SPORT - GENERAL
| 2013-07-26Sport Perspective: Laying the foundation
Sheefeni Nikodemus
NAMIBIA is abound with talented athletes. Of that there is no doubt.
Still only a handful of these athletes eventually make the grade due to a combination of factors; the most apparent being access to top class mentoring.
Former boxing middleweight world champion Harry Simon and Olympic track legend Frank Fredericks were fortunate to have attracted the attention of insightful mentors at the start of their careers.
Their craft was refined, something evident every time you saw them in action.
However, most of our athletes lack the basics, which hampers their ability to improve.
This realisation is derived from having seen the Brave Warriors falter at the Cosafa Cup in Zambia or Johanna Benson stagnate at the IPC Athletics World Championships in Lyon.
Benson won a women’s T37 200m gold medal and bagged a silver over the 100m at the Summer Paralympic Games held in London in 2012.
She could only master two bronze medals in the same disciplines in Lyon.
Benson’s rivals have improved significantly since then while she appears to be regressing.
For instance, French athlete Mandy Francois- Elie who won the T37 100m and 200m races, lowered her 100m time from 14,08 seconds in the Paralympic final to 13,70 at the World Championships.
In contrast Benson’s time in Wednesday’s 100m final is 14,35, while she had posted 14,23 in London. Some will choose to blame it on poor form or maybe an inability to deal with the weight of expectation after last year’s exploits.
But the reality is, she has not added anything new to her arsenal.
Similarly, new Brave Warriors coach Ricardo Mannetti can only do so much with what he has. The fact is, most of the players at his disposal are too old to grasp new strategies and approaches.
He cannot teach a 30 year-old striker how to score, neither can he turn a 33 year-old into a top defender.
Mannetti’s only hope and Benson’s advantage is youth. The average athlete is largely receptive to the elementary aspects of a sport before the age of 25. At 23, Benson is still malleable. What she needs is exposure to high level coaching in order to fine tune her repertoire.
For instance, Benson’s most glaring weakness is her start, which means she always has to chase down her rivals and in doing so she does not run her own race.
The only difference between new sprinting sensation Johannes Nambala and a gold medal at the IPC World Championships was Ireland’s Jason Smyth – American Tyson Gay’s training partner.
For the record, Gay ranks as the second fastest man in the world behind Jamaica’s Usain Bolt.
Smyth spent up to eight months in Florida training alongside Gay, while 22 year-old Nambala ran a couple of third-rate races in Germany in the lead up to the Championships.
Nambala, Benson and Co need to be in a similar setup while they still have time on their side. It is the only way they will be able to compete against the elite.
Still only a handful of these athletes eventually make the grade due to a combination of factors; the most apparent being access to top class mentoring.
Former boxing middleweight world champion Harry Simon and Olympic track legend Frank Fredericks were fortunate to have attracted the attention of insightful mentors at the start of their careers.
Their craft was refined, something evident every time you saw them in action.
However, most of our athletes lack the basics, which hampers their ability to improve.
This realisation is derived from having seen the Brave Warriors falter at the Cosafa Cup in Zambia or Johanna Benson stagnate at the IPC Athletics World Championships in Lyon.
Benson won a women’s T37 200m gold medal and bagged a silver over the 100m at the Summer Paralympic Games held in London in 2012.
She could only master two bronze medals in the same disciplines in Lyon.
Benson’s rivals have improved significantly since then while she appears to be regressing.
For instance, French athlete Mandy Francois- Elie who won the T37 100m and 200m races, lowered her 100m time from 14,08 seconds in the Paralympic final to 13,70 at the World Championships.
In contrast Benson’s time in Wednesday’s 100m final is 14,35, while she had posted 14,23 in London. Some will choose to blame it on poor form or maybe an inability to deal with the weight of expectation after last year’s exploits.
But the reality is, she has not added anything new to her arsenal.
Similarly, new Brave Warriors coach Ricardo Mannetti can only do so much with what he has. The fact is, most of the players at his disposal are too old to grasp new strategies and approaches.
He cannot teach a 30 year-old striker how to score, neither can he turn a 33 year-old into a top defender.
Mannetti’s only hope and Benson’s advantage is youth. The average athlete is largely receptive to the elementary aspects of a sport before the age of 25. At 23, Benson is still malleable. What she needs is exposure to high level coaching in order to fine tune her repertoire.
For instance, Benson’s most glaring weakness is her start, which means she always has to chase down her rivals and in doing so she does not run her own race.
The only difference between new sprinting sensation Johannes Nambala and a gold medal at the IPC World Championships was Ireland’s Jason Smyth – American Tyson Gay’s training partner.
For the record, Gay ranks as the second fastest man in the world behind Jamaica’s Usain Bolt.
Smyth spent up to eight months in Florida training alongside Gay, while 22 year-old Nambala ran a couple of third-rate races in Germany in the lead up to the Championships.
Nambala, Benson and Co need to be in a similar setup while they still have time on their side. It is the only way they will be able to compete against the elite.
