There’s gold in them thar kids! Olympic takeaways

“Start early to reach far”- Poetica de insanire

There is a popular video going around of a young Carlos Yulo, fondly called ‘Caloy’ where he shared his goal to earn a medal for the country. It took several years of practice and heartbreaks before Caloy achieved his dream and earned two gold medals in the recent Paris Olympics. Many people first learned of Yulo when they watched him vie for the gold medal in two events. More often than not, we see the end result but not the difficult path that precedes it. As such, people do not realize that any goal worth achieving entails a long hard process. This is perhaps one of the primary lessons that people should take away from this victory. We need to start early and teach the younger generation the right path to winning. Victory starts with a dream but our kids must be taught, at an early stage, that perseverance and patience are needed to reach that dream. Kids must be taught that in life, there is no shortcut.

Other than values, we also need to equip our kids with the appropriate mental skillsets. Yulo is said to be a once-in-a-generation skilled athlete. However, he still needed to be methodical and smart to win his gold. During the overall events, he performed the difficult routines because he could afford to make mistakes at that point. As such, he was able to practice the difficult routines. During the qualifying rounds, he performed the easier routines because he could not afford to make a mistake at that point. When he reached the final rounds, he was then able to perform the difficult routines because he was able to practice it earlier. Rather than an overemphasis on content, our educational system can probably put more emphasis on developing the appropriate skill sets for the kids and more especially the young athletes.

Yulo started showing his potential during the Palarong Pambansa. The Palarong Pambansa is an annual national sports events where the best athletes from various regions in the country compete against each other. The basic purpose of the Palaro is to provide a system where the government and sports associations can spot talent very early. Perhaps, we can create more events or activities where we can really go to the grassroots further to find these talented kids.

There is an African proverb – “It takes a village to raise a child.” Government and sports associations cannot carry the country’s program on their own. Fortunately, private individuals and organizations have stepped up to support our athletes. An Olympic gold brings honor to our country so it is just right that more sectors of society do their part and pitch in. Not only should we pitch in resource wise but perhaps, we can at least contribute to their peace of mind. It really does not help our athletes if we fan the flames of their internal family struggles.

If our recent Olympic experience teaches us anything, it is that we need to invest in our young athletes early and we must sustain that support win or lose.

This is my oblique observation.

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in the foregoing article are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of the Philippine News Agency (PNA) or any other office under the Presidential Communications Office.