THE SAD SIDE OF SPORTS SCHOOLS
Students feel ‘cheated’ by the promises of a bright future
sports school students.
That is the fate suffered by many students who put all their focus on becoming top athletes but failed to make the grade.
Though there are those that go on to become coaches, teachers and lawyers, the numbers that fail are much higher.
A former National Sports School student, who only wants to be known as Zack, revealed this situation to NSTP Sport.
Zack admitted that he felt “cheated” by the promises of a bright future when joining the sport school.
“When I initially joined the sport school, I felt very happy because it is not easy to get a place in such a school,” said Zack.
“But if I was given a second chance, I would not have taken up the offer because securing a bright future in sports is only a false promise.
“This is because it is very hard to remain in a sports programme after school, most of the youth programmes are mostly focused on players under the age of 21. What are we to do after that? “To be frank, a lot of us (sports school alumni) face difficulties when it comes to finding work. Some of us now work as fisherman, factory operators and even lorry drivers to make a living.”
Zack worked as a cashier at a supermarket before starting a small business to survive.
“Don’t just look at the students who have been successful in sports, the number of students that have failed is much higher,” added Zack.
“People ask why not work harder when you were in sports school but you have to remember that there are 30 students, not all of them will be absorbed into the senior team.”
Zack stressed that he is only speaking to ensure the next generation of sports school students does not face the same fate as he did.
“If possible don’t neglect our athletes, value their sacrifices, we train between five and seven years non stop to chase our dreams of representing the nation.
“It would also be a waste if what has been invested in us (athletes) — the skills and knowledge we have gained — is not fully utilised.”