Ducky Paredes

“If we really want to do well in the next Olympics, the athletes should be trained to win and to do this for the country not for money.” 

by Ducky Paredes

 

 Every time we look to a Fil-Am to represent us in an Olympic event, it is a confession that our national sports program is a total failure. Out best result in the Beijing Olympics was swam by a Fil-Am who at least was on top of his heat. Still, he failed to get into even just the semi-finals. This was expected; the man probably tried out for the United States team and failed to qualify; so, what could we expect? He was over 40^th in the standings.

Our sports program is all shot. What a congressman who dabbles in sports says he will do upon his return from the Olympics will be to deliver a privilege speech that will point out what is wrong with our sports program.

Let me help him.

A sports program is supposed to bring out talents from our population who can beat the world. What a good sports program will do is not that of beating South East Asia or even winning in the Asian Games; it should result in our getting a gold medal in the next Olympics. In fact, that should even be several gold medals.

Forget basketball! If all of us Filipinos played basketball eight hours a day for the next four years, we will never find five Pinoys who will be good enough to beat the best that the United States or Argentina or China or Japan and a hundred other countries will send to the next Olympiad. In fact, we ought to downsize basketball altogether. It is just not the sport for us. The Pinoy DNA will never produce seven footers and enough tall men to beat the world. Basketball, in case our sports leaders have not noticed, is a game for taller persons.

We ought to look for games at which people our size can excel at.

* * *

Money is not the solution to improve our achievement in sports. In fact, the way I see it, our athletes seem to be unaware that the whole idea of competing in the Olympics is to win. If what we want them to achieve is a new Philippine record, they ought to be able to do that in a practice session in the gym or on the track. Our achievements are so low that even someone who is basically unknown in his home country because he has not done well enough breaks the Philippine record in his swimming event in Beijing.

Those records should be broken several times by those we will be sending to the next Olympics. It is such a shame that even never-heard-of countries have medals in something or other and our country is not even on the scoreboard. Sure, we won a gold in wushu.

Why? Because, since this is only a demonstration sport, the serious contenders never even bothered to train anyone in the discipline. It that ever becomes an Olympic event, watch out. We will probably be swamped by the competition because then the rest of the world will take the sport seriously.

If we really want to do well in the next Olympics, the athletes should be trained to win and to do this for the country not for money – the monthly allowance that they will receive during their training or the rewards that they can expect from a grateful country.

Money should be the last thing on their minds. They ought to be focused on becoming the best in their event or sport, Nothing else should mater. In fact, the money factor will only serve to destroy their focus. If they are good enough to be world-beaters, the money will only get in their way.

* * *

Another point that the congressman should look at is how the winning countries do it.

I do not think that they give their sports programs to the politicians. In fact, they make sure that politics does not rear its ugly head in their sports programs or their sports associations. National Olympic Committees (NOCs) are supposed to be independent of government and ought to be run by private individuals. This is the way that we ought to do this instead of getting politicians – like the congressman who will be making his privilege speech on how to improve our sports program.

Every time that we prepare for an Olympiad, a list of athletes is drawn up but the list of officials, their wives and family (all going as officials) is usually several times the number of our athletes.

(I realize, of course, that the only reason they include athletes even if these have absolutely no hope of winning anything is the spectacle they will make if our delegation that will march in the opening ceremonies are made of only officials with not a single athlete!)

Every Olympics, the head of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and others will always promise a harvest of medals. Each time, these promises are always unfulfilled.

In truth, this is as expected. The people talking, after all, are politicians. As we all know, politicians never really deliver on their promises. So, what else is new?

* * *

The Manila-Bicol Golfers Association will hold its most important tournament of the year on Friday, August 28, 2008 at the Navy Golf Course. The proceeds of this tournament will go towards civic and religious charities in Naga City which hosts the Penafrancia Festival, the grandest religious feast in honor of the Virgin Mother in the Bicol Region.

This golfers’ association is composed mostly of Bicolanos with a smattering of their friends and those who have lived and worked in the Bicol Region. The association holds monthly tournaments usually on the last Sunday of the month.

This is a cause worth supporting. The awards night and raffle of the Manila-Bicol Golfers is always something to look forward to. Anyone is welcome to play in this tournament.

# # # #

hvp 08.24.08)

Readers who missed a column can access www.duckyparedes.com/blogs. This is updated daily. Your reactions are welcome at duckyparedes@yahoo.com