Time to shine for student athletes

The 2014 Palarong Pambansa opens today in Sta. Cruz, Laguna, with about 12,000 student-athletes, coaches and school officials converging in the annual celebration of sport organized by the Department of Education.

Physical education and sports remain part of the mandate of schools nationwide despite scarce resources for appropriate facilities and more organized tournaments on local levels.

The young potential stars of the future will shine in this sports showcase and that’s why many of the well-known universities and colleges will send their coaches to these games.  There could be a future volleyball star, track sensation or basketball phenom among the thousands of seemingly unknown faces.

The college coaches will work their charm to entice the young sports stars to join their programs. Intercessors will facilitate the meetings. Parents will be there as well. The coaches of the youngsters will be both happy and sad that their protégés are getting the attention of the “big” schools.

But hopefully, the recruitment efforts, mostly with good intentions, will not distract the young athletes from the spirit of the games. The Palaro is staged every year to allow the students to enjoy the games. Talking to too many recruiters can be a distraction.

For the students, there is also the thrill of representing their school, cities and regions.  Most of them are the best from the regional tournaments. The cities and provinces are excited to have such outstanding athletes and hope that their feats will translate into glory.

Nevertheless, at no point should the young athletes be pawns in the political games that adults like to play. Of course, many provincial governments support athletic programs but the intentions should simply be to permit meaningful participation in games.

The students should not be subjected to undue pressure to win at all costs. There is no harm in trying to win because that is the goal of competition. But trying too hard to win is a different game all together.

The adults in charge of the young athletes will have to manage their own expectations even if they firmly believe that their find or team is the best in the land.

Sure, it’s hard to go home with a loss. Nobody likes to take a boat or plane ride home with the heavy burden of failing. Add to that the fear of being subjected to the endless questions of nosy relatives and townmates about the failure to win a gold medal.

Defeat is part of sports lessons and there is so much more to glean from failure than from victory. These losses should be taken for what they are and should be counted as part of the athlete’s journey.

Sports should continue to teach the young about the values that will help them through life. That’s why we have games like the Palarong Pambansa, where adults have a golden opportunity to teach those values.