Not all about winning

Games and Amusements Board chairman Juan Ramon Guanzon sent in a lengthy essay the other day expressing his thoughts about the philosophy of winning in sports. Guanzon is a keen observer of sports in general, not just the professional variety that his agency supervises. He noted that in a results-oriented society, the bottom line is the only measure of achievement and warned of a pitfall. When winning is the No. 1 and only priority, developing character takes a backseat.

Of course, it will be argued that an athlete with character is an athlete who wins. But often, in a country like the Philippines where resources for sports development are scarce, leaders are impatient for results and therefore, take short-cuts. That’s the logic behind recruiting Fil-foreigners – which isn’t necessarily wrong. There is just a sense of urgency to uplift the morale of a struggling nation here and now. That’s also why athletes only with a relatively high probability of bagging medals are sent to compete in conclaves like the Southeast Asian and Asian Games. Unfortunately, the developmental aspect of sports is lost in the mad race for medals.

Worse, when athletes return home from an international competition without success, they’re vilified. Instead of focusing on what to do to improve in the future, there is random finger-pointing to pin the blame on so-called culprits. The atmosphere of negativity overpowers anything positive that an athlete could gain from an overseas exposure. Meanwhile, sports officials avoid the flak by stirring new hope with fresh promises of bouncing back.

“Our sports leaders have resorted to all sorts of methods to achieve the top priority by short-cutting a naturally long process,” said Guanzon. “They recruit perceived ‘winners or potential winners from sources other than their own. Look at the most recent occurrences at the national and international level. Fil-foreigners represent the country in international competitions and sometimes, in sports that die-hard local sports fans have never heard of. This is not to belittle the great achievement of Randy Caluag at the Asian Games recently and the Fil-foreigners who have represented the country in the past. I’m very proud and grateful to all of them for their sacrifice just to bring honor to our country.”

Guanzon said the obsession with winning has even led to notorious practices. “Some of our sports leaders from the lowest to the middle level have resorted to cheating,” he said. “An example is when there are competitions in the regional, provincial, city or barangay levels, they recruit athletes not from their jurisdiction and misrepresent them as their own. Age qualifications are met by all sorts of blatant and innovative forms of creative cheating. Is this how we develop the character of our youth? By instructing them to falsify birth certificates or present birth certificates that belong to their younger siblings? Isn’t it a national disgrace when our sports leaders are caught cheating?”

Guanzon said if the priority is to develop character of the youth, winning will eventually come. “Not necessarily in the form of medals,” he said. “Character development is by definition a long and never-ending process. We have to be patient as a nation. If character development is the No. 1 priority, the billions spent by the nation in sports should go to grassroots competitions. It is heart-breaking and financially wasteful when elite athletes in the national pool lose interest and just disappear from their training quarters. It may take at least five years to develop a 12-year-old athlete into a winner. Even the three-year term of local officials will not be enough to keep the faith. It is more politically convenient for a Mayor or Governor to recruit athletes from elsewhere and turn out immediate winners.”

Guanzon said the slogan “Be In Sports Not In Drugs” should be adopted to reflect the transformation of the sports priority. “If we reform the No. 1 priority, I sincerely believe we will be hitting two birds with one stone,” he continued. “More kids will have the opportunity to develop their skills in different sports at a young age. There will be more athletes with improved skills through the years. More importantly, these kids will develop character.”

Guanzon said the lessons from the last Southeast Asian and Asian Games where the Philippines fared poorly shouldn’t be ignored. “My humble proposal is to divert finances used in recruiting established athletes to grassroots sports development,” he said. “We will win the battle against drug addiction and escalating crime. We can win more medals and gain glory in international sports competitions in the future by not making winning our No. 1 priority.”

In the process of transformation, Guanzon said the virtue of patience is essential. “Instead of assuring everyone that we will do better and win next time, our sports leaders should be courageous and frank,” he said. “They should realize that winning will come in time but the immediate priority is character development. I’ve always told parents whose children are in sports that they should thank God for the blessing. Just to be involved in sports is within the realm of character formation. You don’t have to be an athletic scholar or a PBA star to build character through sports. Whatever level of excellence an athlete reaches is just a bonus.”

Postscript. In yesterday’s NBA season opening, only three former PBA imports were listed in rosters – Indiana’s Donald Sloan, Brooklyn’s Jerome Jordan and Philadelphia’s Henry Sims. Late preseason cuts were Earl Barron by Phoenix, Josh Powell by Houston and Kevin Jones by New Orleans. Also waived were two Fil-Ams – Aaron Craft by Golden State and Stephen Holt by Atlanta. The only Fil-Am to survive the cuts was the Los Angeles Lakers’ Jordan Clarkson.