The Christian Brothers : Building Character through Sports
Gold medals aren’t really made of gold.
They’re made of sweat, determination and a rare alloy called guts
Even
though Bajpe had its own fame and particular sporting flavour, the arrival of
the Christian Brothers here brought in a new dimension to it, as equal
importance was given to sports together with education.
The
first Christian Brother Principal, Br. C. J. Harrison, was not only an expert in education
but also was a professional cricketer and fond lover of anything associated
with sports in general. Coming from
Australia, he immediately saw that an educational system which catered only to
the mental development of a child would do only half its work ! Without just complaining about it he set out
to bring in the necessary change. Starting with dividing the students into
groups, he organised various activities.
When he, himself, got down to the field and played with students, it was
a tremendous boost.
Usually
my memory of my school PE teacher was that, we used to be asked to come on to
the field, made to run a lap on an unmarked field and then we would play on our
own … this was sad but very much the reality.
But
a man coming from so far away taught us an important lesson - that an Olympic
medal could not be won with just playing for fun, and that sports required a
very scientific and systematic approach with a professional mind-set,
dedication and the necessary infrastructure. He was not the kind of man who
gave you a rusty hook and expected you to catch a shark. A major part of the
credit for today’s scenario definitely goes to Br C J Harrison.
The
baton was then taken by Br Conrad D'Souza, who with his keen interest in trekking and
in long walks, brought in yet another dimension to Bajpe. For him, exploring a
place and making his own path to a distant hill (and often getting lost)
brought in a lot of thrill. We find many of his ex-students still revelling in
those memories.
When
Br Hector Pinto, who was also a student of Br Harrison, became the Principal in 1995,
he took the sports culture to a new level. With his energy and enthusiasm, he
was able to train students to win medals at different tournaments. His
dedication was unmatched – from
renovation of the school grounds to building an indoor multipurpose auditorium
to hosting taluk, district and state level tournaments. To fan the flames of interest in sport, he
introduced the Josephs Premier League in football, and the Inter-Class and
Inter-House tournaments, which attracted those who were not likely to make the
big teams
To
name a few achievements: Gold medal in the Nationals Badminton by Anjana Nayak Pai; second place in
the Nationals Volleyball (2002-3); first
place in State level Volleyball for 5
years (2000-2005). Lavita Correa and
Prajna Alva got second place in the Nationals in rural Volleyball in the year
2001-02. In 2002-2003, our school volleyball team secured second place again in the School National games
which was held in Reva, Madhya Pradesh. Prajna Alva, Lavita Correa, Manisha
Acharya, Veena and Rashmitha represented Karnataka and made our school
proud. In 2003, Prajna Alva was selected
for Karnataka Junior Team which secured gold medal in the Nationals. In 2012,
Carol Cutinho, Simran D’Souza, Divina and Raksha played volleyball in
Malayasia. St Joseph’s girls have been winning the state level football for the
last 5 years, creating history. In 2014, our high school footballers- Jancilla,
Crystal, Lenisha, Kavya and Ahaliya secured the 3 rd place in the National
Rural Football Tournament . Our girls not only play in school games, they also
have been playing for various clubs and in the Senior national Football
Tournament. In 2017, 14 PUC girls played for BUFC (BANGALORE UNITED FOOTBALL
CLUB) in Prime Ministers State level football tournament and secured gold
medal. Br Hector was appointed as the coach of BUFC. Five ex-students- Melita, Carol, Simran,
Divya and Deepthi have passed football referees exams.
My
association with the Brothers has been close and personal. It has been a joy to work with them on many
sporting projects. Some names stand out
: Br. Ronnie Vaz, who was a tremendous
player of football, table tennis and badminton himself, whose trainee Anjana Nayak Pai achieved the Gold
Medal in Under-14 badminton ; and Sajini Jose was chosen for the Nationals in
table tennis. Practically every alumnus
of St. Joseph’s remembers Br. J Almeida, who was on the football field, every
day, rain or shine, not only playing but also training the interested students,
for over 30 years !
Br. Miles took special interest in the youngest footballers, and they
blossomed under his tutelage. But Br.
Hector stands out in the memory of students and their parents. His attitude to sports was scientific : having analysed the strengths and weakness of
the Bajpe students, he set about giving them special training, often taking
them to the beach to run on the sand.
Soon we were making a name for the College in athletics, and then in volleyball,
and in the last few years in football.
It was not just his technical training, it was the personal relationship
that flourished between the teacher and the students during those halcyon
years, that cannot be forgotten
Among
many new things introduced by the Brothers in Bajpe, football would certainly
be one of them. The legacy stays on
strong. A huge gold medal to you, dear
Brothers !
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