Krishnagiri: People need to understand that those interested in sports can easily become toppers in studies, said Raman Vijayan, a former international football player who was in Madakondapalli model school (MMS) of Madakondapalli village near Hosur of Krishnagiri. He was here on Monday to introduce the game of football to rural children who live in villages surrounding MMS.
A two day training camp was conducted for them in the MMS school stadium gifted by the Dutch based international soccer player Johan Cruyff. “New generation parents are over protective and do not allow their children to enjoy their childhood, worrying that they might fall sick and miss classes,” Raman said. He explained, “The other issues are the schools. Both government and private run institutions have physical education teachers, not for teaching children sports, but for other works.”
Raman continued, “The schools and parents have not understood that unhealthy children will not have mental toughness, an essential ingredient to produce results.” He added, “In my experience, mental toughness is essential for new generation students working under various pressures.” According to Raman, mental toughness is nothing but a group of mental skills which gives a person to perform under extreme pressure, the quality of unshakable self-confidence, ability to overcome distractions, manage their arousal level, remain goal oriented and show a healthy form of perfectionism. Besides it also helps us to manage physical and emotional pain.
Some people are born with such qualities and for others, it can be developed over time. Sports cultivate such qualities in a person by assessing his or her strengths and weaknesses and a programme for them builds the mental toughness quality, which not only helps them to become an achiever in sports but also in their studies, explained Raman.
