NIS course for grassroots, developmental coaches to be held online

NEW DELHI: The National Institute of Sports (NIS) six-week certification course for grassroots-level and developmental coaches will be continued online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) said in a statement on Thursday.

The decision was taken at a meeting taken by the SAI's Academic Council. Among other decisions taken was a redesigning of the curriculum for NSNIS Diploma and strengthening the faculty at the National Centre for Sports Coaching (NCSC).

"In keeping with the evolving structure of the global sports ecosystem and to ensure that Indian coaches are equipped to train athletes as per the global standards, the syllabus structure and contents of the premiere course at the NIS Patiala, Diploma course in Sports Coaching, have been revised after wide consultations with all relevant stakeholders, including the National Sporting Federations of the sporting disciplines," SAI said in its statement.

"It has also been decided that in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the first semester of the diploma course will be held online," it added.

"An expert sub-committee has been formed to take steps towards strengthening the quality of the faculty at SAI's National Institute of Sports in Patiala, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Trivandrum.

"This expert committee will screen the existing faculty and recommend new and future faculty and guest teachers so that a pool of outstanding experts can be created and course trainees can benefit from the best faculty available in the country, especially in the new online teaching format that has been adopted recently," the statement said.

"The endeavour of the council has been to upgrade the current academic system in SAI to align the existing course to the evolving sports ecosystem," said Colonel RS Bishnoi, Senior Executive Director (Academics).

"Getting the best faculty from across the country for the Diploma in Sports Coaching programme is also a key decision that has been taken. These are decisions that will go a long way in ensuring that sports coaching education in India creates sporting excellence at all levels," it added. IANS  

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