School kids rendered breathless by punishing schedules

The Mumbai Schools Sports Association MSSA has been conducting interschool tournaments in different disciplines for decades but they are yet to come up with a solution to a problem that dogs them every year Super boys left to right Bryce Miranda Aidan Da Costa Marc DrsquoSouza Keegan DrsquoSouza Pierre Noronha Danyl Saldana Ryan Varella and Troy DrsquoSouza of Don Bosco Matunga after their U16 Aga Khan semifinal against St Andrewrsquos Bandra at MHAMahindra Stadium yesterday The above players turned up for the clash minutes after representing their school in the U16 Ahmed Sailor football competition at Azad Maidan PicShadab Khan They just canrsquot find ways to reduce the burden for those children who end up representing their schools in multiple disciplines More often than not these youngsters find themselves being a part of both the football and hockey teams and the fact that these tournaments are scheduled almost simultaneously makes it difficult for the players to deliver their best performances consistently Yesterday Don Bosco Matunga played their Ahmed Sailor U16 knockout match against St Paulrsquos Dadar at Azad Maidan at 9 am A little over an hour later eight players of the football team figured in the U16 Aga Khan hockey competition at MHAMahindra Stadium at Churchgate The Matunga side won both matches mdash beating St Paulrsquos 40 and St Andrewrsquos 72 in the Aga Khan semifinals mdash but the boys were an exhausted lot ldquoI cannot do much if there are common players in a team playing hockey and football It is the schoolrsquos lookout to ensure that the same players do not participate in two disciplines It is becoming very difficult for us to concede to last minute requests every time If they want to play they can or else they can give a walk over if they are finding it difficultrdquo said MSSA football secretary Anslem Alphonso rather tersely Difficult proposition Don Boscorsquos Marc DrsquoSouza who played both matches yesterday explained ldquoSince many of our players are part of both the football and hockey teams giving priority to one sport becomes very difficult We didnrsquot even get time to rest today We finished playing the football match and had to get ready to reach Churchgate We had a 10minute snack break before reaching the hockey venue In the second half of the hockey match we were really tiredrdquo Meanwhile Boscorsquos football coach Leslie Machado said ldquoThis is not the first time we are facing such an issue MSSA is least bothered about rescheduling fixtures accordingly so that children donrsquot sufferrdquo Javed Sayyed the Bosco hockey coach observed ldquoWhen we play club matches the players are asked to rest for 24 hours before a match In this case we are dealing with kids who require greater care They have ended up playing three matches in a span of 24 hours But MSSA is least botheredrdquo Time to act The warped scheduling has also left parents a worried lot Just like DrsquoSouza Aidan DarsquoCosta also plays both football and hockey for Don Bosco His father Ivan was furious ldquoMSSA is killing our childrenrsquos future These kids play these matches with enthusiasm without bothering about the repercussions But MSSA as a schools body should understand and act accordinglyrdquo Schools like St Stanislaus Bandra and St Annersquos Malad too are faced with similar situations and want a rethink on MSSArsquos part ldquoThere are seven players common in the schoolrsquos football and hockey teams It becomes very taxing as a coach to handle the situation We donrsquot want our children to suffer At the same time the schoolrsquos reputation is at stake So we have to manage somehow and convince the kids and parents to allow them to playrdquo said Roy Fernandes the coach of St Stanislausu00a0