News Karnataka’s Amazing people series have featured various talent from across the world. This talk show has brought to limelight some extraordinary people and for its 26th episode, the topic of discussion was ‘Football to Fitness’.

For this topic of conversation, footballer Nicole Pinto, Curren Rosario, and football coach Russel Rosario of Future Star Football Academy, were the main speakers along with host CA Valerian Dalmaida, Mentor, Spearhead Media Group and co-host Rajesh Sequeira.

Nicole Pinto

Finding my passion

I found my passion for football at the age of 12 when I joined the school team. Back then I didn’t know about any of the football equipment neither did I know the right technique to shoot the ball. All I had was the motivation to be the better player and the coaches who had faith in me. My first ever tournament I played was a mixed tournament with coach Russel. Coach had explained to me how they needed a girl to play on the field at all times. Its really crazy to think how the team grew and now has over 60 girls from UAE today. Coach Russel cared about moulding players over anything else.

Playing the sport

When I was 15, I got to be the captain of the girl’s football team and represent UAE in the Dana Cup which is one of the largest youth tournaments in the world that takes place in Denmark. We even played tournaments in Goa for two years and even reached the finals. In 2014 my school team won the Dubai school’s football cup and we received an all-paid trip to Manchester city. I believe that our team had good coordination as most of us were trained in Future stars by coach Russel. My personal achievements include being captain of Christ University team, playing for Parikrama club in Karnataka, and playing inter-university in Bengaluru and Chennai. All my personal achievements were possible due to the good base which I received from Future stars.

Football and Fitness

My stamina had improved so much after playing football and I was part of the athletics team also due to this. The only training I got was from the football coaching.

Future Goals

The support that I build from Football had extended to my personal life, academics and even my professional career. My goal with football is to play till I am physically unable to.

Curren Rosario

My father as a football coach

My father has been a stepping stone in my journey to playing the sport. He definitely gave me the opportunity to learn and grow right from putting me in the best academies, when he wasn’t a coach himself. His passion for the sport had helped me to learn a lot about the sport. He showed me how it is more than just a sport. We have grown from just playing with school friends to being part of one of the biggest Indian academies in Dubai.

Football as an achievement

Playing this sport itself is an achievement because the game is so beautiful and it takes a lot of hard work. You need to put yourself out there to become the best version of yourself. It’s your mental strength at the end of the day and you have to keep working and pushing hard. Right from a young age I was pushed to playing with elder people. You have to play with better players to get better and the age category dies after sometime.

One of my greatest achievements was getting to train with Barcelona and spend an entire month over there, coaching with the Barcelona B team coach. All in all, it was a very good experience and as a footballer you should always be open to learning.

Changes in weather conditions and training

In the hotter climates it’s a lot difficult to breathe and hence you get tired easily. When you play in the cold your body is a lot tighter so you need to stretch more. In such climates if your body is not hot enough, you can definitely get injured a lot faster.

Support system

Surely everyone that has been in my life has been a great support, right from the beginning with my parents. They had given me the opportunity to play with a lot of clubs. My coaches have also been a motivation from me. Playing a lot of tournaments have helped me boost my morale. Everyone likes achieving things but loses are equally important, it helps nurture you and make you better. My objective in life is to continue playing football. We live in a time when work comes first and we forget about other things. I want to become a better player and a better coach for Future Stars.

Russel Rosario

From a Footballer to a Coach

The transition happened over a period of time. I was too passionate about football and I wanted to share with the next generation what I had learned from my previous coaches. I had some great coaches who were training me since school and college times. And hence I made the decision to become a coach and further continue my passion.

Future Stars Academy

We had started this academy in 2008 with just four students. Slowly and steadily, we moved on. From being the coach and the administrator, we now have certified coaches who do the training. We train from the age of 6 to 18, boys and girls. At the moment we have about 60 to 80 kids. Our greatest pleasure is when we see our students excel and learn the sport well. All the coaches we have at the moment are Indians along with 90 per cent of the students but we have some students who are from other nationalities. We do train weaker players by calling them personally and giving whatever best we can.

I have already started training my son Curren who has his own vision of taking Future Stars to a different level with his strength and passion. I would also thank all the parents who have trusted us with their students during such a tough time like the pandemic.