Category Archives: Capacity Buidling

December 31, 2014 · 4:30 pm

Sharing Community Squash Lessons for Latin America and Caribbean Region

I was recently invited to Havana, Cuba where I was privileged and honored to give a presentation as a panelist in the International Workshop on Physical Activity and Quality of Life at CubaMotricidad. Since there were multiple seminars being held simultaneously, our session opened with a presentation on the United Nations Population Fund’s global and regional approach to an aging population and implications of quality of life for the elderly.

United Nations Special Envoy for Sport for Development and Peace addressing delegates in Havana, Cuba.

United Nations Special Envoy for Sport for Development and Peace addressing delegates in Havana, Cuba.

One may wonder how does a program like Kidsquash that focuses on children between the ages of 8 to 17 apply to the elderly and quality of life? The core of my presentation was to share lessons from the Kidsquash model to improve access to physical activity and promote well-being with an eye for global replication that could be adapted to meet the population needs of a host country.

My fellow panelists presented physical activity, community-based interventions in Finland, Cuba, Venezuela and Colombia across age a variety of age levels.  While there were differences for each countries’ experience, the common theme that emerged from our session and the conference at large, was that planned, coordinated and targeted physical activity, community interventions can play a key role in making a better world.  In the case of Kidsquash and other programs balancing issues of social entrepreneurship, volunteerism and sustainability are critical.

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Filed under Capacity Buidling, Coaching, Community Development, Conferences, Education, Leadership, Networking, Private Public Partnerships, Professional Development, Recreation, Squash, Stakeholder Engagement

December 29, 2014 · 7:35 pm

Khelshala Competing at the Indian Squash Nationals

It was very encouraging to get an update from Coach Bajwa about Khelshala kids eager to compete in the Indian Squash Nationals in Mumbai. According to Coach Bajwa, the kids have been preparing for the last 3 weeks and have begun to realize what they need to do take their training to the next level.

Furthermore, Coach Bajwa adds that the kids are committed to competing at Nationals. They recently arrived in Mumbai with much excitement and readiness to compete.  For many of them it will be the first time competing at a national level, but they are not deterred.

More than squash, this will be an educational experience for the kids in terms of exposure to a new city, interacting with a different group of people as well as self-discovery in unfamiliar territory. I am pleased to know that these kids are making strides in their journey with Khelshala.

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Filed under Capacity Buidling, Coaching, Education, Leadership, Squash, Youth Development

December 28, 2014 · 2:16 am

Witnessing Sport and Development Unfold Before One’s Eyes

My travels in India would not be complete without paying a visit to Khelshala, a sport-based youth development program founded and led by Coach Bajwa, my former college squash coach, colleague and dear friend. Khelshala celebrated its third year anniversary on August 13th, 2012 as covered by the Indian Express with the opening of a new tennis program on a 4-acre facility in Village Majra, a rural area near Chandigarh.

Khelshala Tennis program in Village Majra

Khelshala Tennis program in Village Majra

This was my 3rd visit in 4 years to Chandigarh and can say with confidence I have seen first-hand how Coach Bajwa has transformed Khelshala and the community through sport. The photo above was taken during a visit to the Majra facility where 100 village children from low-income families were learning tennis for the first time. Furthermore, it has been 3 years since the squash, academics and yoga activities have been taking place at Village Attawa and the results are beginning to show.

Khelshala is a non-governmental organization (NGO) and a registered charity that relies on the goodwill of donors, volunteers and friends. As a founding member of Khelshala, I am proud to be associated with the organization and plan to continue to assist remotely until a future trip materializes. Overall, my 3-day visit to Khelshala was short on time, but long on inspiration.

