All so-called experts keep saying that money, or the lack of it, is the main reason for the Philippines' lack of sporting success. Let me say this though. Throw in more money, and we might still not be as successful as we want. For the money (if it ever comes) to work, we, as a country, need to get rid of these long standing misconceptions.
Misconception # 1: We are world class. All we need is the money.
The truth is, save for pool (billiards), wushu and maybe dragon boat racing, we are not world class; we haven't been in a while. For a country to be considered a world power in a sport, it can't just have a singular world champion who won once in say, 10 years. One athlete winning a world championship doesn't mean the training program is a success. A country can be considered world class if they win and almost win on a consistent basis. The Philippines has to face reality. There are no Olympic sports where it has been a world power for almost 2 decades. Boxing? Tae Kwon Do? Basketball? Archery? We haven't been close enough to smell the world powers. The sooner the sports powers realize this and create a comprehensive, "back-to-the-drawing-board-type" of training program, the better. The sporting powers must eat humble pie now and accept that we have a long way to go, so that an honest effort can be made to develop talents.
Misconception # 2: (Particular) athlete is still young. All he needs is more practice and exposure.
A nice thing to say for a young athlete who loses in a tournament, but it doesn't make it any less destructive. Taking a look at the sporting world now, a huge amount of world champions are very young. There are tennis champions at 17 or 18, chess champions at 14, and teenage billiards champions as well. That means that 25 may be young, but being a non-winner at this age in the sporting world may mean retirement time. While it's important to keep giving young players exposure, not all young players are meant to win, so not all of them should be given unlimited chances for tournaments and exposure. After a certain amount of tries, it can be inferred whether the youngster is a winner worth developing or a bust. It's easier than people think. It doesn't take a genius to differentiate them, even if they're all young. Wesley So or Darwin Laylo? Francis Alcantara or PJ Tierro? Many a youngster are potential-laden, but not all of them can successfully convert it to wins. We can't waste time and resources hoping every youngster in a program can win. Some of them have to be dropped to give room for even younger prospects.
Misconception # 3: We would've won, but we were cheated.
I am not naive in any way. Sports, even Olympic sports, fall victim to bum, "hometown" decisions. In fact, that's why in one of my earliest posts Dissecting the Olympic Debacle, I suggested that the Philippines develop non-judgement sports to avoid heartache. Still, we cannot possibly be cheated ALL THE TIME as some of our losing sports associations suggest. Unless there is a world wide conspiracy to make the Philippines lose, we cannot keep saying the cheating is the reason we keep losing. I mean, no matter where we box, for example, we keep getting "cheated." How can that be a hometown decision if the hometown keeps changing and we don't even battle a hometown athlete? We have to face facts. If we cannot turn in a dominant performance, we open ourselves to questionable decisions or even legitimate ones. Like Dana White says, "Never leave it in the judges hands." That means athletes can make the judges' decisions irrelevant by turning in dominant performances that leave no room for close decisions. If we lose even by turning in a COMPLETELY DOMINANT performance, then we can cry foul. Otherwise, this line of thinking is just a whiny line of excuses. Ask any of my players and they know. Great athletes win or lose. Losers just find excuses.
Waiting for money may be a hopeless case for our athletes, but correcting these misconceptions are not. With a change of administration, comes a change in the Philippine Sports Commission. We can only hope these three misconceptions, perpetuated by long standing sports officials desperate to keep their jobs, will soon find no place in this new age for sports.
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