By Keshav Pariat
SHILLONG: There is no dearth of football talent among the youth of Meghalaya, feels John Godbold, who was in the state for the Lajong Soccer Camps, but there is still much that needs to be done to fully tap into their potential.
Seven camps were held in the state in Mawlai, Bhoirymbong, Mairang, Mylliem, Sohra, Jowai and Shillong, which hosted the last one on December 31.
Overall, more than 2,000 boys participated.
“The response has been fantastic,” Godbold said in an exclusive interview.
Godbold has been involved in youth training in the USA, Singapore and Qatar and he was very impressed with the children who attended the camps.
“The most striking thing is the level of physical fitness of the kids here,” he said. “Their athletic physique when compared to kids in Europe and the USA is amazing.”
He added that with around 30 percent of children in the UK and USA now overweight or obese, the athleticism of children he encountered here gives them a good base to develop as footballers of the future.
Their attitude and enthusiasm was also something to note. “They were enthusiastic, polite and listened well. They were eager to learn as much as they could,” Godbold said, while also adding that even those who lacked shoes or other kit did not let that get in the way of their passion for the sport.
While it is still early days at the Lajong academy, Godbold said that it has great potential.
If there was one piece of advice that he would give them, it is that they should look to bring in younger children – boys of around eight years old.
He described it as a positive thing that boys can come and eat, live and train together in the academy.
“That allows them [the academy] to then think about improving the kids’ nutrition and strength training,” he said.
Asked what he thought about the infrastructure in Meghalaya, Godbold feels that while the JN Sports Complex in Polo is good, the other playing surfaces have been variable.
The JN Sports Stadium also urgently requires floodlights and the children should be allowed greater access to use the stadium for their training, he added.
Godbold has known Shillong Lajong FC coach Desmond Bulpin for over 25 years, and the SLFC coach thinks Godbold has done a great job in the camps.
“Every club should have someone like him running their youth programme,” Bulpin said.
In addition to the camps for boys, Godbold also conducted a coaches camp where he focused “on how to coach not what to coach.”
Reiterating what he said on his first day in Shillong on December 19, Godbold said that “Football is a learnt activity.
“Footballers are made, they aren’t born.”
Godbold spent time with the coaches in explaining how children learn and how coaches can deliver knowledge and information effectively.
Bulpin added that these coaches camps are essential and should, ideally, be held as much as once a month.
Bearing in mind that Meghalaya is not a well-off state and funds for youth development through sport overall – not just football – are not at the level in developed countries, Godbold identified three simple priorities.
“Facilities need to be developed and available for children to train in. We also need educated coaches who can impart their knowledge in a trickle-down effect. And thirdly, there needs to be good identification of talent,” he said.
Bulpin described the potential in the state as largely “untapped”. Not enough is being done to help poor kids, he added.
“The first club with an academy that gets it right will be champions in India within 10 years and with the lowest budget to boot,” Bulpin argued.
He also feels that Indian clubs and the national team would benefit if they invested more in coaching and young talent.
Understandably, Indian clubs want results now, while spending time and resources on developing youngsters may only bear fruit several years in the future, but Bulpin cautioned against pursuing such a short-term policy.
He referred to the England national team, which is suffering, he feels, because there are too many foreign players in the domestic leagues and their inclusion is hampering the development of the game.
However, he added that there are things that Indian clubs can learn from abroad, saying, “Look at Manchester United’s youth policy, their resilience, professionalism and how they back their manager Alex Ferguson.”
From what he has seen of SLFC, Godbold feels that they are playing well, despite now going five games without a win.
Responding to some criticism of the team playing the long ball rather than short passes, he said, “It’s not about the long or the short ball, but the right ball. It’s about what works.”
He was grateful, he said, for the support he received in running the camps. “It was an unknown quantity when I accepted the opportunity to come here, but the experience has been brilliant.”
Godbold also added that the participation of the Lajong academy coaches and the players made the camps a success.
“I, too, have learnt a lot from running these camps and,” he said with a smile, “I’d love to be invited back to Shillong.”
