Moulding champions
The Milo Champions clinics are a grassroots programme to expose children to sports and a healthy lifestyle.
The Milo Champions Clinic was launched two years ago to give children the opportunity to learn sports under the skilled guidance of experienced, professional coaches. The clinics are open to children aged between seven and 11 years old and offer six types of sports – badminton, hockey, bowling, futsal, netball and basketball – in several locations around the country.
“The clinics give children a chance to learn and play in a safe environment while being trained by really good coaches. Obesity is becoming a big problem in Malaysia and we feel we need to do our part in addressing this problem. Children seem to be more caught up in their smart phones and gadgets and we hope clinics like these will encourage them to adopt a more healthy lifestyle,” says Ahmad Fadhly Shah Indra Gunawan, sports marketing executive for Milo.
Modules for the clinics are drawn up by coaches such as national futsal coach Chiew Chun Yong and assistant netball coach at the Bukit Jalil Sports School, Puah Pei San.
“Eight sessions is actually quite a short time to train and it is a challenge for me and the rest of the coaches to see big improvements. But we have incorporated quite a high level of training drills in the modules and the children have coped very well. Our Malaysian children can do anything with the right coaching and I am very impressed by the children. In just eight sessions with us, they have shown tremendous improvements and if they were in a long-term programme, I can see a future in sport for some of them,” says Chiew.
Grassroot programmes like this one, adds Chiew, are important in teaching children not just the proper techniques of a specific sport but also in understanding sportsmanship, discipline, independence and respect, all of which are crucial skills to have.
This year, 1,068 children signed up for the clinics.
“Some of them attended last year’s clinics but wanted to try a different sport this year. At such a young age, not all children know what sport they like or are good at and this is a good chance for them to find their passion,” says Ahmad Fadhly.
To make sure the clinics are accessible to all Malaysians, the fee for the eight-module programme is capped at RM100 per child.
Feedback from parents have been positive. Mutsumi Kawaguchi says her sevenyear-old son, Chan Fuga, has come away from the clinics not only with futsal skills but also with new friends.
“He is shy and he doesn’t speak Bahasa Malaysia. In the beginning, he felt a little out of place because most of his team mates would talk to each other in BM. But by the third week, I noticed that he had friends and there was camaraderie among the team even though they could not communicate that well all the time. Sports was the language they shared,” she says.
Like Mutsumi, Mohd Zaki Tumpang Maarof has seen the benefits of the clinics on his children – they are more active and alert.
“What would be good is we have clinics like these throughout the year. We hope Milo will consider this,” he says, an opinion echoed by other parents.