For a few months now, a bunch of girls have been running up and down Koorumala, a hill in Elanji panchayat in the district, with football at their feet.
The novel football coaching session is being imparted to them by Roller Sports Association of India, a sports promotion organisation at Namakuzhy, a sleepy hamlet along the border of Ernakulam and Kottayam districts.
The module was developed by Jomon Jacob, a physical education teacher and a football coach of over two decades standing, who has also coached the Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) women’s football team.
“The initial idea came from Colorado in the United States where I had got an opportunity to undergo coaching lessons but had to forego since I did not get leave. However, a scientist friend there sent me a module involving running up the hill with the football, used in coaching women footballers there,” said Mr. Jacob. Since the lockdown ruled out group sessions, he tried it on his own and sought tips from G. Kishore, who is in charge of SAI’s initiatives in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Lakshadweep.
“It was appreciable since hill running is an essential training module in all sports to build speed and strength. I recommended the addition of a few more activities to improve skills and ball control as well,” said Mr. Kishore, who is also the principal of SAI’s Lakshmibai National College of Physical Education at Kariavattom in Thiruvananthapuram.
Thus woven into the run were ten more activities, including zigzag dribbling, juggling, reverse ball pass along the hill slope, three touch and stop, to improve speed, possession skills, and ball control.
“Polishing these skills on the bumpy hill terrain means that you could easily fine-tune and master them on a flat football pitch. It also helps build endurance level and strength,” said Sreevidya K.M., one of the eight girls part of training. She has donned the Kerala colours three times in the past.
As of now, the session is held once a week, running into nearly two hours. “We cover a stretch of nearly 150 metres during the session and just as in the case of long-distance runs, the last 20-30 metres are the toughest and there will even be this strong urge to give up,” said Mr. Jacob.
