Teacher uses frisbee to transform troubled students’ lives

Back in 2009, everyone at KRMM College had given up on a bunch of first year students. These students were hardly present in class and were labelled ‘troublemakers’. However, Janani Rangarajan, who then worked as Assistant Professor in the college saw them differently and knew that there was more to these kids. As if from a script from an inspirational sport movie, she took the help of a sport and gave their life a new direction. “They were highly misunderstood students. Though they were branded troublemakers, I saw that they were really smart. 

Most of them were from Mylapore and were influenced by the wrong people,” recalls, Janani, who around that time had read in the papers about Ultimate Frisbee. Back in 2009, it was just getting popular. “I was worried that these students might drop out. I researched more about the sport and realised that it could be useful in channelising their energies,” she says. The sport is not just physically tiring but also teaches negotiating and leadership skills. Janani thought that it would help her students in the long run. “It is a non-contact sport played with a flying disc between two teams. 

Interestingly, there are no referees to call the shots and the players are required to resolve their differences. I thought it was a good way to inculcate communication skills and make players more responsible,” says Janani, who along with her students formed a team called Blitzkrieg or Blitz in 2009. “We started with 10 players and we’d play at the Besant Nagar beach. The sport played an important role and transformed every single one of them. They learnt what it is to work as a team, and picked up problem solving skills and became much more confident. 

As they’d burn all their energy at the beach, they were calm in college and started attending classes immediately.” All of them have now completed college and are now working with a well-paying job. They still play the sport and also promote it. “They regularly interact with the kids in their neighbourhood and encourage them to play the sport. Some of them reach out to their neighbourhood and rope in other guys. They even formed a team called the Blitz Legacy comprising boys and girls from areas around Kotturpuram. The players from Blitz Legacy are now pursuing bachelor degrees. Together as the Blitz family we now have about 60 players,” adds Janani.

Many players living in Kotturpuram were affected by the rain. Some of their houses were destroyed and a few lost their means of livelihood. However, the entire Frisbee family across the country came forward to help these players and put their lives back on track. “One of our friends’ shop was destroyed in the recent floods. Now we are working towards helping him get back on his feet. We have kept our practice sessions on hold till the family is back to normal,” says Janani.