MARGAO: Unless the sports curriculum and syllabus in schools right from the pre-primary and primary levels in Goa is introduced and the present physical education concept is modified with provision for adequate infrastructure and highly qualified professionals it will be a herculean task for many an Indian to make it big in sports at the world level, asserted former National MRF Supercross and Motocross champion Alan Sequeira.

One engages in a conversation with 13-year-old Peter Aston Sequeira and the first impression that strikes you - this is not the same boy that I knew five years ago in Goa. There is a total transformation. His departure to London from Sirvodem in Navelim, has done him a world of good. For his age, one is surprised that he can engage in a discussion on human physiology, the recycling of body tissues which demand adequate nutrition, exercise, rest, etc with great ease.

Peter talks on the basics of the skeletal system, energy, the digestive system which plays a vital role in supporting one's natural defences, sports-related injuries and emergency first aid treatment. That's because he has taken to sports education as one of his compulsory subjects in his Standard IX curriculum. "I want to be a sports education teacher majoring in football," asserts Peter. The Croydon-based youngster has been selected for Whyteleafe Football Club, having donned colours for the club in the Under-13 Club level Tandrige Football Tournament where he was awarded the 2017-18 Player of the Year Trophy. In 2016-17, he was a member of the U-12 Stars.

Peter was scouted by Manager Grame Coote, whom he calls the "mentor." Outstanding players are under the tutelage of a professional, who is responsible for planning and ultimately shaping the career of a prospective player. Such is their knowledge and commitment, that the manager assumes full responsibility for the progression in the game and even managing the transfer to other club subsequently. Professionalism to the core. And, the facilities for playing are great, always available under the supervision of an expert.

The "little midfield maestro" as he has been nicknamed, Peter sports athletic physique with his growth during the past two years being phenomenal. His father Alan proudly retorts: "Football runs in the blood of Goans. He would play for his school team in Margao, but there is quantum jump in his progress at Croydon, England. The environment is perfect. The facilities and resources are superb. But what is to be admired is the discipline factor, where there is no compromise at all. And, hence the high happiness quotient. There is vast difference between Goa/India and Croydon/England. But all said and done, we love our Goa as this is the place where we have our roots and hence our visit almost every year, despite the fact that the State is wealthy but not very healthy."

Alan, who was a household name in supercross in India, having devoted his life when in Goa to the two-wheeler sport, under the tutelage of Ashley Gomes, being the first Goan to win the coveted national title and honoured by the Goa Government, has had a solid impact on his other 11-year-old son Alec Scanlan Sequeira who chose to proudly follow in, in his father's footsteps.

Alec, who is in Std VI, got his baptism in the two-wheeler sport at the famous Portsmouth MX Club having already competed in his big race with 34 riders in Swanmore last February. He has had the fortune of practicing on his KX65 bike, something which his father says was only a dream in his days of youth. "It is a very expensive sport no doubt. You have to pay for everything. Nothing comes for free in sports, like in Goa. And the training at weekends is very, very tough,  where only a thoroughbred could perhaps come out unscathed," pointed out Alan who added that the tough workouts make his son's heart happy.

"Goa needs to go for radical change as far as sports development goes. We need to redefine our sports policy. We need visionary sports administrators and management gurus who will look 5, 10 or 15 years ahead. Hosting National Games is okay, but not the priority as far as raising of the standards is concerned. Sports is a science today and has to be treated as such. We need highly qualified coaches, both at the lowest and highest levels, performance analysts, adequate exposure, a serious competitive regimen. The infrastructure that is being created has to be used for sports and sportspersons on priority basis. And, above all elite sportspersons ought to be given elite treatment. It's time to re-examine and change our grant-in-aid patterns for associations and clubs and above all, drastically overhaul the school curriculum and syllabus which will be the first step in making positive changes if we act decisively," summed up the former champ.