Laws of Play! .....and Life!

Play - the fundamental behavior of children - has been the focus of the EduSports journey for the last 5 years.

While there is enough written about Play being important for a child's development, I believe there are lessons in Play for adults - as they live their lives - personal and professional. 

Watching many kids at play over the last 10 years helped me understand some of the "Laws of Play".

Here is my shot at the Laws of Play ....and Life!   

1^st Law of Play: You play with whatever you have.

Children are willing to work with constraints. They innovate.

Small playgrounds? No problem.

Limited time? No problem.

While we should try to get the best resources possible, the game of life & business should not stop because of constraints. We still have to get things done. 

We still have to play.

2^nd Law of Play: You choose the game. You make the rules.

Children make up rules as they go – in response to the environment. If an angry neighbor is around, you get “out” if your ball hits his window.

Change the game if you need to. Change the rules to include new players, new constraints.

Don’t get stuck with how it was supposed to be done. Try a new approach. 

The goal is not to do it “properly”.

The goal is to play, learn and have fun in the process.

Careers, jobs, salaries, start-ups, challenges: It is always a choice. Every choice has its costs.

And you can influence the rules of engagement. 

3^rd Law of Play: The more you play, the less you get tired.

If real play is happening, children can stay focused for a very, very long time. They do not get tired. They do not get hungry. They do not need to go to the bathroom.  They keep playing and learning.

Staying engaged in a job, with the goals, with team members, with customers, solving problems, grappling with unsolvable problems can give you positive energy - if you choose to commit. And the more you play, the less you get tired. 

Conversely, if you are getting tired, you are probably not playing.

4^th Law of Play: The more fluid the game, the lesser the captain matters.

Fluid games (like football & basketball) do not really need a “captain” or a “leader” while the game is on. The situation creates the leader. Structured games (like cricket) need a formal leader.

Most organisations have very fluid goals, teams and roles. The leader cannot shout "STOP" and then execute things himself. 

The leader can only ensure that the best people are in the right role, spend time on aligning visions & values - and then trust the team to give it their best shot.

And improvise on their own if required.

5^th Law of Play: More scars = More fun = More learning

The scars are proof that kids really tried, took a risk and went beyond what was comfortable.

Mistakes are part of the learning process. 

If you are not making mistakes, you are either not playing or are probably playing safe.

Mistakes are fine as long as the intention was to play well and try to win.

6^th Law of Play: The more you play, the more you win.

There is no way to win if you don't play the game. 

"You have to be in it to win it"

And the more you play, the more you learn and the more you are set up to win.

Dig deeper when customers give you a glimmer of being dis-satisfied, listen hard and listen to what is not being said but implied - and act quickly to fix the issues.

7^th Law of Play: You need just one big win.

In any career move, you typically need just one big win to make a name for yourself. Once you have that win, build on it. Remember why you won. Did you work hard? Did you rally a lot of people towards your idea? Did you present the solution well? 

Do more of whatever got you successful while you add new skills to grow to the next level.

8^th Law of Play: Respect the heroes. Don’t copy them.

Each organisation will have heroes. People who are part of the corporate mythology. 

Respect them for their achievements. But build your own style.

Your context, your team, your strengths and your weaknesses are different.

9^th Law of Play: Mastery requires Practice. Lots of it.

Sport is probably the best teacher for this fundamental law – of Play and of Life.

All children understand that unless they practice, they will not get better. And their friends are getting better because they are practicing – regularly and in large enough amounts.

Build depth in whatever field/role you are working in - for however short a time.  

10^th Law of Play: The game never ends.

The child wants to keep playing. If it is too late, we continue tomorrow. If it is raining, wait for the rain to stop – if they are not allowed to play in the rain!

The game never ends. And the fun, the learning and the joy of play never ends.

To reword Shakespeare:

All the world's a field (and not a stage, as he put it)

And all the men and women merely players.

It is a game. Play.

EduSports: Lessons from Teaching Teachers How to Create Magic!

Came across this very interesting TED talk about :

"Teaching Teachers How to Create Magic"

http://www.ted.com/talks/christopher_emdin_teach_teachers_how_to_create_magic

It addresses the fundamental view that the "magic" of engaging students, of firing their imagination and of inspiring students to learn - cannot be taught. Or learnt.

Yes - it can. But we are probably not looking in the right place.

Look for the lessons on creating magic where the magic is happening. Get your teachers to attend events where your students are , in fact, really engaged.

