Changemakers: Taking an idea and making it real with Kick It!

By Ananya Goel and Aaddya Dubey

“Come on, Babita, forward, forward, pass it to Sita, she’s open!

Good job!

Sita, go left, go left, pass it back to Babita… Yesssss, Gooooal!!!”

Photo courtesy: Kick It!

Not only did Babita score her 3rd goal of the match, with 3 minutes remaining, but it was definitely the greatest goal of the tournament; full of skill and speed, passion and purpose. It was in these moments we truly understood why Kick It was formed, why spending hours training over 60 girls was all worth it. The smile on Babita’s face after making that winning goal was priceless.

As competitive school-level football players, we have had the privilege of competing in football tournaments all over the country. Our parents have encouraged us, as girls, to continue playing the sport we love- we have had the opportunity to follow our passions and simultaneously, learn from it.

Team sports are about so much more than their physical benefits. Studies have shown a direct correlation between physical activity and academic performance. A University of Kansas study looking at the performance of students in grades 9 to 12 showed that more than 97% of student athletes graduated high school, 10% higher than those students who had never participated in sports. Additionally, team sports build on one’s emotional, social and mental strength. The word ‘team’ has a deep meaning. It doesn’t merely mean a collection of players, but a group of different minds, values and ethics. We have learnt more on the football field than we could ever learn in a classroom, and wanted our next goal (pun intended) to be to share this opportunity with girls all over india- starting with Delhi.

Photo courtesy: Kick It!

We commenced our search.

After contacting over 30 NGO’s and conducting countless trials, we formed 4 competitive teams with approximately 15 girls in each team. Over the course of a month, we, along with volunteers from our own football team, conducted 8 training workshops (on Saturdays and Sundays), teaching the basics of football- from dribbling to shooting.

We closely monitored their dramatic improvements and culminated their training with our first ever, Kick It!, tournament. The tournament was conducted over two weekends, where we received sponsorship for professional referees, equipment, certificates of appreciation, trophies and medals, and of course, several nutritious and energy boosting refreshments! Through our efforts we managed to bring together amateaur football players from diverse communities and our own team members (from the Step by Step football team)- it truly was a day of camaraderie and teamwork!

Photo courtesy: Kick it!

Kick It! aims to create a platform for girls from low-income communities across India to have adequate access to competitive sports, specifically football. Through our initiative we hope to foster values in students that are not always taught in a classroom and through the confines of a textbook. We have learnt so much about developing an idea and making it something real, and will be continuing our efforts and have recently led a successful fundraising event where we raised almost 20,000 INR for our next set of training workshops and tournaments- we plan on training 10 teams over a 2 weekend (4 day) tournament. Additionally, we will be continuing our efforts to fundraise for the refurbishment of the Vidya and Child NGO ground, in order to develop a sustainable football field and eventually a program designed by Kick It!

To find out more about Kick It! and how you can get involved, please visit us at http://www.kickit.ooo/.

Ananya Goel and Aaddya Dubey
We are high school students from Step by Step, Noida, and enjoy playing football both competitively and casually. We have had the privilege to play football in various tournaments across India, and the experience has increased our resilience, strength, and confidence (and our friendship)! We hope to extend our passion for the sport to all girls and together we will