SPED educator who gave up his football dream to pursue a career as a physical education teacher for special needs students.

Singapore, Singapore, 6th Apr 2024 - Kumaran was an aspiring footballer who wanted to play football as a full time career. While playing in the amateur leagues in Singapore, such as the National Football League and Islandwide League, during his youth, he was offered an under-23 contract at 20 years old at one of the professional football clubs in Singapore. However, due to a National Service call-up, he couldn’t sign the contract. During his national service, he met a special needs boy during his unit's monthly community engagement program. He met a child who had a passion for sports but didn’t have anyone who could teach him sports or a place for him to play sports safely. This inspired Kumaran to pursue his studies in sports and physical education at Republic Polytechnic. Upon his completion of his national service, he was once again offered an under-23 professional contract, which he turned down to continue his studies and pursue a career as a physical education teacher while continuing to play in the amateur/semi-professional league for the last 13 years. Currently, he is still playing for Yishun FC in the FAS islandwide league while working as a full time physical education teacher. His work with students has changed the lives of many children with disabilities, such as physical, intellectual, and sensory, by providing them platforms to compete in sports safely and meet fellow aspiring para athletes. He continues to work with multiple non profit organisations, such as the as the Singapore Disability Sports Council and various national sports associations, both as an educator and a volunteer coach, to provide opportunities for students to excel in sports. In 2023, during the Singapore Disability Sports Award, Kumaran was awarded the People's Choice for Community Changemaker of the Year, where his work was recognised and appreciated. He also recently  turned down the opportunity to be a vice principal at two different schools in order to continue impacting special needs students as a department head(physical education) through sports. He hopes and dreams that more people will come forward to volunteer, develop para sports, and make Singapore a more inclusive sporting community. 

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Organization: Kumaran Arumugam

Contact Person: Kumaran Arumugam

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City: Singapore

Country:Singapore

Release id:10925

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