“There are two kinds of people, those who do the
work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less
competition there.” Indira Gandhi
By Alex P. Vidal
INSTEAD of crucifying the coaches and officials
of the girls from Zarraga, Iloilo who competed in the recent 2014 Little
League Softball World Series in the United States, let’s congratulate them all
for giving their best against the world’s strongest softbelles.
We don’t agree that just because the two teams
we sent to Portland, Oregon last August 7-13 and Kirkland, Washington last
August 10-16 wound up 10th place or dead last after losing all
their games, the players and their coaches must face the firing squad back
home.
There could be some factors why the high school
and elementary girls yielded all their matches in the twin events.
Poor training and lack of preparations for the
bigger competitions in the United States must be among these reasons.
Coming from a Third World country, the same
handicap had saddled other poorly-trained and ill-equipped RP teams competing
in international games in the past.
FINANCIAL
Not to mention the lack of financial support
from sports institutions in the country like the Philippine Sports Commission
(PSC) or even the Department of Education (DepEd).
The argument that Little League World Series is
not sanctioned by the DepEd because it is a private undertaking and not related
to DepEd sports programs, thus the government can’t provide enough financial
support, is hogwash.
Softball is a team event in the Palarong
Pambansa.
It is a medal event in both the SEA Games and
the Asian Games.
World Olympic Games organizers award medals in
softball.
In other words, it is not a demonstration event
like bowling, billiards and chess.
Both the PSC and DepEd—and even Malacanang (with
all its vast social funds) are morally obliged to provide financial support to
the Little League World Series teams as well as other Filipino athletes here
and abroad. No ifs. No buts.
The players that competed in the Little League
World Series were all girls or below 21. They are all potential medalists in
the SEAG and the ASIAD.
It is the duty and obligation of government to
support their training and exposure in competitions abroad.
DOCTRINE
It is the doctrine of former President FVR’s
“Sports For All” slogan. It should be sustained until today.
The issue isn’t new. It isn’t even
earth-shaking, to say the least.
We’ve seen our other teams not only in softball
but also in other major sports events falter in international competitions
since time immemorial.
For sure our girls did their best, but their
best clearly was not enough.
It’s their participation that matters most.
Their presence enabled them and their mentors to
share and extend goodwill and camaraderie with other nationalities.
In competitions, there are winners and losers.
We can’t win them all. They lost fair and
square.
Not because some members of the delegation “were
not actually coaches” but junketers.
In the first place, members of the delegation
led by DepEd division superintendent, Dr. Myrna Castillo, could not have
obtained travel visas and left the country if they were spurious or hangers-on.
Even if all the non-coaching staff in the
delegation were toadies and sycophants, we can still win the world crown if our
girls were well-equipped, well-trained and not malnourished.
EXPOSURE
Diet and exposure to big tournaments prior to
the Little League World Series are also some of the main factors to consider.
Not because the son and daughter or office mates
of a DepEd bigwig went with the two teams. The issue is water under the bridge.
Before a team can leave for an international
event in the United States or any destination outside the Philippines, there
are screening processes and accreditation.
If members of the RP Teams were not qualified or
had no accreditation, they would not have made it to the World Series, a
prestigious event, to accompany the 40 players mostly from Zarraga, Iloilo.
We should stop the culture of blame each time
our teams or entries in any competition abroad fail to bring home the bacon or
medal.
Our athletes competing abroad are our
ambassadors of goodwill and peace.
Win or lose, they deserve to be treated as
heroes because they represented our culture, our race, our character, and our
dignity as Filipinos.
Sports competitions are not necessarily about
winning; it’s also about how we made an impact in terms of display of
character, agility, sportsmanship and belongingness.
It’s how we made our presence felt before an
international arena.
If we have issues against any member of the
delegation, we must address it in the proper forum; let say the committee of
the World Series before the tournament.
Not after our battle-scarred heroes and their
mentors have returned.
No comments:
Post a Comment