Heartfulness and AIFC launch Heartful Coach Program for 2021

Hyderabad/Mumbai, September 21, 2021: The Heartfulness Education Trust and AIFC, the Association of Indian Football Coaches, launched the national program, Coach to Heartful Coach as part of the International Day of Peace Celebrations. The Heartful Coach is a 3-day masterclass program designed to introduce a heart-centered approach to sports coaching in schools. More than 3,000 coaches will be participating in the virtual program this year. Eminent guests including Mr. Aditya Thackeray, Hon’ble Cabinet Minister of Tourism & Environment, Government of Maharashtra; AIFC Founder & Director Mr. Dinesh Nair; Mr. Pullela Gopichand, Chief National Coach, Indian National Badminton Team; Mr. Bharat Madhavan, Director Heartfulness Education Programs launched the program.
Sport is one of the facets that drive holistic development among children and connect to their hearts. Sports coaches, therefore, play a crucial role in inspiring children to achieve their dreams. Often coaches are mentors to the children on and off the fields. The influence of coaches is beyond the games as they imbibe life skills such as discipline and consistency. A coach’s strength is in the calmness of his mind, cool temperament, tons of talent and self-belief. It’s the coach that finds diamonds in the dust. In many ways, coaches enable the mental, physical, psychological, and personality developments within children. The Coach to Heartful Coach Program enables football coaches to connect with the infinite potential of their hearts. The three-day immersive program that starts today includes Heartfulness Practices for inner peace, self-transformation, and overall well-being. The program hosts a 75-minute session on topics like coaching with the heart, being a heartful role model, and achieving coaching excellence.
 
Speaking on the launch, Mr. Aditya Thackeray, Hon’ble Cabinet Minister of Tourism & Environment, Government of Maharashtra, said, “As sportsmen, most of us want to excel and win, bring laurels for the country and society, at various levels. We want to play fair, win and create a name for our team, ourselves, and our sport. It is the spirit of winning that creating champions in sports. But the idea is to go one step further and create champions in life. A coach wields the art of nurturing and bring out the best in society. We have brought all coaches across India for Heartfulness. Today’s sport is about life and being a winner in whatever role you play in your life besides sports. The art of nurturing are aimed at learning and absorbing and sharing from each other at an international level for a better future.
 
AIFC Founder & Director, Mr. Dinesh Nair said, "Every child who plays a sport may not become a champion, but as coaches, our role is not only to create an Olympian or a gold medallist but to nurture children and look at the overall holistic development of a child to create role models and responsible citizens. We need to nurture a child’s mind, so let us embark on the journey of a ‘Coach to Heartful Coach’.”
 
Mr. Pullela Gopichand, Chief National Coach, Indian National Badminton Team said, “In the 35 years of my life as a player and coach, it has revolved around producing champions. Around 11 years after I began to coach, I realised that the number of people who come out confident in sports is a lot lesser than those that come out of sports dejected. It’s not about how many champions we make, but how many of them are on the journey. For too long sport has been for the winning few, who are genetically endowed, have better facilities, and it’s time we need to change that. Sports gives us more than medals – it helps us to share with the team, being part of the team, and gives life lessons. It is in the art of the coaching and heart of the coach – integrity, compassion, and trust are important for a coach. Being connected with the self is very important.”
 
Mr. Bharat Madhavan, Director Heartfulness Education Programs, said, “The launch of the Heartful Coach, coincides with International Peace Day. It is in the alignment of peace and relaxation with success and happiness. Inner peace is the secret formula to success in any field. The qualities of a coach to observe and not react, to let go and stay relaxed, and show empathy and compassion are necessary for a coach. Harmony between the inner conscience and the inner coach is possible only for a calm mind to achieve the peak performance and be in the zone. For an effortless performance, the Heartful Coach training programme comes in for inner integration that helps in tapping into intuitive capabilities for both the coaches and the players.”
 
Last year, Heartfulness Education Trust and AIFC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to introduce the transformational ‘Heartful coach - Let's Coach with our Heart.' The ongoing program is intended to help sports coaches from all strata and regions of the country.