'Locked Up in the Terrace' with the Football
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Coaching 4 and 6 year olds!!!
Malola Kannan's daughter looks to make a mark in Football Coaching
In just 3 months she has turned extremely introverted kids into extroverts
In just 3 months she has turned extremely introverted kids into extroverts
For the last two decades, Thiruvahindrapuram Malola Kannan's life has revolved around vedic and prabhandham chants. His Nalayira Divya Prabhandham (along with Navalpakkam Ranganathan) and Desikar Prabhandam audios are quite popular (http://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2015/02/navalpakkam-ranganathan.html). While he has been spending the lockdown period presenting Desikar Stotram and the like transmitted worldwide on the audio, his daughter has been locked up in the terrace most of the time with a football!!
19 year old daughter Chandomaye has taken a liking for football and has been travelling across the country and overseas playing competitive matches. Having started early, she very quickly graduated to play for the State and even made a trip a to Denmark with a private club when she was in her early teens. At school, she had won many tournaments and now continues to do so at college (MOP Vaishnav) as well.
Locked- up in the Terrace
With an aim to play for the University, she has been spending the Lockdown period sharpening her football skills at the terrace of her apartments on Pichupillai Street. With the help of videos, she has been practising for hours along with her younger sister 16 year old Smrutimaye who has also a played for the State.
Her daily routine also includes a 20 minute rigorous fitness training programme. The big terrace atop her flat serves as an ideal zone to practise 40 different football drills one of which is the art of knocking down water bottles with the back heal. In another session, she is seen practising the art of kicking the ball inside a dust bin or a cardboard box from a 3 feet distance.
Enters into Coaching
While she continues to play active football including scoring goals for the college team at MOP Vaishnav, she is now exploring a career in football coaching. A few months ago, Chandomaye made her entry into football coaching with a one year contract with the World One Football Academy and had been coaching over 20 Under 8 year olds until the Lockdown brought a temporary halt. She has also just written a D-Licensing test, the first step towards a professional coaching career. She says that women’s football coaches are in great demand these days and that is an option she will consider once she completes her graduation, though at the moment the adrenalin pumps at its best when she scores a goal for her team.
Three months into her coaching assignment, she finds it extremely challenging “The attention span of 4 and 6 years is very less and one has to find different ways to keep them engaged every minute of the session."
Recently, she devised a Golden Sticker that she presents at the end of each training session to the exceptional kid of the day. She says that this serves as a great motivation for the kids to focus and do well at each of the training sessions.
Recently, she devised a Golden Sticker that she presents at the end of each training session to the exceptional kid of the day. She says that this serves as a great motivation for the kids to focus and do well at each of the training sessions.
Just 19, young kids are already looking at her as their mentor not just in football but also in inculcating an everyday discipline in them. She says that within a quarter, parents have come to her acknowledging that their introvert kids have become extremely extrovert at home and school and that their self belief has increased in a short span of few months, something that Chandomaye is happy to hear.
It is quite a surprise that
It is quite a surprise that
By same time next year, it is likely Chandomaye would have taken a call between a professional playing career and a serious knock at football coaching.
This section will track her progress.