Taking talent beyond participation

As the local track and field season intensifies, most educational institutions – pre-primary, primary, secondary and tertiary – are all engaging in some form of competition.

Emerging from all these activities is the unearthing of hidden abilities all around.{{more}}

This is a natural occurrence, as many of those who compete do so either compulsively, or are made to participate because it is compulsory according to the school’s policy.

Others, however, find themselves as participants, drawn by the occasion, or are encouraged by their peers.

Whatever the reason or reasons, the normally hectic atmosphere at this time of year sees the greatest level of mass participation from students, as their varied talents come to the fore.

But are these events simply exercises of fulfilment of the several schools and by extension, the Ministries of Education and Sports, or are they meaningful databases for the track and field stocktakers?

Many talents go unnoticed each year at all levels of the education ladder, as there is not enough attention and focus to harness what goes on display at the many meets.

As stated before, many students take part in athletics as it happens; hence, that encouragement can transform that natural, nonchalant talent into something more enterprising and lay the platform for greater acknowledgement of their prowess.

Who then should take the lead and go after those athletes, inclusive of those who possess that self-interest?

Should the coaches of the few active track and field clubs use the schools’ meets as recruitment opportunities?

Or should the clubs forge relationships with the schools which do not have vibrant track and field programmes, thereby assisting in cases where necessary, thus providing a ready-made feeder system for the clubs?

Another route can be traversed by the national track and field body, Team Athletics SVG, where it can assign coaches to morph the schools’ athletics meets as talent identification procedures.

Early intervention of athletes is also critical, as many are fed techniques and instructions which are at variance with the coaching manuals.

And, this is not by the wilful acts of teachers, but by their good intentions, as they try to fill the voids in the absence of certified and trained personnel.

Therefore, one should not wait until the major national events such as the Inter Primary, Inter Secondary, National Club Championships, National Juvenile, National Teams Championships and others start to see athletes with potential.

This is so, as some may for some reason or the other come to the fore nationally and can fall by the wayside, because no one saw something in them which is coachable.

Like the athletes, there are teachers at many schools who have passion for track and field, but have never been given opportunities to realize their zeal for the sport.

There is other expertise which exists within the walls of the educational institutions, which can be utilized for the greater good of the sport and overall national development.

Too many of our sporting programmes are left to chance and the hopeful optimism that athletes will come through and will be netted; but that should not be the case in 2016.

The fall-out rate among those who show budding abilities continues to repeat itself year after year and the process and the wheel is reinvented.

Talent in most of our students comes naturally from their genetics, through socialization, while some are just gifted.

All three lumped are springboards for better to be done from all stakeholders in the sport, by exhibiting greater love and tenacity for those who expend their energies on the track and in the field.

Creating that nexus is so important that irrespective of what many will say, some students will leave school with only their exploits on the track as their point of recognition for the years they spend at their institutions.