Supporters

This would be my final column for the year 2006. Sometimes we tend to want to cling to the past most specially if we have fond memories, but life is a continuing journey and we must move on.

A few columns ago, I talked about the sporting gains for 2006. Apparently, this has been one great year for Philippine sports.

If we continue to work together, if our stars get the good breaks to become world champions, if our politicians who don't know much about sports stay away from it and allow those who know to run the show, and if we all just care a little, we can continue to reach greater heights.

Why is Manny Pacquiao raking in so much money? Why are Bata Reyes, Django Bustamante, Ronnie Alcano, and Gaga Gabica among the best in the world for billiards? Why is Jennifer Rosales earning big bucks from the LPGA Tour? What drive these athletes to reach these heights?

The answers to these questions could help guide us on how we would chart our future for sports.

Yes, these people are what we could call one of a kind and might have gotten lucky that have helped them become what they are now, but we can still try to figure out what they had done right and do the same for our future stars.

If you take a close look at it, these athletes have reached the pinnacle of their careers due to the support they got from supporters, who guided them early in their careers and stuck with them in the toughest of times.

To many of the athletes, support can start with the members of the family. Enthusiastic parents and siblings are a good first set of ardent supporters for a young athlete.

As they grow older, their needs of course would also increase and if they have been properly brought up, it would be a lot easier to find sponsors from outside the family that could help our children reach loftier goals.

To be very honest, those from well-to-do families have a better chance in sports because of the amount of material support their parents are capable of giving. However, this should never be a reason for those who can't afford to shun sports.

If you want your children to become good athletes, you just have to work harder and find ways and means that could land them in training programs on the account of their talent.

One more thing that we must never forget is that we must always keep it real and not dream too much for our children. If we really know that it would be impossible for our sons and daughters to be the world-class athlete that we hope they will be, then let us not make their lives miserable.

Maybe introducing them to a new sport where they have better potential would help, but that is of course if they are also interested.

We have a new year coming in a couple of days and we can start anew on our little quests for world dominance in sports from our homes. If they won't become future world beaters, don't fret, at least the training and discipline they get can make them better people.

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MILESTONES: This is a special day for our family as we celebrate the 89th birth anniversary of my grandfather Cipriano Rosal Quiñones, Sr.

He was my most enthusiastic supporter in my athletic endeavors acting as coach, trainer, sometimes "doctor," and most importantly financier. I remember those afternoons when he'd watch me for hours as I worked out at a sand pit in front of our house trying to leap a little further each week in my favorite event the long jump.

He was the one who'd wake me up at the break of dawn on weekends so I could do my road run and he was always there to give me money so I could compete in national judo tournaments.

He was my biggest sports patron and is always in my heart even five years since he passed away.

I'd also like to send birthday greetings to my very good friend, Councilor Robert John 'Jojo' Selma of Minglanilla.

Jojo and I go a very long way from our BMX to our volleyball days. More power to you!