Music concerts - watch how the successful singer engages with the audience.
Sports training - watch how the successful coach gets the kids to give it all they've got
Religious sermons - watch how the successful priest modulates the voice, manages eye contact and gets people engaged.

And let your teachers take notes. And then apply to the classroom.

In the EduSports experience of "creating the magic" of sports- over the last 5 years - with 2,50,000 school kids across 380 schools and multiple cultural, linguistic and religious contexts, we've had a few specific learnings around what it means to "teach teachers to create the magic" - and we've tried to teach nearly 500 of them:

1. Intent matters more than expertise. The background, the degree, the number of years of experience very often do not matter. The folks who are most successful in creating the magic on the ground with children are the ones who really care about creating the magic. They pay attention to the child who is struggling as also to the child who is excelling. They ensure the mood is positive but ensure learning happens. Find a way to hire for intent. Not expertise.

2. Structure helps. The best of magicians need a structure to ensure the magic is created consistently. Checklists, review sheets, feedback forms, audits, list of things to do etc - are like the large hat that magicians should have with them - if they are to pull a rabbit out of it. Else the magic cannot happen.

3. Aim for stamina. Not peak performance. Peak performance is good for a one-off event. Not for an ongoing intervention. For making a lasting impact - or for creating ongoing magic, the tools & structure should enable a consistent but long-term performance as against a peak performance but for a short duration. This also involves setting the expectations of the stakeholders accordingly.

And last but definitely not the least:

4. Learning is the objective. Not the magic. The final goal is not to display magic - but to achieve learning outcomes. Children should learn what they are supposed to learn - and not get thrilled by impressive displays.

If magic happens, they will learn.

Also, if children are learning & are engaged, the magic is happening.

It just might not be in the form you expected it to be.

Finding the "FLOW" state for kids in sports

Came across this interesting talk on TED:

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow, the secret to happiness - where he talks about how the right combination of Skill & Challenge is required for a state of Flow. 

In the Sports context, some call it the "Zone" 

The state where people seem to effortlessly achieve stuff. When they keep getting energy from inside them. When each obstacle is viewed as an interesting challenge.

The state where you enjoy the doing for the sake of doing. Not for any outcome.

And in the process, get happier, achieve higher goals and are at complete peace with yourself.

So, how do we help kids in sports find the Flow?

The typical types of kids we see in sports:

1. Talented kids - with high skills. They know they are good. Never lose an opportunity to try.
2. Average kids - who can do a lot better but are not willing to try.
3. "Slow" kids - who do not have the skill and - after a few tries - have stopped trying.

In most sports programs - in-school as well as after-school - this classification is seen as permanent. And hence, only the talented kids - who are proactive in playing more - get all the attention, equipment, training, opportunities etc.

The other kids are not even trying - so, very often, it is not even a situation that demands conflict resolution.

However, the Skill Challenge matrix below - created by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - gives a neat structure for thinking about the problem.

And some implementable solutions for getting all kids to engage with sport and discover the state of Flow.

1. For the "Slow kids":

• If there is anxiety about the sports sessions i.e. they want to be there but are unsure about their abilities:
• Reduce the Challenge level of the sessions. Focus on improving their skills so that they move from Anxiety state to Control state.
• Once they have reached the Control state, increase the Challenge while keeping the Skill levels high so that they achieve Flow.

• If the kids are worried about how they will perform:
• Improve their skills so that they move to Relaxation/Control state.
• Then increase the Challenge levels to achieve Flow.

• If there is apathy: i.e. they just do not care about the sessions.
• Focus on improving their skills so that they move to the Relaxation state. They start enjoying the sessions because they can actually do the stuff that is expected of them.
• And then, increase the Challenge levels for them to move to Control & then, Flow.

2. For the Average kids:

• If they are bored with the activities:
• Increase the Challenge levels and you start them into Flow directly.
• If they are in a state of arousal, i.e. they think they should be able to handle the session but are unable to do the activities expected of them:
• Focus on improving their skill and get them to Flow directly.

3. For the Talented kids:

• Across all categories, there is only one solution. 
• Keep the challenge levels high. These kids love a challenge. 
• Keep improving their skills as you increase the challenge levels.

It is possible to get all children to enjoy the state of Flow in sports.

It just takes a structured program that can modulate the challenge levels & the skill learning levels according to the child you are dealing with.  The structured program will, in-turn, need individual assessments, ability to track each child over a time-period, well-defined norms for skill & challenge levels, adequate & appropriate props  that provides the ability to cater to the needs of the different categories of children.

