The Green Batik Coaches Program in Pekalongan brought together football, batik, and youth leadership in a five-day learning journey from 2–6 October 2025. Organized by KNVB World Coaches, Inspire, and Green Batik Pekalongan, with support from Partners for Water, the program invited 13 young students to learn not only how to coach, but also how to lead change in their own batik cities (Pekalongan, Yogyakarta, and Cirebon).
From the first day, the message was clear: Batik is more than a beautiful fabric. It carries identity, history, and at the same time, faces a serious environmental challenge. Wastewater from batik production is harming local rivers. Through visits to Batik Metaflora and Batik Rininta, participants saw how Green Batik Pekalongan, through its pilot initiatives, has introduced practical actions, including the use of constructed wetlands with local shells.
Football became the bridge connecting these ideas. On the field, students practiced communication, trust, and teamwork. A missed pass showed what can happen when people do not listen or coordinate. A successful play showed the opposite: what becomes possible when everyone works together with shared purpose. These values are not only important in football. They are also essential for advancing sustainability in the batik industry, where collaboration between communities, young people, and local institutions is needed.
As the program continued, students moved from learning to leading. They created football coaching plans for younger children, including warm-ups, drills, games, and reflection sessions. This process encouraged the students to act as active agents of change, rather than passive participants. The young coaches also learned how children grow and learn at different ages, helping them design safer, more inclusive, and more supportive activities. They were not only teaching football. They were also raising environmental awareness and building skills to solve problems together.
By the final days, the young coaches were ready to think beyond the program. Using the 5W method, they developed action plans that could continue in their schools and communities. The program ended with a tournament joined by students from SMP Negeri 1 Kota Pekalongan and SD Al Azhar Pekalongan. The young coaches managed the games, kept time, tracked scores, and encouraged fair play. It was a small tournament, but it carried a bigger message: young people can protect culture and care for the environment when they are trusted, trained, and given space to lead.
