4700 coaches join SAI's first-ever online knowledge enhancement workshop

More than 4,700 coaches, including eminent ex-sportspersons, attended a massive programme of online skill enhancement session, organized by the Sports Authority of India in association with National Sporting Federations on Thursday to upgrade the knowledge of coaches across the country in all leading disciplines.

SAI coaches, coaches of SAI accredited sports academies, coaches recommended by National Sports Federations and coaches of State governments from all over India will attend these sessions to be addressed by Dronacharya awardees, Arjuna awardees, Khel Ratna awardees, eminent Indian coaches and foreign experts.

Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju and Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda addressed coaches on Day one. Speaking about the initiative, Kiren Rijiju said,

"Skill up-gradation is a very important aspect of coaching. This initiative will ensure that coaches learn from the best minds of their discipline and they can implement the learnings from these sessions for better results while training athletes. This workshop includes all important disciplines, especially those in which India has a chance in doing well in the Olympics." 

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Olympian Anju Bobby George who attended the session on athletics said: "SAI could not have chosen a better time for this workshop. Right now the coaches are relatively free and during this time they are getting a chance to brush up their skills and exchange ideas with each other. Just the sheer number of coaches attending the sessions provides a great platform for knowledge sharing and enhancement. It was also great to see the Sports Minister and Director General of SAI attending the sessions. It shows how serious the ministry and SAI is about empowering coaches."

The extensive online coach development programme that will span three weeks is called MOOC (Massive Open Online Course). It is an intensive 21-day programme designed for coaches at all levels. The programme is open to 100 coaches at a time for any given session, allowing High-Performance Directors to assess each participant's individual needs and interests to create a customised learning experience. 

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In the first round of the series coaches from athletics, archery, boxing, badminton, fencing, hockey, gymnastics, table tennis, swimming, weightlifting, wrestling, cycling, taekwondo, football, judo and volleyball will attend the sessions. Hockey sessions will start from April 20.

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