By C A R A D'AVA N ZO Communications Writer
“Today I want a victory!” Incredible athlete, inspiring coach, and the Ultimate Eagle For those at Singapore American School who feel they stand “on the shoulders of Giants,” in Isaac Newton’s famous words, no giant is more respected than S. K. Kasinathan, or Coach Kasi, as he was known by the students. The first full-time, qualified physical education teacher and athletic director hired at SAS, Kasinathan in large part created the sports program as it still exists today. This Ultimate Eagle, who passed away last spring, touched the lives of countless students in his two decades at the school.
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Talented Sportsman and Keen Competitor Kasinathan grew up in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka, and earned a bachelor’s and then a master’s degree at Springfield College in Massachusetts. Throughout his schooling he played multiple sports, and in college he was part of the 1957 undefeated Springfield soccer team, which claimed the National Collegiate Championship. A 1958 Harvard Crimson article about an upcoming game mentions Springfield’s “chief offensive threat… a Ceylonese inside left, Captain Sam Kasinathan… [who has] the best footwork and passing of any player we’ve seen this season.” According to Singapore’s Eagles by Jim Baker, Kasinathan “had the rare distinction of having represented three different countries— Sri Lanka in rugby, the United States as a member of the national collegiate all star soccer team, and Singapore in cricket.”
