KUALA LUMPUR: As many as 1,068 young students between the ages of seven to 11-years-old took part in the Milo champions clinic programme (klinik juara Milo) that began since earlier this year.
The programme encompasses six different sports which are futsal, badminton, hockey, bowling, netball and basketball, with 35 training sessions carried out all throughout the country.
“It has come to the tail end of the programme and we have achieved our target. What’s most important is that we want to inculcate in the young children’s minds that sport provides many experiences which are good for health, as well as good traits such as discipline and bravery,” said Milo’s sports marketing division officer, Ahmad Fadhly Shah Indra Gunawan.
According to Ahmad Fadhly, among the main objectives of the programme is to address obesity in children between the ages of seven to 12-years-old, as studies have shown that only a mere 22 per cent from this age group are active in sports.
“This is the problem that we have noticed which we why we have such a programme in the first place to address it as early as possible from a young age.
At such a young age, it is ideal to teach the children about living a healthy lifestyle,” he said.
The Milo champions clinic programme began in 2015 with only six training sessions, though it expanded to 15 sessions the following year and reached 35 sessions this year.
“Every year we are looking at ways to improve and expand the programme’s reach to benefit as many children as possible. For example for futsal this year, participants are provided the opportunity to attend eight training sessions over a period of eight weeks. Each session lasts for three hours and is conducted on weekends.
“The children will learn the basics on futsal from the beginning with guidance from experienced coaches which also covers technique and tactics,” he added.
Ahmad Fadhly Shah added that they are planning to increase the age limit to strike a better balance, reach and appeal for the programme.