Just having an age-appropriate program is not enough. It has to be "skill-appropriate" session!

But it is possible.

Most adults today have memories of apathy & boredom when they talk about their PE/sports sessions!

Over the last 5 years, EduSports has been able to move nearly 200,000 children - from 350 schools - across India from the Apathy/Boredom state to the Relaxation/Control state.
And many from Anxiety/Worry state to Control state.
And many to the Flow state.

At EduSports, we like to refer to the journey towards the "Flow" state in sports as the "Magic of Sports".

It has not been easy helping children go through the journey.

Limited time, limited space, limited budgets, academic pressures, parental apathy etc.

But it is possible - within the child's school's context & constraints. And there are enough school leaders who understand the value.

The magic of the journey and the joy of children finding the Flow state makes it all worth it.

Now, for the next 5 years and a million kids in the Flow state. :)

The Laws of Play! ....or Creating better learning environments – through Systems Design and Magic!

Over the last 4 years, I have heard various educationists, school leaders, teachers and policy makers talk - at various Education conferences & in the media - about the enormous challenges in school education.

Over time, I found a few recurring themes:

•  Focus on Learning. Not Teaching.
• Create the joy of learning – and children will learn for life.

The biggest challenge seems to be around creating better learning environments where children are fully engaged and where children develop a love for learning.

As an engineer, when confronted with a problem, one tends to focus on design - whether it involves making new things or tinkering with existing stuff.

Try something new to make a change.

Mr. Einstein defined Insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

Are most of our school leaders in a state of temporary insanity? Doing the same thing and expecting different results?

Influencing any environment requires us to take into account the individuals involved & their design principles. 

And then try some new approach.

And when all other “scientific” approaches fail and the problem is a crucial one, turn to Magic!

For solving this seemingly unsolvable problem of creating better learning environments in schools, it is probably time to combine Systems Design with Magic.

Let me explain:

It seems to me that most of the parents, educationists, school leaders and other experts deeply concerned about creating a better learning environment in schools are missing a simple point:

The best use of a system is when you use it for what it was designed for.

And children are designed to learn through play.

Across all species, the young ones learn through play. They learn about their environment, their peers, their seniors, juniors, what hurts, what doesn’t, what works, what doesn’t.

And so do young humans. From a few months, the human child “plays” – with the mother, siblings, with toys  - and learns. Learns about how a smile elicits a positive response, how a cry gets attention, how shapes fit into slots, how pressing a button creates music, how moving the arm with the ball can make it bounce.

Through play, they learn.

Play is often confused with sport.

Play is when you start something because it sounds interesting, try different things, see what works, what doesn’t, do it many times learning something new every time – and have fun in the process.

Sport is one very well-defined form of Play. All kids love it – because it involves Play.

As our advisor, Dr. George Selleck said:

“Play is an scientific experiment conducted by children”

All parents & school leaders know that children love to play. And given a choice, they will be out playing – instead of learning English or Maths.

So, the “system” of the child is designed to play.

What does the “system” of education want to create? - Better learning environments.

What is the system of education currently designed to do? Deliver a consistent academic experience to all children, measure outcomes and track progress.

Leveraging the design of the current education system, understanding the design of the key constituency – children – and introducing the Magic of Play might give us useful answers.

Magic? What magic?

Kids kick a ball around, run around in the playground, try out new stuff, meet new friends – and you get better team players, kids who understand the value of hard-work, discipline, kids who are more focused, respect the rules, understand boundaries, kids who are fitter – physically and socially.

All of this just by playing!  No lectures. No teachers. No classes. Magic!

Over the last 10 years, I have seen the magic mesmerize children, parents, teachers, school leaders & educationists.

So, the best learning environments will be those that incorporate the Magic of Play into the design of the teaching-learning process. Play does not mean sport. But there are lessons from the playground that can be invaluable.

Children can “play” with science. Try out new experiments, see how stuff works, how it reacts when you throw in a new item.

Children can “play” with geography.  With history. With maths.

In order to understand how to create better learning environments through Play, it is important to understand the “10 Laws of Play”. Laws that I have postulated based on what I have learnt while watching kids play & trying to get 200,000 children to play more over the last 10 years.

Here goes:

Universal Foundation of Play: You play to have fun.

