Tuesday, June 13, 2017

The Christian Brothers : Building Character through Sports by Mr Arun D'Souza



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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