The making of champions

The common denominator for parents and coaches are the child athletes, but sometimes they have opposing views as to how things should be done to attain the goals that they've set.

With more parents getting their kids into sports, this is a problem that we often encounter. Parents can get upset when their kids are not given a chance to play or they can get upset if they notice that their kids seem to be too tired after the game.

There are coaches who get upset when the parents don't take their kids to games or practices on time and parents can get upset when coaches don't show up for scheduled practice sessions.

Oftentimes, we hear parents complaining loudly about how things were not done the way they see it and there are also times when they are all praises for the coaches for bringing out the best in their kids.

The relationship of parents and coaches is often very complicated and many institutions have set rules that have to be followed hopefully to minimize conflicts.

A parent reacted to yesterday's column about the scene from the TV show. She said that as a mother, she'd only want the best for her son.

I asked her what's best for your son then? She answered, "if he becomes the best." Yes, we all want our children to excel. Some of us may not admit it openly, but we relish when they win and are proud to see them take the championship in their chosen sports.

However, is winning the ultimate goal? I'd say yes, but winning is not only being the best in your field, but it could also be overcoming adversaries and obstacles that block your way.

Winning could be achieving the minor goals that you have set. It could mean seeing an improvement in the skills of our young athletes or maybe taking home the gold medal in the international level.

As parents, let us bear in mind that while their winning gold medals is a bonus that we get when we get our kids into sports, victory should be seeing them become better people because of sports.

This is a major challenge that we face, but then we're after what is best for our children, so let us support them and make sure they really become champions at being better people and not just champions of their sport.

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Last Sunday, I witnessed the opening game of the Winners League basketball tournament of the City Sports Club Cebu and it was fun to see the players belonging to the 35 years old and above category group together in one team.

What was more amusing is the fact that it seems the team carrying the colors of Cokaliong Shipping is one of the favorites in the tournament.

Chester Cokaliong, who is popular for his three-point sniping, is the team's leader and he has many other guys to help him out.

Last Sunday, my compadre Jack Huang, a former Ateneo Blue Eagle, flashed much of his old form to lead their team to victory over the Sam-Sam Gullas-powered Castle Peak Hotel.

Jack nailed a total of 21 points and made ten rebounds. He capped the day with a triple to close out Castle Peak thus negating a spectacular 32-point performance by Sam-Sam.

One thing that I have noticed in the past few years is that we from the 35 years old and above age group are now also getting more chances to play ball like our kids.

Well, we just have to remember that we're spring chicken no more, but then the young ones must also bear in mind that we still have our sparks of brilliance be it in the basketball court or the football field.