Monday, February 15, 2010

Sports Schools Produce Athletes or Nurture Top Athletes?

I am puzzled by a Bernama  report today, (read here), with the heading, Bandar Penawar Sports School A Goldmine To Produce National Athletes.
My understanding of the Bukit Jalil Sports School and Bandar Penawar Sports School, is that the best schoolboy\ and girl athletes for the various sports from schools all over the country, are picked and enrolled to the schools.
Of course, students who think they are good in sports, too can apply, but whether they get a place, is another story entirely.
So, when the best athletes enter the schools at various age levels, how can the school administration claim that they produced the athletes.
Mind you, both the Sports Schools do not have Primary Schools!
To produce means to spot talent from a young age and train them to become top athletes.
However, what the Sports Schools does is to take athletes who are already doing well in their respective sports and nurturing them further by providing better training facilities, coaching and exposure.
Yes, the Sports Schools play their part in developing the athletes to become national athletes, but to take credit that they produced the athletes, is robbing credit from the schools and teachers who spotted them and put them on the path to glory.
It is little wonder that many teachers are not interested in coaching athletes, because more often that not, others take credit for the athletes they had produced.
It is a case of Lembu punya susu, tapt Sapi dapat nama!
Have a heart for the schools and teachers who actually spotted these talent and gave them the foundation.
Maybe it is about time that the Sports Schools give back some form of compensation either in form of sports equipment or cash rewards to schools and teachers, so that they can continue to be the talent scouts for the Sports Schools.
Bandar Penawar Sports School's principal Wan Ibrahim Wan Chik, had said in the Bernama report, that the Media does not report the his school's achievement.
If a School like his - whose job is to nurture top athletes - feels that way, how will the schools and teachers who were actually responsible for there athletes, feel?
Let us give credit to where it is due first, before seeking personal glory! 

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tony,

I do agree with you on this.

Talent was first spotted at grassroot level BEFORE it is sent to a higher level for "polishing"

The same can be said of the hockey UniKL team. Soon , some of them will be taken up by other rich clubs


Yes, they have to move up and given a chance to excel and work their way up in life


Unfortunately, the PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE for identifying these raw gems are most often not given due recognition/ the chance to come up in some way


On the other hand we cannot hold these children back and keep them. WE must LET THEM GO at some point in life- that is what life is all about- Moving on...and enjoying every single moment we have on earth- They do not belong to us

WE JUST GIVE THE BEST TO THE WORLD- and the BEST will come back to us one day.


The important thing is we must not spoil the children with too much MONEY incentives in sport unless they make it Their Bread and Butter.We must not send them a wrong message.

We have a responsibility to these innocent children. Teach them well and make they useful to the family and to the nation

Anonymous said...

Agreed