A Class Act From Home For Sports

To become a scholar, you study hard. But when it comes to sports, you have to put your body, mind, and soul into the game, and practice relentlessly for years to become a champion! Parents of many sports prodigies are opting for homeschooling or distance learning programmes for their kids so that they excel in their sports career, especially when it comes to cricket and badminton. There has been a radical shift in thinking. Traditionally in India, sports and games were considered a hobby to keep a child busy, but today, parents want their children to be sports icons like Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Dutee Chand, Mary Kom, Saina Nehwal, and P.V. Sindhu to name a few.

Senior full-time cricket coach Ajay Kadam says, “Young cricketers opting for homeschooling is a common practice. We call it ‘integration’. Integration as a practice needs to be carefully planned out and structured so that the child’s time is used wisely and does not get wasted.” Kadam recommends that cricket players who have promising futures and are playing at the district and state levels should opt for homeschooling. He explains, “The ones in homeschooling have a slight upper hand as they focus on other aspects like fitness, physio

sessions, and mental strength training. The only downside is over practice.”

Budding Sportstar

Rudransh Shukla (12), a resident of Palghar in Maharashtra starts his day at 6 AM with fitness training, and cricket practice for two hours. His father Nitin Shukla recalls how his son displayed natural talent as a left-handed batsman at 3.

“I threw a ball at him and he hit the ball in the very first attempt. I decided to enroll him for coaching.” Rudransh has played for the Bhaskar Trophy (an important tournament in Maharashtra) in the under-12 age group where he scored a century impressing many coaches and selectors.

A coach told Shukla about homeschooling. He enrolled Rudransh in the Matunga Premier League, Mumbai, a school with an active cricket team. Rudransh is in 7th grade. “After practice, I sit for my class and practice coding languages before leaving for cricket again in the evening,” says Rudransh.

Vedant Yadav (11), a batsman from Nallasopara, Mumbai, shares a similar career trajectory. Vedant’s hectic schedule leaves him with 2-3 hours of practice in a day. Munna Yadav, his father, is considering homeschooling for Vedant. “Often when Vedant needs to go for matches, the school creates issues with attendance.

This hinders his chances of getting the right amount of practice and exposure. Currently, in the sixth grade, Vedant will start home-schooling from the seventh grade. Atharva Pachkude (11) a cricket prodigy has managed to excel in both, his study and cricket.

His father, Bhaskar Pachkude, in his younger days, played till the district level but had to cut short due to lack of family support. When his son started to show potential as a batsman, Pachkude set up a pitch in his backyard. “When he turned eight, I enrolled him in the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). He performed well in the U-12 category of the Bhaskar Trophy Tournament,” he says. Despite having a record of 2,000 runs and over 16 half-centuries, Atharva demonstrates equal academic prowess, having secured 88% in sixth grade.

Badminton Buzz

“It’s the next big thing after cricket!” says Siddharth Nageshkar (28), badminton coach and founder of the Shuttle Passion Badminton Academy (SPBA). Unlike cricket which is played pan-India, there are only two hubs for badminton — Hyderabad and Bangalore, which produce elite shuttlers who compete on the international level. “Out of each 100 enrollments at least 30 students aim to pursue badminton professionally,” says Nageshkar. Vrisha Dani (16) started as a shuttler at the age of 12. “The first four years, I hardly won any matches despite practicing for four hours daily. It was due to lack of adequate coaching and a proper fitness plan,” she says. It was only after changing two academies, did she gain momentum in her gameplay. Dani passed her 10th grade in the ICSE board, securing 98%. But she had to give up on badminton for seven months to prepare. “Those seven months of mine were the hardest, I had breakdowns,” she says. After exams, she felt dejected thinking her badminton career was over. But Dani’s mother took her to SPBA and that marked the beginning of her comeback.

Nageshkar says badminton as a full-time sport demands financial and mental commitment. It's expensive with each racquet costing around `10,000-15,000. Coaching, clothes, and travel expenses for tournaments make the sport pricier. Talking about players who opt for homeschooling, Nageshkar says, “We give extra attention to such players. We have to create and by-heart the player’s profile which consists of diet plan, practice hours, and physio sessions for recovery.”

If not sports then what?

“If not sports, then what?” asks Jwala Singh to parents who hastily put their children into homeschooling. Singh is the founder of Mumbai Cricket Club (MCC), mentor, coach and guardian to Indian batsman, Yashasvi Jaiswal. He considers education as a central aspect of any sportsperson as knowledge gives you an edge over your peers. “Only under exceptional circumstances, like if the child is weak in studies but great in cricket, should the parent opt for homeschooling,” he says.

The cricket competition in India is cut-throat. The IPL has space for only 140 players while the Indian Cricket team has 11. “The reality is that not every aspiring cricketer will get a chance to represent India. Parents need to encourage their children to have a holistic development,” he says.

Badminton as a full-time sport demands financial and mental commitment.” — Siddharth Nageshkar, Founder, Shuttle Passion Badminton Academy

Parents need to encourage their children to have a holistic development.” — Jwala Singh, International Cricket Coach, Founder, Mumbai Cricket Club