How sport can be about more than winning

Bengaluru

St. Vincent’s Home is as far away from the glamour of international sport as one can imagine. However, the orphanage has been associated with Jude Felix Hockey Academy and Charitable Trust (JFHA), a hockey academy that possesses elite-level coaches such as Bipin Fernandez, Shanmugham P., Sabu Varkey, John Verghese and Jude Felix, who are coaching underprivileged kids in hockey and much more. Fernandez, driven by his love for the sport and his city, recently returned from the Junior Hockey World Cup in Chile, said that after completing that role, he needed to get his perspective straight. 

He said, “I was with the elite and I just wanted to go back and teach the kids. So, right now, I'm with the tiny tots from the age of four to ten. I went back to the basics. So, all the other coaches are asking, Bipin, why you went back there? I don't know. I just wanted to get my head straight. Oh, and it's fun. You need to chase a lot as a coach. It's challenging for me to come from there and go back down.” JFHA was started by Olympian and former national team captain Jude Felix Sebastian in 2009, who has achieved the rare feat of being both an Arjuna and a Dronacharya awardee.

After returning from coaching in Singapore, Sebastian decided to give back to society and started the academy. The academy has tie-ups with St. Mary’s Orphanage, St. Vincent’s Home, and Anna Swamy Mudaliar School, where they regularly hold sessions for kids housed there. They have also recently started coaching at St. Joseph’s Boys' High School and Christ University. Josephine Sequeira, a former state-level hockey player, manages many administrative roles at the academy.

Joe, as she is fondly called, said that one of the things she has learnt at JFHA is how far teaching life skills takes them. “When we teach them basic life skills, that goes a very long way. When we started off with St. Mary's Orphanage, we even used to get nail cutters and help them cut their nails. We explained how important it is to trim your hair, to come clean, neatly dressed, just washed. Even if your clothes are old, no problem, but wash them. Keep them clean and presentable,” Joe said. Both Joe and Fernandez spoke about how different it is to coach kids from underprivileged backgrounds compared to those who are more privileged. “When someone goes to SAI, they are going out of interest. 

What we are doing is going and telling orphanages that we know the game of hockey. So, when you look at the mindset of these children, when they come to the ground, it's not the same,” Joe said. “So, when I was there with the Indian team, for me, every day was tiranga, jhanda, desh ke liye and all that. So, because we were training for the World Cup. We wanted to go there, win, perform, but enjoy the process. But here, it is mostly about enjoying the process; winning comes a bit later. If they keep that habit of discipline; getting up in the morning, working out, getting fit, eating right and all that; it would really help their future,” Fernandez explained.

The academy has its list of achievements too. John Bosco, who grew up in St. Mary’s, went on to play in Bahrain and then came back and currently coaches at JFHA. Praveen became an engineer and works at an MNC now, and there’s Rajendra, of course, who excelled in the sport enough to play in the French league. He has now returned and become a fitness instructor. The academy may not be producing elite-level hockey talent, but providing these kids with the tools to grow up, build stable incomes, and develop the willingness to do better than yesterday is what they are truly coaching.