Killing them softly

The local track and field season reaches its zenith next week, with the hosting of the annual inter- primary, inter-secondary and the St Vincent and the Grenadines Community College’s championships.

Much of the focus would be on the performances of the respective athletes, and by extension, the schools and various faculties, as is the case with the college.

Champions would be crowned and the joy of winning will reverberate in the print, electronic and social media.

But underlying all the hype and excitement, thrills and spills, the joy of victory and the agony of defeat, is the preparations or lack thereof of the athletes, who eventually make the final cut.

In the main, it is the adrenalin of the moment that pushes the performance of most of the athletes.

This is notwithstanding that among the lot, there are some who are physically and mentally trained for the occasion, as they have gone through the regiment of the cycles, needed at their competitive phase.

Equally, both sets of athletes need to be cared for and cultured into the best possible preparation structures.

This is so because of the lack of specialization among our young sportsmen and women within the school system.

What then occurs in the gruelling second term is that students are required to perform at their optimum at basketball, cricket, volleyball and track and field.

In some of our institutions, some are involved in all four disciplines.

The long-term effect is the falling off of some of the promising sportsmen and women.

Without any scientific evidence, except for the eye tests, the discipline which suffers most from the attrition is track and field.

So, over the years, many would have expressed themselves on the track, exuding great potential at the Arnos Vale Playing Field, only for these promising talents to disappear within a short space of time.

Much of the attrition has come about from the structure of the sport in the schools’ set-up and the real meaning and purpose of the annual event.

The misunderstanding comes about, as in the quest for accolades and the temporary glory, the best athletes are literally run to the ground.

They are therefore called upon to take part in almost every event, simply to add points to their schools, which is invariably a hangover and continuation of what is the norm at the inter-house championships at the institutions.

The obvious is for the students, when pushed by their principals, physical education teachers and coaches, to respond as they are asked.

After such demanding schedules on their frail bodies, many, after completing their secondary education, do not continue in the sport.

But this type of unplanned haemorrhaging can be curtailed if certain policies are put in place and enforced.

The time may come for the authorities here to restrict the number of events in which athletes compete at their internal schools’ sports.

These restrictions, which like the bad habits and anything goes approach, which are currently in place, will be taken over to the larger and more prominent inter- schools meet.

Also, from as early as possible, the laws of science must be applied, thereby caging that safety net around our athletes who exhibit some prowess, by ensuring that they are carefully handled and managed.

As it is now, we are too satisfied with the one-day wonders of the big occasions, rather than squeezing every iota of possibility of stardom.

The recurring decimal of young talents going to waste because of burn-out, while sporting disciplines and the country as a whole suffer, must be replaced by purposeful guidance and harnessing of the current stock.

It may be too late to effect such changes immediately, but hopefully those with ears, let them hear, and those with eyes, let them see that there is more than what greets the eyes at next week’s showcases at the Arnos Vale One Playing Field.