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St. XAVIER'S
(FORT) Excels in Sports |
St. Xavier's High School (Fort) has done extremely well in athletics and
football during the past few years. It stands head and shoulders above the rest.
In athletics, the
school bagged the Tata Shield for the third time in succession and also fared
well in the Wellington Catholic Gymkhana Sports Meet where the U-6 boys made a
clean
sweep. The man behind this great achievement is none other than Sports Director
Mr. Alex Fernandes. The writer met Alex at the school premises and he told us
how
sports was given the right impetus at the grass root level at St. Xavier’s. |
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Since how long have you been in
coaching and which disciplines in sports have you got a good
outcome?
I am into coaching for the last 33 years and have been most
successful in athletics and football and the Inter school
march-past. |
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How many trophies have you won
this year?
This year our Under-14 football team won four trophies out of
the five finals - The Under-14 MSSA first division, Utpal
Sanghvi Cup, Mumbai City District Championship (DSO) and Inter
district championship and Runners-up in the Subratto Cup. We
represented Mumbai for the State Championship held at Nanded.
This year our school made history winning all three finals
beating the same school on three occasions i.e. St. Francis
D'Assisi High School (Borivali).
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How did the Principal and other
staff members react to your successful campaign?
Our School over the years has been recognized for co-curricular
activities as well as sports. Our Principal Fr. Baptist Pinto,
the Rector Fr. Tony Fonseca and the Vice
Principal Ms. Renny Carvalho have been a great help and support
to uplift sports in all fields as all three of them being sports
personnel in their school and college days especially Fr.
Baptist Pinto who led the Bombay University Hockey team not
forgetting the other staff members backing the boys in sports. |
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Do parents give the children the
right encouragement?
Our parents have been a great inspiration and helpful at the
time of sports. The Parents Teachers' Association (PTA) also
helps us in sports and other activities. We
compliment each other and in this way we are able to raise the
bar in our standard of sports. |
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What prompted you to take up
sports?
Sports has been my first love. During my school days I
represented and led my school team in athletics, volleyball and
Indian games. Also during my training, I represented Karnataka
in athletics and volleyball. I also finished my NIS Training at
Patiala in athletics and football in Bangalore which helped me a
lot and made it easy for me to train the young children. |
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Why is athletics lacking in
India?
Athletics is lacking in India mainly because the follow up is
not done properly. Children are not encouraged and provided
proper training at grass-root level. Grounds are not available
to train the children in other sports besides cricket as more
importance is given today only for cricket and a lot of money is
spent for this particular sport, when there is so much more
talent in other sports. There should be no political involvement
in selecting the team or players in sports. Children should be
encouraged and guided even when they are studying in colleges
too as most of them drop out of sports when they finish their
schooling career. |
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What are your plans for the
future?
I will always be available to train my school St. Xavier's
(Fort) at any time as it is St. Xavier's School who has given me
a lot of support and recognition. I will also be
available to train other children if my service is required by
them. I prefer to pass on my skill and expertise for which I
will hold training camps in holidays, training courses,
inter-school tournaments. All this will be done as long as I
keep in good health with God's blessings. |
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Looking Ahead & Beyond
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Melbourne Commonwealth Games |
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Sports enthusiasts will be waiting
with eager anticipation to the start of the 2006 Melbourne
Commonwealth Games which takes place from 15th to 26th March 2006.
Melbourne in March is at its picture perfect best, with sunny
skies giving visitors the best conditions to combine the thrill of
the Games with regional touring experiences. This is a city with
worldwide reputation for its fanatical following of sport.
Spectators and elite athletes from Commonwealth countries will
converge on Melbourne for this once-in-a-lifetime experience!
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Melbourne is promising to kick off the
Commonwealth Games in spectacular fashion. Looking ahead - the MCG
will come to life with performers, volunteers, athletes and
spectators, all gathering to celebrate the Commonwealth, sport and
the spirit of peaceful competition. Because of Melbourne's dynamic
and distinct character, the city will give the Games a truly
cosmopolitan backdrop. |
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Let's have a look beyond the
sporting events. Did you know that Melbourne is a city that
loves its food, wine, arts, culture and of course, sports? So no
surprises that it was recently re-crowned one of the world's
more liveable cities in a survey by the Economist. It is
interesting to learn that the Melbourne 2006 Sports Program
comprises of 12 individual and four team sports, with a total of
24 disciplines to be contested at the XVIII Commonwealth Games.
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• Aquatics includes Diving, Swimming
and Synchronized Swimming
• Cycling includes Track, Road and Mountain Bike
• Gymnastics includes both the Artistic and Rhythmic disciplines
• Shooting includes Clay Target, Pistol, Small Bore and Air
Rifle, and Full Bore Rifle. |
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From all the various disciplines
that will be on show, athletics will certainly grab the
attention of a good percentage of sports lovers. At Bangkok in
1998 and Manchester in 2002 India's haul of medal was quite
impressive. There is a lot of scope for the Indian contingent to
improve provided the right encouragement is given to athletes
and team members. |
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The Games are bound to be a huge
success. In the millennium 2000 Sydney hosted the Olympics which
many said was “out of this world”. Now with such a rich sporting
heritage Melbourne hosted the 1956 Olympic Games, the first ever
to be held outside Europe or the United States. It’s no surprise
the city boasts a long list of world-class sporting facilities.
Melbourne has also hosted World Cup Rugby, Grand Slam tennis,
Formula One, International Cricket and top flight Golf
Tournaments.
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