Fun does not mean children have to be laughing all the time. Fun, as Dr. Selleck articulated beautifully, means:

1.       Children are deeply engaged in the activity.

2.       Children are connected to the group around them.

3.       Children are pushed slightly beyond their limits.

1^st Law of Play: You play with whatever you have.

Children are willing to work with constraints. They innovate.

Small classrooms? No problem.

Limited time? No problem.

Shared resources? No problem.

As long as they can continue to play and have fun.

2^nd Law of Play: You choose the game. You make the rules.

Children make up rules as they go – in response to the environment. If an angry neighbor is around, you get “out” if your ball hits his window.

Change the game if you need to. Change the rules to include new players, new constraints.

Don’t get stuck with how it was supposed to be done. Try a new approach to teaching.

The goal is not to do it “properly”.

The goal is to play, learn and have fun in the process.

3^rd Law of Play: The more you play, the less you get tired.

If real play is happening, children can stay focused for a very, very long time. They do not get tired. They do not get hungry. They do not need to go to the bathroom.  They keep playing and learning.

You want kids to be engaged in class? Get them to “play” while they learn.

4^th Law of Play: The more fluid the game, the lesser the captain matters.

Fluid games (like football & basketball) do not really need a “captain” or a “leader” while the game is on. The situation creates the leader. Structured games (like cricket) need a formal leader.

The teacher, instead of leading the class, can be the cheerleader of the class. Urging the team in the right direction, anchoring the learning to the school’s context and getting all the children involved in the learning process.

5^th Law of Play: More scars = More fun = More learning

The scars are proof that they really tried, took a risk and went beyond what was comfortable.

Mistakes are part of the learning process. Let kids “fall”.  That’s how they will really learn.

6^th Law of Play: The more you play, the more you win.

As the child plays with the subject matter, the probability of the “Aha!” moment increases. And this win is long-lasting and intrinsic.

7^th Law of Play: You need just one big win.

One big “Aha!” moment and the concept has been understood for life.

8^th Law of Play: Respect the heroes. Don’t copy them.

Children learn from their teachers, their peers and from their “heroes”. But each child has an individuality that needs to be supported. Help children see what the “heroes” do & integrate the best practices into their style.

9^th Law of Play: Mastery requires Practice. Lots of it.

Sport is probably the best teacher for this fundamental law – of Play and of Life.

All children understand that unless they practice, they will not get better. And their friends are getting better because they are practicing – regularly and in large enough amounts.

Get them to play regularly and they will appreciate the value of hard-work and discipline.

10^th Law of Play: The game never ends.

The child wants to keep playing. If it is too late, we continue tomorrow. If it is raining, wait for the rain to stop – if they are not allowed to play in the rain!

The game never ends. And the fun, the learning and the joy of play never ends.

If we are able to get our children to experience the joy of play at school, they will seek out play for life.  They will seek out friends who also share their passion for play, for exploring new things, for learning.

They will seek out opportunities for fun, for learning and keep learning for life.

The oft-heard saying:

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

should actually be re-worded this way (in the context of learning environments in schools):

Give a child a lesson and you teach him for a day. Teach a child to play and you teach him for a lifetime.

The benefits of play, sport & physical activity in the playground are well known to all educationists.

Fitter children. Physically fitter & socially fitter.

Better discipline.

Better focus.

Better teamwork.

Etc…

While, over the last 4 years, we have been trying to “Extend the classrooms into the playground” - by bringing a structured  inclusive approach, assessments, teacher training and monitoring to the sports experience, it seems that the Playground also has a lot to offer to the classrooms.

Integrating the 10 Laws of Play into the design of the learning environment will help you create an environment that is aligned with the design of the key constituency – the child.

And while the approach is tough and new, the teacher that succeeds in integrating Play into the classroom will have created a magical learning environment where kids want to be, where all kids learn and all kids develop a joy from learning that will last for life.

Enjoy the Game!

Play, Mastery & Careers!

Children love to play.

Children love novelty.

They love a new game, a new toy, a new anything.

After some time, the newer game is more exciting.

Till they see the next new game.

And so, the cycle continues.

Until they start to build mastery in a particular area - sports, arts, dance, music, maths, science....whatever.

And once they find that area, they focus on it. No parental push required.

Somehow, they know that they need to focus on doing the same thing better. Again and again. They get joy from small improvements. And they do not seek novelty as much as earlier.

Why do some children continue to seek novelty while others seek mastery?

