A group of 40 students from Atlanta University paid a visit to the Jude Felix Academy and have decided to support the cause of the fun-loving children in their own way

Dreams are for everyone, but there are only a select few who dare o work towards realising their dreams. Olympian Jude Felix Sebastian belongs to the rarified category as he goes about in his endeavour to help the young ones take flight with their hockey dreams.

The Jude Felix Hockey Academy which Felix launched with the help of a few passionate hockey lovers in January, has now gone global. Proof of the pudding lies in the visit by the Kelly School of Business, Atlanta University to the academy. A group of 40 students from the business school decided to visit the academy as part of their exposure tour in August.

The academy basically caters to children from the St Mary’s Orphanage in its bid to groom young talent in hockey.

What was meant to be an educational tour turned out to be an emotional journey for the KSB students who were touched by the children’s ability to smile despite adversities.

Despite being on an educational tour, the KSB students offered to help the academy by making an instant donation of Rs. 5,000. One of them also offered to support a child in his education.

Speaking about the visit, Shanmugam, coach and a key member the academy said, “The Kelly School of Business heard about us through common friends and media reports.
When they came here they were very excited to meet the children. Since most of them were Americans, field hockey was quite alien to them. They were very sportive as they spent almost two hours interacting with the children. They even tried their hand at the sport.”

According to Shanmugam, the visit was not a one-off, and said the students wanted to stay connected with the academy.

“We are in regular touch with them. They are very keen to help the academy. They even asked us to list out our requirements so they could get some equipment during their visit next year.” Back home after the tour, the students, in their report to the college, described the academy visit as one of their best experiences in India. On his part, Felix is very excited with the awareness created about the academy.

“It was very nice of them to choose our academy for a visit. I consider it an honour because we are yet to establish ourselves.
I guess the cause attracted them. Such visits are very encouraging and it will go a long way in helping us take the cause forward,” he said.

Indeed, the smile on the face of Harry Peter and his friends speaks volumes about the joy the visit brought them. Sports, is truly a great healer. Felix’ boys ready for the next level Although Jude Felix is based in Singapore, he constantly monitors the progress of the players in the academy.

During his visits to the country, Felix is always the first one at the ground. Back after two months now, Felix is very happy with the progress of his wards.

“I’m very happy with the way the boys are playing, they have improved a lot from the last time I saw them. I guess they are now ready to play on turf.
Once the KSHA turf is ready, we will take them there to acquaint them with the surface.”

A four-team tournament which will include the Felix-trained Singapore Recreation club is also in the pipeline.

“We want to have the tournament, which will be a four-day affair in December. The other three teams will be domestic teams. We have approached a few teams, but the final three are yet to be finalised,”
said Felix.