Report on the Netball Camp held in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha in March/April 2016 Overview Pro Sport Development (PSD) in collaboration with Naz India Foundation, as part of their Naz Goal Programme, conducted a Netball camp from the 28th of March to 2 nd of April, 2016 for two of its community schools, namely Binapani Sishu Mandir (BPSM) and Vivekananda Shiksha Kendra (VSK) located in the slum colonies of Bhubaneshwar, Odisha. The camp also included girls from Palli Unnayan Seva Samiti (PUSS), an organization running an orphanage for girls. The camp saw the participation of a total of 104 youth, which included 42 boys and 62 girls between the ages of 8-14 years. The camp was led by coaches from Naz, namely Sunil Sarvang, Pooja Rawat, Pramod Kumar Thakur, Punita Kushwala and Amrita Rawat, while being supported by PSD s coaches Rajeev Nath and Tempa Hansdah. The camp included sessions conducted in the mornings and evenings. In the mornings, the camp was conducted for the children from BPSM and PUSS, whereas the afternoon session focused on Netball Camp BBSR 2016 1
the youth from VSK. The sessions held for the participants in the mornings and afternoons included the same activities throughout the camp. There were a total of 11 sessions over 6 days, each session lasting for a duration of 1.5 2 hours. Activities Conducted Day 1 The session started with the Naz coaches introducing themselves and elaborating about the Goal programme. This was done to familiarize the participants with the trainers and get acquainted with the sport of Netball. This was followed by Naz coaches teaching the different kind of passes made in a Netball game namely bounce pass, overhead pass, chest pass, loop pass and high ball pass, which were practiced via specific drills. PSD s coaches helped in translating the instructions into the local language, for the children to have a clear understanding. Day 1 focused on introducing the fundamentals of Netball, and making the children play in groups to get them used to the new skills they learned. After the completion of the training session, Naz coaches also conducted a session to develop important life skills. Day 1 focussed on non-verbal communication. This was taught through a fun and engaging game called Silent Pass to help the children communicate effectively and allow them to implement these within their own lives and communities. Netball Camp BBSR 2016 2
Day 2 The session on the second day started with Naz coaches reviewing the activities conducted on Day 1. This was followed by them explaining the functional role of various players, the placement of players as well as understanding the complete rules and regulations of Netball. For the participants to have a clear understanding, Naz coaches displayed a chart with the different roles and placement of the players. The children then actively participated in specific drills for each of the skills and demonstrated a good understanding of the acquired training. After the training session, the life skill taught to the children was about raising one s voice in society when something went wrong or some sort of injustice is occurring in front you, through a game of Protect the Bee. Netball Camp BBSR 2016 3
Day 3 The session on the third day started with Naz coaches debriefing the participants about the training sessions on Day 1 and 2, especially reiterating the aspects of passing and footwork. This was followed by a thorough explanation of each player s positional responsibilities and the scoring system used in Netball. Following that, jerseys were handed to the participants, teams were formed and a mini game of Netball was played for the youth to have a better understanding of the rules and regulation. PSD s coaches supported by helping Naz India Goal coaches communicate effectively with the participants. The third day concluded with the participants learning about Hygiene through a game of Hygiene Tag, which promoted personal hygiene, but also cleanliness within their communities and the general environment. Day 4 Day 4 began with an overview of the activities conducted over the 3 days of the camp and focussed specifically on shooting. A couple of drills were conducted solely focusing on the shooting movement and this was meticulously monitored by Naz coaches. After the drills, the Netball Camp BBSR 2016 4
participants played a couple of games of Netball to encompass all the acquired training. The coaches were constantly involved by aiding the youth understand the game and made sure the participants exhibited the acquired training. After the conclusion of the activities on Day 4, Naz India Goal coaches focused on Rights to do through a game of My Rights' in which the participants were taught to follow their dreams and not be dictated by other influences. Day 5 The session on the fifth day focused once more on shooting, with specific drills conducted to improve upon the skill. This was followed by the youth provided more game time as the coaches were keen to observe the effect of the training over the past 4 days of the camp. Teams were formed and the children were monitored closely. After the Netball game, the session concluded with a game of Zig Zag Saving. The game taught basic financial literacy to the children, focusing on the themes of saving and valuing money, the importance of money and its necessity to follow one s dream. Netball Camp BBSR 2016 5
Day 6 The last session of the Netball camp concluded with all the participants from VSK, BPSM and PUSS, involved in a mini-tournament at BPSM. The tournament was played with mixed teams formed from within the participants of the camps, and the games were closely monitored by the Naz and PSD coaches. This was done to observe if the participants developed skills like Leadership, Teamwork and Communication, as well as implemented the acquired Netball training over the camp. Netball Camp BBSR 2016 6
Impact & Lessons Ame katha barta dwara, nija sanganku bhala se bujhiparu Lipsa, 12-year old female participant. (By talking amongst each other, we can understand our friends) Prathama dina mou nervous thili, kintu gemiti dina gadhila more atma biswas badhila Bijaylaxmi, 12-year old female participant. (On the first day I was nervous, but as the camp progressed my confidence level increased) The Netball camp had a positive impact on the youth as they were excited and happy to learn a new sport. Initially, the participants struggled to grasp the concepts as they were unsure about the game, but as the camp progressed, the youth improved upon every skill taught and built a healthy competitive environment. The participants took the practice sessions seriously and worked diligently to get better over the duration of the camp. By the last day of the camp, the participants had a good understanding of the game and implemented the acquired training over the camp very well within the mini-tournament. The participants also learnt key life skills including verbal and non-verbal communication, raising one s voice against violence, hygiene, my rights and the importance, value and necessity of money. These were taught so that the youth become aware and implement these skills within their respective daily lives and the communities they reside in. Netball Camp BBSR 2016 7
Challenges and Future Improvements One of the major challenges of the camp was for the youth to comprehend the instructions. Even with the help of PSD s coaches, the participants struggled to follow some of the instructions. This led to inefficient sessions as the youth were dependent on PSD s coaches to translate the instructions. In order to deliver sessions effectively, the space for the camp should not be restricted, as it was this time around at VSK, with respect to the number of participants that were present during the sessions. The Naz coaches felt the restricted area was a hindrance in conducting a session, and managing the large number of youth. Another challenge for the Naz coaches was to start the training session on time at VSK. The children weren t available at the right time and this caused inefficiency during the session, as well as the session being dragged on for longer. Moreover, the trainers had less time for discussions to transfer the learning outcomes. Netball Camp BBSR 2016 8