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The Onus Is On Us To Guide The Youth: Sukhwinder Singh
As the India U-23 side prepares to participate in the upcoming SAFF Cup, the young footballers are in spotlight. Goal.com spoke with U-23 coach Sukhwinder Singh who reckons it is essential we guide our youth in the right direction.
28-Nov-2009 9:29:24 AM
Sukhwinder Singh is back amongst the thick of things within the national set-up in his third stint and is visibly pleased about it so far. The Indian FA, on the insistence of national coach Bob Houghton, agreed to send an U-23 side for the SAFF Cup in order to give several youngsters an opportunity to excel and in the process gain enough match experience at the international level.
Having a bunch of youngsters at his disposal, the turbaned coach has been working with them and believes that they can give what's expected out of them.
"Things have been good for us. No injury concerns and the practice is also going well, except Sushil Kumar and Gurpreet Sandhu, who have minor niggles," said Sukhwinder.
Apart from Baldeep Singh and Sushil Singh, the rest of the boys are yet to make an appearance for the senior squad though many have been called for the camps earlier. Sukhwinder, along with Bimal Ghosh of Air India, are known to work their magic with young, unknown talents and produce final products ready to be part of any of the top clubs in the country.
"This has been one of the problems in our country that our youngsters often fail to make the right decision. They often get lured by the money and don't worry about their opportunities to play," pointed the former JCT coach where he spent around 17 years as a coach.
This issue has often been highlighted by Bob Houghton and Colin Toal, the technical director of Indian football, that the youngsters get lost in the developmental process and don't get enough games to play due to which they end up being disillusioned.
"When the boys are in their formative years, the onus is on those who are in charge of the boys at the youth level to give them proper guidance. Several TFA (Tata Football Academy) boys join the big clubs and are seen warming the benches.
"Two JCT players, who are doing exceptionally well at the moment had bright offers from clubs across India. However, I told them that it's not the right time to move as a couple of years at JCT will help establish themselves. At JCT, we would even tell the players if he would get a good offer to leave if we knew that a particular player has achieved a certain level.
"What the youth need is guidance and counselling which sadly has been missing."
The Punjabi remains optimistic for the future though he opines that the above mentioned points must be instilled at the youth level to safeguard Indian football in the years to come.
Rahul Bali
Having a bunch of youngsters at his disposal, the turbaned coach has been working with them and believes that they can give what's expected out of them.
"Things have been good for us. No injury concerns and the practice is also going well, except Sushil Kumar and Gurpreet Sandhu, who have minor niggles," said Sukhwinder.
Apart from Baldeep Singh and Sushil Singh, the rest of the boys are yet to make an appearance for the senior squad though many have been called for the camps earlier. Sukhwinder, along with Bimal Ghosh of Air India, are known to work their magic with young, unknown talents and produce final products ready to be part of any of the top clubs in the country.
"This has been one of the problems in our country that our youngsters often fail to make the right decision. They often get lured by the money and don't worry about their opportunities to play," pointed the former JCT coach where he spent around 17 years as a coach.
This issue has often been highlighted by Bob Houghton and Colin Toal, the technical director of Indian football, that the youngsters get lost in the developmental process and don't get enough games to play due to which they end up being disillusioned.
"When the boys are in their formative years, the onus is on those who are in charge of the boys at the youth level to give them proper guidance. Several TFA (Tata Football Academy) boys join the big clubs and are seen warming the benches.
"Two JCT players, who are doing exceptionally well at the moment had bright offers from clubs across India. However, I told them that it's not the right time to move as a couple of years at JCT will help establish themselves. At JCT, we would even tell the players if he would get a good offer to leave if we knew that a particular player has achieved a certain level.
"What the youth need is guidance and counselling which sadly has been missing."
The Punjabi remains optimistic for the future though he opines that the above mentioned points must be instilled at the youth level to safeguard Indian football in the years to come.
Rahul Bali
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