Bustling with activity at the FoG Sports Academy

The Foundation of Goodness Sports Academy has been very busy in the past months, with a variety of programmes, coaching sessions and competitions across a range of sports, aimed at giving all the sportsmen and women training with us the best chance at achieving their goals and improving their performance.

One of the best opportunities that came our way was in connection with Kevin Pieterson’s KP24 Foundation. Kevin Pieterson who was a prominent English Cricketer, established his Foundation to assist the development of elite cricketers from underprivileged backgrounds and inspire young people through sport and education.

Their flagship 24/7 project seeks to unearth talent from amongst the poorest communities living in the greatest cricket playing nations, with the aim of creating 7 teams from these countries to attend a fully funded trip to Dubai where they will attend a 7 day intensive cricket training camp before playing a T20 World Cup style cricket tournament, after which one player from each country will walk away with a scholarship to support the next phase of their personal development.

Their recent visit to Seenigama was for the KP24 Foundation to visit our facilities and observe the programme carried out by us, during which time they also conducted several coaching camps for the cricketers training at the Academy.

Other special training programmes for our cricketers included the monthly coaching clinic conducted by Mr. Hemantha Devapriya, former first-class Sri Lankan Cricketer turned coach, to help develop the skills of our Academy players.

Volunteer Jonathan Wright has begun special training sessions for the 23 member Sports Academy Elite Squad, made up of the most outstanding players training at the Academy, picked from across various sports and age groups. These sportsmen and women will receive targeted training to help them achieve their maximum potential and make headway in their chosen sports.

We are also delighted to announce that the Seenigama Sports Academy is now able to improve the level and quality of our coaching with the help of the new BOLA Bowling Machine that was donated by our staunch supporter Mr. Tom Seabrook.

These intensive coaching sessions and the careful attention of the Sports Academy coaches are paying off, as the FoG players stand out across a variety of competitions. At the Southern Province Volleyball Competition held at the Urubokka Public Volleyball Courts, the FoG Academy Volleyball Team were placed runners up, and player P. L. D. Nipuna Madushitha won the Best Attacker Trophy, while the Seenigama Netball Team placed 3rd at the recent Open Netball Tournament held in Kurunegala.

The FoG Karate Team too have received new gear to help their performance, and we were delighted when Tharuka Dilendra, Ishan Lakmal and Ashan Sagarathilaka were selected to compete at the Commonwealth Karate Championship organized by the Sri Lanka Karatedo Federation.

Good news also comes from our triathlete Lakruwan Wijesiri whose training continues to be supported by Mr. Chandramohan, with Sri Lanka Air Lines also stepping in as his travel sponsors to help him with his frequent overseas trips to train and compete. Lakruwan recently attended the Singapore International Triathlon where he placed 2nd in the Sprint Distance Category and is currently training in Singapore in preparation for a triathlon in Indonesia later this month.

We have also been hosting a multitude of groups who arrive on Community Aid Sports Tours and simply within the month of July, we had visits from CIMA Canada, Heidelberg Volkskool - Germany, Dalyellup College - Australia, St. Albans College - UK, Australian Hellenic Federation, Monkton Combe - UK, Royal Grammar High Whycombe - UK, PSCC Maritzburg College - South Africa, Puntfest Cricket Academy - South Africa, David Talalla Academy - Australia and the Adams Grammar Girls School netball team from UK who all engaged in friendly games with our Academy players while also experiencing rural Sri Lankan life.

Some groups like the David Talalla Academy players spent an extended period of up to two weeks with us, during which time they were truly immersed in the village life and the community aid aspect of the tour, visiting various FoG sectors and spending time at the Boys’ Orphanages. This group was so touched by their experiences that they made numerous donations prior to their departure to help elevate the living standards of the rural children they met during their time in Sri Lanka.

Visiting teams are not the only ones who work towards improving the community as our beneficiaries are also keenly aware of the special privilege they receive when they are given free of charge training by the FoG and they try to pass on this act of goodwill by doing special projects in their community to help those in need. As the Sports Community aid project for this year, they were able to procure electricity for a poor family in the village, who were struggling without an electrical connection.

And to cap it all off, FoG was recognized as the Best Volunteer Sports Organization at the 2015 SILK Awards.

These have been very active and productive times for the Sports Academy but busier times are coming up as the Foundation gears up for our monumental yearly event - The Murali Harmony Cup, which takes place across 5 venues in the North with the participation of 16 school boy teams and 8 ladies’ club teams from across the island. The 4th edition of this tournament is set to take place in early October.

19th August 2015