We were delighted to host Mr Mandar Tamhane, CEO of Indian Super League (ISL) club, NorthEast United FC, at the Bravo Xcelerate Annual Awards Day 2025. Our parents, children and coaches were honoured to be in the audience as Mr Tamhane share some fantastic insights on talent development in Indian football. Click here to view our Bravo Annual Awards Day 2025 photo album.

One of the important lessons we try and communicate to our children, especially those in the Bravo Xcelerate Program for gifted footballers, is that pressure is a privilege – something to be embraced and accepted.

Pressure is the butterflies in our tummies before a match or that sinking feeling when we go into half-time down by a few goals. It’s the adrenaline rush before stepping on to the pitch or those sleepless nights worrying about whether we will win tomorrow’s game.

“Pressure is a privilege” was said often by tennis legend Billie Jean King. With 39 Grand Slam titles, she was expected to win. People were counting on her. The weight of expectation might have crushed anyone else but not King. “Usually if you have tremendous pressure, it’s because an opportunity comes along,” she remembers, thinking about the phrase on Centre Court at Wimbledon.

Find the privilege

When experiencing pressure, it’s important to think about how we have earned the right to feel pressure. They’re expecting us to win because we’ve worked hard to be favourites. They know our work will be incredible because it has been before. They pre-book for our shows because we don’t disappoint. They buy our products because we’re known to deliver high quality.

Having mouths to feed and bills to pay is an honour we have earned. Having to find answers to problems, dream up great ideas or ship fantastic products is what we are here to do. If we look ahead instead of inward, we will find that this isn’t about us. It’s about the chance to do great things!

Changing ‘Pressure’ to ‘Privilege’

One solution is to channel the feeling of pressure into the feeling of assurance. If we analyse how hard we have worked to get to a particular stage, we will feel deserving of the expectations and gratitude for the opportunity. In such a scenario, we must remind ourselves that the role is ours because we’re capable of doing the job.

In Billie Jean King’s words, find the “I-want-the-ball feeling”, not the “please-no-double-fault” feeling. “Give me the ball. Give me the problem to solve. Let’s figure this out. LET’S GO!”

If you would like to help your child turn pressure into privilege, call us on 9819337766 or 9819227766..

P.S. The video below is great to understand how important it is to appreciate every single person irrespective of their challenges. 7 minutes that you will enjoy with the children! Do watch.