Last week my teammate T.Vignesh wrote a great piece called “The Importance of Good Governance” that got me thinking. I wondered why this simple thing called “good governance” wasn’t so simply occurring in our sports in Malaysia. And it brought me to think about the “Why” people are lining up to become leaders in sports today.
Most, if not all of these leaders, spout out words like development, teamwork, unity and long-term plans/goals to ensure that our nation leads the world in whatever sport they participate in. Motivation, however, has been sorely lacking. Lemme explain.
In 1998, I had the privilege to have in-depth interviews with 2 men, whom I felt at the time had a blueprint to ensure national success in Squash and Bowling. Both of them, Major S Maniam for Squash and Sid Allen for Bowling spoke of slow and strategic grassroots development that ensured the success of their respective programmes.
Both had engaged with ex-players and scouts in each state of Malaysia. The job of these scouts was to go to as many courts and bowling alleys respectively as possible to seek and discover new talent. In some cases, even the security guards in the venue would advise them who to look out for and when to come, as many of these young talents came to practice daily, some even for free. So, it wasn’t just in tournaments that they were discovered, but by real hardcore, deep down, digging for these gems.
These programmes unearthed some real gems and the household names that we’ve come to know and love like Datuk Nicol David, Ong Beng Hee, Shalin Zulkifli etc. It’s important to note that most, if not all, of this happened without fanfare and press conferences proclaiming Unity and Development. It happened with the hard work and dedication from management that took their roles seriously. This was an example of teamwork from the head office right down to the grassroots.
Ong Beng Hee. Pic courtesy of squashplayer.co.uk
It’s good to note that some sports like hockey with the KLHA, football with JDT and some other sports that we will continue to highlight here soon, are developing players, administrators and allowing ex-players to grow the sport.
Unity has become a by-product of all these good work. In both the above teams and projects, it clear to see the best getting selected and work ethic, training and development happen at all levels. Just looking at both the Kuala Lumpur Hockey Association and the Johor Southern Tigers' websites, one gets the impression that they are highly successful, motivated and well organised. Both these organisations pride themselves in engaging with their communities through Facebook as well.
Many other sports and organisations need to bring themselves kicking and screaming into 2020. Time to stand up, get rid of the cobwebs and embrace the new ideologies in sport. We, the consumer fans need to feel a part of the team. Tools are available and great examples are there to be followed.
Shalin Zulkifli. Pic courtesy to Shalin Zulkifli's Facebook
The nation needs to see this happening. Daily. The young have to feel there is something to be gained by participating in sport. Parents need to know there are projects and organisations that are there to support and build athletes. Athlete welfare and more importantly, their injuries need to be treated (more on this in future articles in The Vibes Sports & Fitness)
On top of all this, athletes must feel there is a future for them. Security needs to be there not only for the top layers of this club but with every job description. I’ve always loved this story of former US President John F. Kennedy visiting NASA headquarters for the first time in 1961. While touring the facility, he introduced himself to a janitor who was mopping the floor and asked him what he did at NASA. “I'm helping put a man on the moon!” said the janitor. That, my friends, is teamwork.
So, the Sportsguru hopes… that both national and state associations as well as amateur and professional organisations in sports here, wake up and take their roles seriously for the future of our nation.
