Work to make champions starts early

IF Papua New Guinea’s sports revolution is to truly take off and produce champions and top-shelf performers then having only good facilities and good coaching is clearly not enough.
Having a sound foundation is key to producing a generation of athletes who will have both the physical attributes in terms of fitness and skills to compete with the world’s best and the desire and attitude needed to make the leap from average to elite.
There is still so much to do in terms of strengthening sports and developing the next crop of athletes and stars.
One of the most obvious ways of doing this is by tapping into the schools.
Schools have disciplined systems that train students to follow rules and to work as a team while pushing individuals to their limit to make them successful. It is a natural transition from classroom to playground.
As examples, in Australia and New Zealand sport plays a large part of school activities.
Over there, sport is not seen only as recreational, but it is inserted in the education process to satisfy key performance indicators and requirement. That is how you create elite sportsmen and sportswomen.
There is something to be said of properly organised and run school sports.
It is safe to assume that New Zealand’s elite rugby players are where they are today because of the nurturing they got as youngsters.
In Papua New Guinea, school sport is not as well-orgainsed across the board. While some sporting organisations have junior programmes, the competitions are usually run per the code’s calendar and administrative plans.
Even rugby league struggles to run school competitions parallel with age-group events.
There’s a lot of talent out in the settlements, villages and in the suburbs and those youngsters don’t necessarily go to school, so while having a school competition is a good thing we also need to think about those outside the system.
Administrators must be serious with development while focusing on getting the mass involved.
There must be a proper support system in place for the selected athlete in terms of education and what the future holds for them. For example, SP Hunters Stargroth Amean has decided to leave rugby league and return to his studies.
It was not an easy decision as he loved playing rugby league
but what is there for him after sport?
Just like an employee who works to sustain his or her family, our elite athletes should be able to do the same while representing the country. There are many people who like to compare the drive and determination that athletes have to those of a businessman or businesswoman.
There is not only the mental battle an athlete must go through to keep pushing further, but there is also the physical pain one must endure during difficult times.
Some people are born with the natural gift and talent that make them sports stars, but that does not mean others can’t make it into the big league too. All it takes are blood, sweat and tears.
Regardless of the unique situation PNG is in, there should be a strong push by the Government through the Education Department to have school sport become an integral part of the curriculum.