Schools are aware of the importance of sports in children’s overall development, and weekly physical education classes are mandated in every school in India. However, schools do not have the resources or skills to design, develop, and deliver sports curriculum in a structured manner. Most of them are not even aware of existing, structured methodologies and frameworks. A typical physical education class at school would mean providing sports equipment to children for use. Sportz Village Schools (earlier called Edusports), based in Bangalore, developed the tools necessary to professionalise India’s sports education. They are India’s number 1 sports education organisation working with over 1200 schools across 250 locations and covering 7,00,000 children. They provide customised solutions to schools, co-create content, and co-opt the existing physical education teachers to deliver solutions for school kids.
They offer age-appropriate structured physical education curriculum with props and equipment that help the physical education teacher plan, prepare, and execute the classes effectively. The program outcomes can be measured through skills learned during the classes and fitness attained at an individual student level. The Sportz Village curriculum has been developed based on NASPE (National Association for Sports and Physical Education, USA) standards. Logbooks and an app-based reporting system are maintained by trainers to track activities. The quality of delivery is monitored and reviewed by account managers once or twice a month. Parents are also provided with an app that provides them progress reports of their children every week with assessment data and recommended remedial actions, and with access to sports-specific videos to improve the skills and knowledge of the different sports.
Sportz Village also ensure that the curriculum gets updated regularly based on the latest developments in specific fields. They realised that new age parents demanded a holistic education for their children across age groups such as 3–12-year-olds, and the schools did not have physical education teachers or coaches who could focus on this segment as their attention was usually focused on senior children, sports activities, inter-school competitions, and so on.
Sportz Village has diversified into coaching and participating opportunities across sporting events. Sportz Village Academies division offers multi-sports coaching and experience in India and the Middle East. Sportz Village XP division offers great sports experience by providing participation opportunities across multiple sports and age groups.
