Intellectually challenged students in Coimbatore with an aptitude for sports find a remarkable leeway in Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, which has a training infrastructure that’s one of its kind in Asia.

The institution has been training coaches in the last nine years as part of a programme to make athletes out of the children who will need specific care and a distinct tutelage.

“Carers who handle special children do not know much about sports, and coaches who know everything about sports are not equipped to instruct special children,” said Prof S Alagesan, head of department at the faculty of physical education and adapted physical education in the institution.

“In our training programme, we combine both to put forward trainers who will help intellectually challenged children realise their potential in sports.”

The training is imparted with support from Special Olympics Bharat, a National Sports Federation that is accredited by Special Olympics International to conduct Special Olympics programmes in India.

“Special Olympics Bharat funds the stay and other expenses of applicants who aim to become trainers for special children, and we share our skills and infrastructure to shape them up,” Professor Alagesan said.

About 30 volunteers from all over India are selected to be part of this programme every year, out of which three students are from Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya.

The 600-hour programme ends with a 300-hour project during which the student will have to coach athletes and organize an event.

“This is to test the trainer’s continued interest and involvement in the field, which demands a lot of persistence and commitment,” said the professor.

The whole process prepares the coach to understand the mental capacity, characteristics and nature of the children, and learn about their special diet plans.

They will be trained to identify the varied abilities of the students within the same game and group them accordingly.

“While the able-bodied compete on the basis of equal ability, the intellectually challenged will be classified based on their different abilities. For instance, some of them will complete a 100-metre dash in 12 seconds and some in 15 seconds. The trainer will classify those who finished in 12 seconds in one group and the others in another group in order to give them a fair chance,” Professor Alagesan explained.

Individual elements like dribbling in a game of basketball, hitting the shuttle cock in a game of badminton will also be the focus of grouping.

“The training module has papers on applied psychology to deal with behaviour, emotions and problem making tendencies,” said the professor.

The school therapy unit also provides its students a course on adapted physical education as an add-on feature for its sports training programmes.

There are about 20 to 25 special institutions in Coimbatore and certified coaches have a lot of scope to work with intellectually challenged children at various levels including Special Olympics, said Professor Alagesan.

Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports organisation for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 4.5 million athletes in 170 countries.

However, a similar training programme for Paralympics, a major international multi-sport event involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, has not taken off due to lack of funding, said the professor.

The institution, which has 70 intellectually and physically challenged children on its roll and has special facilities to help them enjoy games, has plans to intensify the role of sports.

It’s Swami Abiramananda’s vision to take sports, which is primarily a source for fitness and recreation, to the next level by guiding the school into becoming an Olympic launch-pad for the children,” Professor Alagesan said.

In line with this, Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya is providing a level playing field in sports where the intellectually challenged children can dare to dream big.