KUCHING: Sports bodies that are professionally managed and have set realistic goals have contributed a lot to the good result achieved by Sarawak in the recent Pahang Sukma.
Sarawak State Sports Council (MSNS) director, Francis Nyurang Ding said most of the sports associations deserved a pat on the back for their tireless contribution to the overall medal tally but there is a handful which had stood out above the rest.
He commended diving, swimming, tennis, wushu and taekwondo to name a few, whose athletes had performed extremely well despite facing the odds stacked against them.
“Diving in Malaysia for instance is set to flourish following the promise by Ministry of Youth and Sports to provide the best coaches and facilities for the sport,” he said on the government’s efforts to fulfill all requests to ensure our divers continue to scale greater heights.
Francis noted that some sports’ associations have attracted good corporate sponsorship simply because they have good management track-record that can be trusted.
Quoting a good example, he said Sarawak’s swimmers during the last Sukma were sponsored by Cahaya Mata Sarawak (CMS) and had collected 10 gold medals.
Kota Samarahan Amateur Swimming Association’s swimmers contributed four gold, three silver and four bronze medals through Chieng’s siblings of Angela, Annie and Welson Sim.
“Goals are great when properly established and administered…to be effective and useful, a goal must be clear, understandable, and measurable,” he said on managing sports bodies which is similar to managing any other organizations but the ability to set sensible goals is very important.
“To be able to meet standards and expectations, the athletes must first fully understand who they are…as a manager, you need to be an excellent communicator first and to make sure that you and your team members are on the same page,” he stressed.
Francis also stressed that training is vitally important and should not be confined to new athletes alone because it must be ongoing and should be available to every athlete.
According to him, even experienced and successful athlete requires continuous training and that their
manager should never assume that a one-size-fits-all training program will work for all athletes.
“If you have ever tried to learn something from a hurried and impatient teacher, you know that it can be a daunting and unproductive experience, he said.
He added “whether you’re providing actual training for athletes or just deciding what training is appropriate and setting it up, you will find that athletes respond much better to patient and realistic goals than to unrealistic ones”.