Maybe children have an instinctive feel of what they are good at - and what they are not good at. Or of what they do not like to do...while still not being clear about what they want to attain mastery in.

Maybe the children who seek novelty are still seeking that one area where they would like to attain mastery.

Kind of like what we do with our careers.

There is something magical about "I started that new project and built it to Level 1" as against "I built that project from Level 1 to Level 10".

In the early years, doing the same thing again and again - but also better and better - gets seen as stagnation.

Team members - especially the younger ones - demand new projects, exciting new areas where they can test their skills and build new ones.

And once the new project becomes not-so-new, they want the next new project.

The next new game.

But mastery demands focus & depth. Not variety & superficiality.

Maybe there is a lesson from children at play.

Keep playing. Try new games, new projects, new ideas.

But if you get a shot at becoming a Master of something you love, grab it.

And then, focus. Enjoy the small improvements.

Enjoy the ride.

Is IBL the formula for all sports?

Having grown up playing Badminton, I was extremely excited about the Indian Badminton League.

For many years now, I have been following World Badminton - online, on NEO Sports and many other channels on which the various tournaments get shown.

At home, there have been multiple times that I have watched the World's Top Badminton players  - like Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei - play a fantastic game - and my family did not really bother to watch. No questions.  Just the usual "Dad and his sports". :)

Not even my sports crazy 7 yr old boy - or my 9 yr old daughter who - unfortunately - likes to watch sports more than play them.

And now, with the IBL, both of them are really excited about the teams, they are tracking the points table, they know who the players are, they've made posters supporting "Banga Beats" etc etc.

Recently, my cricket-football crazy boy asked if we can play Badminton. Twice in a week.

And the last time, as we were heading to the court, he stated, "I am Lee Chong Wei. Who are you?"

Now, when I watch IBL on TV, my kids snuggle up and start asking me details of who is playing, who is winning, about the mysterious and dynamic out line in doubles, why there are so many "referees" etc etc.

Of course, the Indian player gets all the support at home - never mind if they have never heard of the player or after multiple days of trying, they are still having a tough time remembering the name "Kashyap" (Banga Beat's Icon Player)

Many other folks I know are following the IBL closely.  Folks that have never played or watched Badminton on TV - except when Saina was playing. And some of them have not even done that.

Before IBL, there was much better quality Badminton on TV.
Before IBL, the world's best players and much better players than the current IBL players were playing LIVE on TV.
Before IBL, the matches were shown round the clock. Multiple times.
Before IBL, hardly anybody in India knew who "Lee Chong Wei" was. Most of them did not even know who PV Sindhu was.

Before IBL, the matches involving Saina were telecast multiple times. Only the times when she won against the Chinese and the Malaysians.

But nobody watched Badminton. Nobody talked about it.

Clearly, just having access to good quality sport was not enough to get folks to follow it.

So, why is IBL getting popular?  I do not have TRP rating data - but relative to the earlier status of Badminton, more people are definitely following it.

Same sport. Lesser quality players. Poorer quality matches. And now people are watching IBL? Buying tickets for matches? Why? What changed?

In one word: Familiarity.

I think IBL has presented the magical combination of familiarity and sport.

Sport is an extremely emotional, magical, intense and often polarizing force. But in an unfamiliar context, people just shrug their shoulders and move on. The same sport is impotent. The magic is not working.

IBL - with it's city-based franchisee system & Indian players - brought in the familiarity component. The game suddenly became something personal.

The feeling that if someone, however foreign her name and looks, is part of something I can relate to, I can root for her.

And by making the Lee Chong Wei's of the world part of the Mumbai Masters, Pune Pistons, Banga Beats, Awadhe Warriors, Delhi Smashers, Hyderabad Hotshots, one important gap - of familiarity - was bridged.

Names like Taufik Hidayat, Tine Baun, Mark Zweibler, Juliane Schenk, Liew Darren, Carolina Marin.....world-class players, but unknown in India. Even some of the Indian players - like Kashyap, Sindhu, Bhat, Sai etc were unknown till recently.

Unknown players. Known cities.

And so, however foreign your looks or your name, if you play for "my city", I will cheer for you. IMO, this is not an "Indian" trait. This is a fundamentally human trait - and represents the real unifying power of sport.

What IBL has done is to connect that power of good quality sports with the power of familiarity - of the city and of other Indian players.

Yes, IPL has done it earlier and at a much larger scale. But IPL had the leverage of a cricket-crazy nation, media & sponsors.

IBL did not.

