Coach Speak – Pavithraranjani
Meet Pavithraranjani, who has been with Great Goals since October 2018. She started to play football from the 7th grade and participated in many district and sate level tournaments. She is a certified referee – CAT-3 and was selected by FIFA for the referee training program as one of the top 30 referees in the country. She is an AIFF D- Licensed coach.
| You chose to be a football coach because….? |
| I started coaching during undergrad 2nd year as a part time coach. To be frank, I started to coach on the weekend so I can earn some pocket money that I can spend for my studies and use in the hostel on weekdays. Once I started coaching I enjoyed every moment being in the field and working with the kids. Every day was a new learning , each day was challenging. It was heart filling when kids learn new things and get happy while executing it. That’s the moment I chose to be a professional coach. |
| Which is your favourite drill and why? |
| 1V1. Introducing 1V1 at a younger age group is not easy. But once we did, seeing players performing it gave so much satisfaction. I know the players are able to dribble around, but during 1V1 we see their confidence – after dribbling past the defender and after scoring a goal the joy a player gets and the satisfaction a coach gets is something we can’t explain. |
| What is your favourite moment coaching a class? |
| When a player struggles to get something ,the happy face he/ she has when they get it right. And the excitement they have when they want to show to their coach. |
| Who is your coaching idol and why? |
| My coaching idol is Solomon who was head coach at Great Goals. He always says nothing is wrong until you know the reason why you are doing it and as long as you are confident and clear about what you’re doing and what your goal is. The only thing he says before doing something is ask why you’re doing it. |
| What is your philosophy as a coach? |
| Sport is something players should enjoy. Sport should be fun, it should not be stressful at any cost. Teaching life skills through sport. |
| What is your favourite thing about Great Goals? |
| I like Great Goals because it’s an organisation that runs in a stretched way. It’s an organisation where the child comes first. The best part of Great Goals is it sets everyone to success. Like I always say, every day is a new day at Great Goals! |
| What gives you joy? |
| Setting players for success. When a player doesn’t want to participate in the class, I want to make him/ her to play and enjoy the session. I still remember, I had player who ran behind the crow for a whole year. Att the end of the year he played 3V3 – that was the best moment for me. |
| What’s your favourite tool to motivate a player? |
| It’s okay to lose. |
| Great Goals is…. |
| Where skill meets fun! |