Sporting talents to the slaughter

This column has been forced to highlight what seems to be a growing occurrence, whereby young sporting talents are being exploited.

Simply for temporary school or team profiling, teachers, coaches and even principals pursue this raw talent for their own gratification and accolades.{{more}}

They would go to ends to ensure that their charges train, attend the meets, participate in competitions, irrespective of the frequency of their involvement.

In most cases, this is done without much care for the student-athlete’s academic enhancement.

We see today, with this quest for schools’ prowess building in sports, that the chase is on for those students who possess usable talents that can assist in taking that school forward in sports — that is, some schools are going on recruitment drives.

Parents and guardians are then bought out with the idea that their children or wards would be able to gain scholarships to overseas colleges and universities.

Whilst in principle this may be an acceptable way of thinking, do the schools then ensure that the same energies are channelled in the students’ academics.

This is against the reality that some schools’ hierarchies are well aware that the students they are enrolling did not reach the accepted levels of achievement to warrant a place at their institutions.

They also know that the primary reason for accepting these students is based on their abilities either honed at the primary school stage or exhibited at another school.

So, in the recruitment of these students, are programmes put in place by the respective schools to buffer their academic deficiencies?

Are extra activities installed when the said students have to miss out on the subjects during the periods they are out making a name for their schools?

Are all the subject teachers on board with the understanding that the students are out representing the school, hence provisions must be made for them before or after they go out on school duties?

Whilst the onus is on the students to ensure that they do well in their academics, the respective institutions must hold themselves accountable, as they too pay more attention to the students’ sporting abilities than any other aspect of their development.

A recent revelation shows that one youngster who has brought trophies to his school and to his community has been forced to leave school in Form Three at the ripe age of nineteen.

And, reports are that there are others who are on track for a repeat, since they too, while known for their talents on the field, do not have commensurate academics in the classroom.

The trend, however, will continue as while these move on and out, there are others in waiting to be slaughtered.

Whilst the focus here is on the schools, as they are the structured architects and catalysts for the development of student-athletes, the community teams and organisations are equally guilty of not attending to their well-being, other than the various sporting disciplines.

They, too, are just concerned with the strengths of the sportsmen and women, while their other members are given little priority or are totally neglected.

Not may offer incentives to those who do well; neither do many of them insist that a certain grade average, attendance, and general good conduct at school are prerequisites for enrollment and continuation on the team’s roster.

The formal education pathway is paramount to these young and talented sports people.

St Vincent and the Grenadines has not reached the stage of having schools of excellence in sports.

And, if and when we do, having some levels of savvy will augur well for them, during and when their playing days are over.

All concerned should realize this and cease from the manipulation of the youngsters’ sporting talents, just for fleeting gratification, medals, trophies and the palms.