And hence the IBL way might be the solution for other sports that are in a similar situation.

Create good quality sports competitions. That is a prerequisite.

As are good venues, easy tickets access, on-time starts, family-friendly facilities, clean toilets, food for kids, some entertainment, good quality refereeing etc etc. Those are all "hygiene factors". Necessary but not sufficient for success.

The sufficiency comes from making world class sport personal. Making it familiar. Making fans relate to the players, to the team - and be able to connect with other fans on a common platform.

That said, IBL also had the advantage of most fans being able to relate to the sport of Badminton. Most folks had played it in the open, in parks or at school. Unlike, say, car-racing or adventure sport or golf - where large fan bases are unable to relate to the sport.

The sports that are able to make the personal connection with fans are the ones that will grow.

Maybe, just maybe, the IBL way is the formula for all sports.  Fingers crossed! :)

Sports & the challenge of patronage.

From the little history that I have read, performing arts - and sports was considered one of them - have historically survived because of the patronage of the king.

The king spots a talent, sponsors the talent and provides the facilities required for the talent to thrive.

The talent gets a salary so that s/he can focus on the skill s/he is good at.  Not sure if any talented sportsperson or artisan got rich through this method. But I guess it was a good way of earning a living and supporting your family.

In today's world, the problem with sports and other performing arts - all labelled so nicely as "Co-scholastic" activities in the school system - is that they have historically thrived on royal patronage.

And in every discussion about the state of sports and arts in India, the discussion goes towards "The Government should implement so-and-so policies" "The Government should support the stars of India" etc.

In most countries across the world, the state provides the grounds, stadiums, parks, community recreational centers - and then private entrepreneurs run programs on that state-provided infrastructure. This is a key point as the opportunity cost of real estate does not enter the economics.

If a private player had to think about providing a large plot of land for a sports activity, the opportunity cost of building a large apartment complex would just kill the model.

Even the richest sports body in the world, the BCCI, uses government provided infrastructure. They do not have their own stadiums.

Society has never been able to promote sports without the state's support. There are enough stories of "passing the hat around" during county cricket games - as a way of collecting some money for the players.

With the IPL, modern-day kings have appeared in the form of IPL Franchisees. This is seen across the world with people buying football clubs, basketball franchisees etc.

And again, the sport thrives because modern-day Rajas have patronised the game, funded the system, paid the players a lot of money and used the state-created sports infrastructure.

In the last 50-odd years, with all the bluster around NBA, NFL etc and now IPL, there is a whole industry around helping young kids make a career out of sport.

And that is where we have a design level flaw. Sports was meant to be played for the joy and fun of it. Now,  it is being played because there is a career at the end of it.

Ask any successful sportsperson and s/he will tell you that s/he played for the love of the game. Never with a thought of turning pro. If it happens, great. If not, hey, I am enjoying the game.

The modern-day patronage in the form of professional clubs, franchisees etc is presenting a challenge to the original concept of sport. And taking the attention towards the "top-of-the-pyramid", the best kids in sport. The kids who, by definition, are the top 0.01% of the population (wrt sporting abilities). And in the process, the remaining 99.99% are losing interest in sport. Because it is made to seem as if sport is not for them. It is only for the 0.01%.

Since the patronage (and the returns expected by the patrons) inherently works on the principle of peak performance, there is very little motivation towards getting all kids to play and develop through the sports experience.

Without confronting this challenge of patronage in sports & its resultant issues, we cannot move ahead on the point of a sporting culture, sporting nation etc.

For any sport or performing art to flourish on its own - without the patronage of the state or the modern-day Rajas, it has to make sense for the common man (rather, child) to engage in it. And hence, the benefits have to be such that they make sense for the child to engage in sport - and for the parent to encourage the engagement - even if there is no career in that field going ahead.

The health & fitness benefits, the social well-being and the all-rounded personality that develops through participation in sports are key benefits acknowledged by parents, employers, co-workers and society.

Those are the reasons most people ascribe to their "success" in adult or professional life. Not the marks they scored.

The educational value of the sports experience is crucial to a child's development.

And hence it cannot be left to patronage. Or at the mercy of haphazard urban planning wherein playgrounds disappear as dumping lots or are never created.

The school system has to deliver the educational value of the sports experience. Every parent should demand a good sports experience for their child, especially if their child is not in the school team.

Only by demanding that an inclusive sports experience be an integral part of every child's education can we fight off the challenge of patronage.