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Filed under Capacity Buidling, Coaching, Community Development, Education, International Development, Leadership, Philanthropy, Planning, Squash, Volunteering, Youth Development, Youth Sport

December 8, 2014 · 11:26 pm

Change the Game Conference: Sport System re-Design

As the Director of Kidsquash, I was fortunate to attend a thoughtful, inspiring and engaging conference called Change the Game on how to improve outcomes in sport-based youth development programs.  Stepping back from the world of squash and learning best practices from other sport programs helped to rethink how to better serve the Kidsquash community.

re_Design

To use the language of “sport system re-design,” is new but changes to sports by way of playing area, equipment, structure, rules or roles has a long history as learned by the above historical milestones, created by conference organizers. Even in high school squash- a minor sport – re-design has happened in terms of Point-A-Rally scoring to 11 points as opposed to the British scoring of 9 points. There is debate in the squash community as to whether this has been a step in the right direction.

As per the stories of conference speakers, winning people over to the re-Design involves a multitude of strategies and requires patience. Overall, I came away from the conference with a toolkit to take time to bounce ideas off other practitioners in the field of sport-based youth development as well as reflect on Kidsquash’s strengths, weaknesses and outcomes. Hopefully this process will fuel additional action to get the re-Design of Kidsquash “just right.”

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Filed under Capacity Buidling, Coaching, Community Development, Conferences, Education, Grant Making, Leadership, Networking, Squash, Stakeholder Engagement, Youth Development, Youth Sport

December 6, 2014 · 4:56 pm

Advancing the Field of Sport for Development and Peace

Thanks to my International Sport for Development and Peace Association colleagues Sarah Hillyer (Georgetown University) and Eli Wolff (Brown University), I was able to attend the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education and Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) Symposium titled “Sport for Development and Peace: Initiatives, Challenges, and Pathways Forward.” To view the presentations click here.

The field of sport for development and peace is still relatively young and aiming to achieve legitimacy from the mainstream international development community. Nonetheless, it was welcoming to see AAPHERD host this event. Furthermore, many of the academics involved in this field are scholar-activists, working on the cutting-edge of research and practice both in the United States and around the world. In listening to the presentations, I was reminded by the quote from cultural anthropologist – Margaret Mead, who stated “never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world.“

As with most conferences, one must find ways to take away the information that will add value to the organizations in which one serves. As a coach who works with young people, the three big “take-aways” were: designing positive sport-based experiences, the importance of pedagogy and leveraging support networks. Each of these requires skill, patience and coordination that can be developed over time. In short, to advance this field more awareness is necessary starting with coaches, teachers, administrators and parents.

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Filed under Capacity Buidling, Coaching, Community Development, Conferences, Conflict Resolution, Education, Foreign Policy, Gender, HIV AIDS, Homelessness, International Development, Literature Review, Networking, Peace Building, Professional Development, Psycho-Social Support, Public Policy

December 5, 2014 · 10:06 pm

Coaching Winning and Losing Teams Simultaneously

Allow me to begin with a preface that this blog has been revised to take into consideration the reader’s interests as well a desire to balance my privacy. This is my third attempt at blogging. Earlier iterations were in the public domain and were experimental in nature.

Some of the blog posts you will read are from earlier editions and hence the later publishing date.The nature of the posts are themselves at times reports of events, reflections of thoughts and actions or lessons for oneself and others to carry forward in the field of sport for development and peace.

During the 2011-12 squash season, the boys varsity squash team at Concord Academy was undefeated, while the girls varsity were 1-11. As the Head Coach, who directs the squash programs at Concord, it was a good lesson in moving beyond winning and losing.

Surely, no one likes to lose. However, when you run practices day in and day out with student-athletes who are, for the most part, intrinsically motivated and striving for self-improvement, it takes the sting out of losing. In an increasingly competitive world, results do matter. However, more importantly, I hope students take the life lessons with them.

Concord Academy Girls Varsity at 2012 New England Championships at Pomfret School, CT

Concord Academy Girls Varsity at 2012 New England Championships at Pomfret School, CT

Above is a photo of the girls varsity team at the New England Girls C Division Squash Championships, where the top 3 CA players finished either second or third in their flights. All three of these girls were upperclassmen who I have enjoyed watching grow on and off the court. Overall, I am proud of the CA squash teams for winning with grace and losing with dignity.

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Filed under Capacity Buidling, Coaching, Education, Gender, Leadership, Squash, Youth Development, Youth Sport