We cover eight different outdoor sports — football, cricket, basketball, badminton, tennis, volleyball, swimming, track, and field. Each outdoor sport consists of 30 sessions per year. Each session contains three to five minutes of video which explains the fundamental and advanced techniques of each game.

How does it help during PET classes?

The curriculum is an effective tool wherein PET/sports coach can showcase the techniques to students. After which, they can provide on-ground training and practice. As school children have prior knowledge of the visually learned techniques, it will be easier for them to perform better on the playground, shaping them into professional sportspersons. We conduct sports day activities, interschool tournaments, state and national level tournaments to identify champions.

What are the features of your newly introduced app?

The app helps school management and parents to get updated information regarding the health factor of the child through fitness report cards, after conducting effective physical examination for each and every student in the school. The curriculum is also designed in such a way that importance is also given towards personality and character development of the student: thereby assisting students to overcome stress, build team spirit and become a better team player.

What are your plans for the Chennai chapter?

We’ve been here for the past 20 days and in talks with about 70 schools. Parents and PET masters have been explained about how we function and they’re confident to give it a shot. We’re also active pan India.

Future plans for the brand?

Mission Sports also aims to support talents by facilitating infrastructure and other necessary aids to guide them through their journey towards a successful sports career with the Mission Sports Academy which is yet to be launched. We’re working on fields and it might be opened in another two months. We want to train the coaches and offer the best sports training to school children.