“It was one emotional roller coaster of a learning experience”, the Rustomjee Go Green Cup had it all

by Kaushal Shukla March 10, 2015

It has been a week since the action winded up at the Don Bosco grounds and the dust has settled in on an action packed week of some scintillating football from the ‘To be’ superstars of tomorrow.

The Rustomjee Go Green Cup though had more to it than just football. As we look back at the week’s action, we tend to feel an array of emotions apart from recollecting some breathtaking football on show.

A jubilant Joshua Lewis who was at the heart of this heart pounding festival of football had never seen a more eventful tournament in his reign as the CEO of Kenkre FC.

“This year has been the most eventful of all the past years in terms of emotions and enthusiasm shown by parents. We are very pleased to have a very large turnout this year as compared to previous years”.

Parents were getting the singers and lyricists out of them as they came with some lovely chants and anthems to get their kids going. An U-10 game between Don Bosco and Bombay Scottish had a derby feel to it with both sets of parents, coaches and supporters racked up a completely vibrant atmosphere.

Such involvement from the parent’s side was a pleasant surprise for Joshua Lewis, but he advised the parents not to be too expectant of their kid. “The parents’ turnout and enthusiasm is great to see but my only concern is that parents shouldn’t put a lot of pressure on their kids and let them enjoy as that will bring the best out of them”.

There was some real talent on show at Kenkre FC’s football carnival. Don Bosco’s Harsh Palande was a force to reckon with in multiple categories. Adjudged the ‘Most Skillful Player’ in the U-10 category, he gave those in the U-12 category a run for their money too. Mirroring Palande, Agastya Bhat stole all the lime light in the U-8 category as getting the ball to Agastya was the tactic, game plan and the mantra for his side. The future is bright with so many players making it an embarrassment of riches in terms of talent that our city sports.

The Kenkre FC head coach has been stressing on competitive action for kids along with the routine practice sessions and his vision was largely realized at the Don Bosco Ground last week.

“It’s like the more exams you give, the better you score. It is same with football. These children practice a lot, which is fine, but the more competitive games they play they get better and better. These games also help you to gauge a student’s progress as you can see the growth in a kid’s performances in competitive games”.

Young kids these days are exposed to a lot of football from across the seas and are greatly influenced by their style of play and also the glamour that goes with it. Many clubs like Kenkre FC have also been touring some of the big European powerhouses in terms of football.

Joshua Lewis has been drawing parallels in terms of the potential on hand with that in Europe, but feels India has a long way to go before it harnesses that potential in a way these nations do.

“In terms of the kids, India has a lot of potential to blossom, but we have a long way to go before we can practically do that. But if we decide we could get there”.

Kenkre FC have taken great steps in that direction, with the Go Green Cup definitely being one of them. The club has as many as six players representing the state in the sub junior category.

After being quizzed about the Indian Super league and their bid to develop the sport from the grass roots Joshua Lewis only had words of encouragement for them. “The ISL has done a wonderful job of creating awareness about the sport in India. I can see them assuming greater heights and all the credit goes to AIFF and IMG Reliance for this. Their grass root initiative is very new, but it has lot of promise and it is only good for the sport which is the real winner”.

There are brighter days ahead for Indian Football and with Kenkre FC fighting all odds, including a mid-February rainy day to host such events the brighter days will come sooner rather than later.

As for the kids who took to the football field during the Go Green Cup, success was just delayed but not denied, all thanks to Kenkre FC and CEO and Head Coach Joshua Lewis.