ALL right, you pursued track and field events with greater vigour than maths and physics and secured only a second class in the final examination. So what, CET is not the sole gateway to an honest livelihood.
One smart move might be to turn passionate distraction into strength and find a career in sports, though not necessarily as a player. True, a sports professional’s bank balance can never get as bulky as an engineer’s or a doctor’s, unless you hit the top in cricket, golf or tennis. Instead, there could be intangible rewards like, for example, a slice of national pride.

To reach such heights, the first step is to shine on the sports ground. Most institutions that train young men and women for a career in sports education stipulate that an applicant should have done well at inter-school, inter-college, university, state or national level sports competitions.

Both government and private institutions offer certificate, diploma, graduate and post-graduate courses in sports / physical education. Karnataka has over 40 such institutions across its length and breadth, from Chamarajanagar in the extreme south to Bidar, the State’s northern tip. Bangalore, Kolar, Dharwad and several other cities have more than one college / institution offering courses in sports and physical education. Many of these are affiliated to Bangalore, Mysore, Mangalore, Karnatak and Gulbarga universities.
 
Advanced courses in sports training and administration are available in establishments like the Sports Authority of India’s Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports in Patiala, Punjab and the Lakshmibai Institute of Physical Education, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh.

In Bangalore, two prime centres of sports training are the Bangalore University’s College of Physical Education and the YMCA’s College of Physical Education. Certificate courses too are available to make a beginning as PT masters in schools.The gates of all three avenues are open only to those who have done well in sports in school or college. Good NCC credentials help too.

The employment potential in sports education “is growing brighter,” feels Dr M B Keerthinarayanaswamy, Chairman (BOE), Bangalore University College of Physical Education. Even more hearteningly, “salaries are also going up.”

The college, in the Jnanabharathi complex of Bangalore University, offers a one-year residential degree course in physical education (BP Ed). It also offers a two-year masters degree course for those who have secured a BP Ed degree. Physically fit graduates with 40 per cent marks in the degree examination are eligible for admission to the BP Ed course. Proficiency in some sport is mandatory, of course. The upper age limit is 28 years with relaxation for certain categories. The fee is as low as Rs.915 for the general category but students have to bear hostel and mess expenses. Blazers and tracksuits cost a few thousand more.

A pass in the BP Ed course with 50 per cent marks meets eligibility norms for the masters course of the same university, the age limit being 30. The fee and other expenses are slightly more than those for the BP Ed course.
The YMCA offers its degree course in physical education under affiliation to the Bangalore University and a diploma course under State Education Board rules. The costs here are higher owing to certain additional facilities that the association extends. The intake is higher too, at 50 to 70. The term of the diploma course here is from November to November, which affects enrolment.

One heartening feature is that, according to Principal AMaleques of the YMCA Physical Education College, “a number of rural youth seek admission to the physical education courses.”
Anil Chintamani