Transitioning from being a football player to coach - Dada Khalandar's story

Dada advising the U-15 footballers at the ASA

Coming from Kalyandurg, P Dada Khalandar was a young boy who was introduced to football at the age of 14 years. He began playing football more actively in 2008 when Rural Development Trust's (RDT) Anantapur Sports Academy (ASA) organised summer football camps in collaboration with Spanish Club CF Sant Vicenti (CFSC).

This young lad took to the game pretty quickly after being nurtured by the highly trained professionals from CFSC, and was put on a steep learning curve, which he thoroughly enjoyed. This learning brought him so close to the game that he decided to take it forward and continue playing football, pursuing it till the highest level he could.

Dada was so driven by football that almost a year and a half into the program, he decided to develop football in his mandal back in Kalyandurg. He began coaching 20 kids in and around his village, while he continued to play football himself, representing his Kalyandurg Mandal Club. From his mandal club, he went on to be a part of ASA residential football academy at the Anantapur Sports Village (ASV), during which time he played at the National level four times between 2011 & 2014.

Seeing Dada’s initiatives and passion in developing football at the grassroots, he was offered a position of a Football Coach at RDT's Atmakur Development centre, where he officially began his coaching career as an RDT Football Coach. He began coaching with 25 girls and 40 Boys and worked here for about ten months between January 2014 and October 2014.

Dada later decided to continue his studies and pursue a Bachelors in Physical Education, for which he had to discontinue working at Atmakur, but Dada made sure he continued playing football while studying in Hyderabad and got back to coaching after the completion of his studies.

Dada has now been re-appointed at RDT, but this time to coach the U-15 football team at the ASV residential academy. He believes: “Coaching is a science and a coach is a scientist, who is constantly developing new ways and means to instil in his pupils the values of football.”

He hopes to leave a legacy behind him developing an innate love for football among his U15 boys to help them continue playing and develop as individuals, to benefit them as they move on with life after graduating from the ASA Academy.