Physical Education Teachers and Salesians from the Schools, Higher Secondaries and Institutions of Higher Education, met up for the first time on January 17, 2025 at Don Bosco Fatorda, to reflect on ways of collaboration in the Province to coordinate Sports Ministry. To coordinate the different sectors of Youth Ministry, one of the sectors that needed attention, was Sports – so as to coordinate the efforts of the various institutions, along with the PE Teachers and Physical Education Directors. This was one of its first attempts.

The program began with interactions with all the participants, getting to know each other, followed by the seriousness of SPORTS as an integral part of Youth Ministry: Frame of Reference. The Salesian Youth Ministry Delegate INP, Father Ralin De Souza presented the importance and nature of Sports as presented in the, Frame of Reference from where every Salesian institute draws its inspiration.

Brother James Marcus, director of Don Bosco Oratory, Panjim, and the Province representative at the National Body, presented how the National Sports Academy is planning to have common Sports initiatives, and we need to plan our approach of Sports ministry in a systematic manner.

Dr Michael Dias, director of Sports at Dempo College [Cujira Complex], and part of the SYM INP Sports Team, spoke on the effectiveness of our collective efforts, He stressed on the fact, that every Salesian presence is blessed with Sports infrastructure, and Sports expertise and equipment, that if we collaborate, we can give the children in our care a much stronger and effective Sports development program and benefit.

The last part of the program was actually focused on honest discussion on how we could take things ahead in this ministry. The window periods in which sports events could be organised, the age categories that we could focus, the training programs that we could adopt, and finally, how we could pull-in our resources together. The PE Teachers also identified a few of the sports that we could focus on, along with Scout/Guides programs, in preparation for the Boscoree in the next year. The issues would be later presented to the commission and principals/Managers, so that we could seriously adopt the program in the forthcoming academic calendar.

Every initiative needs a start, for the SYM INP, the sports thinking has begun!