When Malaysian athletes fail on the international stage, criticism is levelled against the coaches, administrators of national sports bodies and almost everyone within the sports ecosystem.
However, parents too play an equally important role in promoting sports and a healthy lifestyle to their children. And a majority who do not encourage their children should be blamed for the sports rot in the country.
Twentytwo13 editor Haresh Deol, in his column in Getaran this week, wrote about the importance of parents encouraging their children to stay active as they could very well be the next big thing for Malaysian sports.
He also credited parents Mohamed Zaharani Maulud and Morlizawati Ghazali who train some 40-odd children hockey at the Tun Razak Hockey Stadium on weekends without expecting anything in return. The children hail from Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.
However, Haresh pointed out there are parents who take it lightly when their children represent their class or sports house during the school’s sports day but react differently when their children get an A in their examinations.
“Some parents use the excuse that the sports system in the country is racist, it is only focused on certain communities and for sports like football and hockey, the direction seems lost.”
“These are all excuses,” he wrote.
He added if parents pay more attention to sports, teachers and school administrators would have to do the same instead of replacing Physical Education classes with other subjects, especially just before major examinations.
Haresh said that being involved in sports not only teaches one values and life skills but also opens opportunities. While not everyone will represent the country, there is still a future in sports as talented student-athletes can pursue their passion by being sports doctors, nutritionists, sports business owners, sports organisers and journalists.
“If Malaysia does not have enough talents or if athletes fail on the international stage, let’s take a step back and reflect where we went wrong.
“Ask yourself, is your child really active in sports? If not, why? And if you and your friends don’t encourage your children to play sports, who else will be involved in sports and eventually represent the country?”
Read the full article on Getaran.
