Sports, Life, KHEL, and receiving a Teachers’ Day card…

Contributed by: Kamzason Hangsing
Dated: 10th September,  2012

As a child I often heard my elders talking about popular musicians and sportspersons saying, how lucky they are and happy they must be to earn by doing what they like and enjoy. I did wonder and dream of becoming one of them, but life unraveled itself quite differently for me. I never thought I could live that childhood dream but then again, here I am doing what I love with KHEL and loving every moment of it!

I sometimes remember the times when I had to wake up at 4:30 a.m. for cricket practice sessions…come to think of it, it’s amazing what sports can do to a person. What I mean is, I did not have any trouble waking up at 4: 30 to play but I always had a tough time to wake up at 6:30 to get ready for school! Sports have always been a part of me as has my faith in God. It was football that had helped me to believe in myself when I was a victim of bullying and the time when I was in the phase of developing my sense of self..There was an incident where we were having an Annual Sports Meet in our School, and I happened to be in the group that had reached the final. As the final whistle was blown with a tie, it was time for Penalty shoot-out. I was the last player to take the shot, and it so happened that not a single player of both the teams scored. The pressure was as high as it could be, at least for a shy young boy like me, then I took the shot and the goal-keeper was simply looking at the ball that flew past him inside the goal. There have been many such incidents in the playing field which have helped me to believe in myself and that helped me become what I am today.

From my experience, I can say that sports are a means by which you get to meet new people and learn to be social. I have also learned to take criticisms in a constructive manner because of sports. Sports help learn to stick to rules and follow instructions, sports discipline a person. Having said this, through sports one can express themselves creatively. While I thought football was all about passing, controlling and shooting the ball into the goal, I saw players like Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho, etc players that left my jaw hanging in amazement while I traced the movement of their feet. Sport is definitely a world filled with creativity, try googling Philip Champion aka “Hot Sauce”, and check out his videos.

Sometimes I think about the youths of today, who are so vulnerable pressures and especially to suicide. Youths, who cannot cope with their studies, relationships or a silly comment on facebook, etc sometimes decide to end their lives. It makes me wonder, what about those players on the field, who just missed the deciding penalty shot to win the world cup? Or say, the player who could not save the last run that would have let them lift a World Cup trophy? What about the sheer pressure on a player, on whom a country has laid their hopes? These heroes are not one of those who give up their hopes even at the gravest losses. They do not say “NO” to life, because they have learned to fall as well as to get up on their feet and run even faster. They have learned the secrets of life. So, they will always be heroes, role-models.

I feel great to be involved with KHEL. It is a platform where my profession meets my passion. I am able to enjoy and have fun with children playing football and volleyball and other life skills activities. I am grateful to KHEL for I can feel the love of the children, their warm welcomes and the joy on their faces ever

As I get ready for KHEL time with children, I observe that these children play with all that they are. They do not mind if it’s with a boy or a girl, they do not care about who is elder or younger, they do not say they are smaller in height or bigger than others… All they care about is to play, to touch the ball or get involved. These children laugh together at their mistakes and teach one another for better performance. I believe they have learnt to stand together in the face of difficulties too. I believe that these KHEL children, after they pass out from school or from their “home”, they will treasure the days they played together with their friends and maintain a strong bond, irrespective of age or gender with each other. To me, this is learning to live together peacefully. This is what is called, “Becoming a Social Animal”.y time I go to play with them. It is unexplainably special to be with them… I could be anywhere else where my presence would not matter much to anybody.

Sports, many people think is only a medium or a means to channelise the energies of children. But no, sports in itself is powerful enough to enhance life skills. As I have realized from my own experience, in every successful “underhand” or “shot” inside the goal (in football or basketball), self-esteem and self-confidence is enhanced. In every mistake, a child learns the art of failure and coping with it successfully to perform better. This is what we do at KHEL.As far as learning life skills through sports is concerned, it will not end. With every KHEL session, I realize new reasons to play sports. Looking back, I feel proud that I was into sports. It has made my career; it has moulded my life into becoming something more meaningful.

There are lots of instances which I could cite that have made me smile while playing with kids at KHEL. Amongst these experiences, one experience which makes me feel blessed is the moment when I got a card, a Teachers’ day card, which I never thought I would receive in my lifetime. Teachers, I believe, are the ones whom we think know everything and whom we never forget in our lifetime. To receive a Teachers Day card from a student meant a lot to me and I felt that I will be remembered, that too by children who are far away from the place where I come from.

To share the joy of being with children will be a never ending job, so I better not attempt it. I would rather call them a “Walking Package of Joy and Happiness”… I will keep the rest of this story in my heart and allow myself to continue to be seen as a crazy person, smiling for unseen reasons.