Day 1 at Kutumb

It was a typical winter morning; cold and foggy. Being a Sunday morning, the city
was sleeping and thus was free of its chaos and commotion. All geared up, I arrived
at Humayun’s Tomb to teach as well as play some football. The grass was green and
fresh, which is every footballer’s dream. There were around 16-17 odd kids aged
10-14. We started with a quick introduction followed by a warm up session with
several exercises for the ankles, hamstrings, toes as well as the hip. While most of
the children followed instructions, they were obviously a couple of arrogant ones
who did the exercises reluctantly. Since it was my first day, they had sent a coach to
guide me and help me out.

Having dropped Hindi two years ago, I had doubts as to whether I could
communicate with the children properly. However, having not achieved high levels in
Hindi, the children were easy to communicate with. Having their own friends circle,
the children were upset at times when they were chosen to do the drills with their
other peers. However, having taught them that their personal life does not portray
their work on the field, I was happy to see them applying this concept.

Then came their most enjoyable activity, the match. The coach told me that they
usually pick their own teams, but this time I wanted to pick the teams for them.

I purposely put a few of the kids that weren't getting along too well together as I
wanted them to learn to communicate on the field. The two that were appointed as
captain showed some evident leadership qualities. Watching their game from the
sideline, I knew that the only thing we’ll need to work on is teamwork. After all, we
have a tournament starting from 2nd December and they have some areas where
they can improve. We will be sending 3-4 teams according to their age groups.

Well, overall it was a good first experience and all I can say is that I was impressed
and my expectations were completely outdone.
Looking forward to another great session with the boys…