For youth coach Rufus D'Souza, building character is more important than moulding champions

It is a Thursday afternoon in Kochi and all of Fort Kochi is deep in its afternoon siesta except the Parade ground which is wide awake and filled with activity. A steady trickle of children ensures that by 4 pm the place is full. Boys and girls between the ages of 5 and 15 line up in neat rows and start with gentle warm up stretches which soon morph into rigorous football drills. Before too long, the entire area is vibrating with the sound of boots kicking balls. In one corner of the ground under the shade of a tree stands an elderly gentleman. His eyes scan the entire ground. Your first assumption is that his eyes are searching for his grandchild but as you come closer, you notice he is passing instructions. [caption id=“attachment_1822991” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Rufus D’Souza. Credit: Rashi Kakkar[/caption] Rufus D’Souza (Santos Club, Cochin) is 85 years old and has been coaching for the last 44 years. Like most people, his love affair with sports began in childhood. However, unlike most people, he was lucky enough to turn his childhood dream into reality. In 1954 he captained the Travancore Hockey team and from 1960 to 1968 he represented Kerala in both football and hockey. The joy he felt playing sports motivated him to get into coaching once his own playing days were over. He chose to be a youth coach. Meeting with Rufus took me back to all the coaches I had growing up. I have participated in sports all of my life, starting at age eight, and I very fondly remember each one of my coaches. Each one of them from Ashok sir at Ordnance Club, Calcutta to Anand sir and Shalini ma’am at Delhi Lawn Tennis Association have had a significant impact in my life, possibly as much as my parents and maybe slightly more than most of my school teachers. I completely resonate with what former English Football player, Geoff Dyson, said at the International Olympic Academy, Greece 1979, “the wise coach develops not only the fullest physical potential in his charges, but also those capacities and habits of mind and body which will enrich and ennoble their later years.” At the youth level, a coach’s role is critical as players rely on them for structure, inspiration and guidance. These youth coaches wear many hats, and teaching the sport is just one of them. Rufus too believes that his role extends beyond the Football field. He tells me that a good youth coach must inculcate the 4 Ds in children “desire to excellence, dedication to work hard, help them chart out a direction for their life and teach them discipline.” The sports field helps develop both an athlete and an individual. Lessons learned here are carried throughout life. I asked Rufus what gives him more joy, when his students represent the state/nation or when he sees them blossom into well rounded adults? Without blinking an eyelid Rufus picks the latter. So the next time when someone says sports builds character, remind them that it is not sports but men and women like Rufus who dedicate their lives to youth coaching that do the actual building.