Developing that winning culture for sports

FOR TOO LONG, sports in St Vincent and the Grenadines has operated on the notion that winning is not the only thing.

And, seemingly, that thought has injected an acceptance that it is always cool to lose.

Hence, over time, we have developed that culture of not striving to win.

So, occasions are few and far between of that evidence of exuberance when victory is attained; not there is that pouring out of emotions, when there is a loss.

What obtains, is that “business as usual approach”; pack up and wait until the next event, next match or for the next competition or tournament.

But this type of nonchalance can be attributed to the frequent pronouncement at the end of a competition or a tournament that “everyone is a winner”.

How can that be , when the opposite of win is lose?

Maybe that has become a contributing factor, and has become ingrained in the psyche of some of our sporting personnel, such that results, one way or the other, are taken for granted.

The unfortunate effect is that mediocrity is often mistaken for optimum performance and in some instances, excellence.

Therefore, this exposition is advocating for all engaged in sports in this country, to take on that winning mentality.

This does not say that we should adopt the winning at all cost mentality, but being the BEST at the various levels of sports should be the main objective.

It is ironic for us to not see winning as an achievement of sorts, as in almost every sphere of our lives, Vincentians try to get ahead of one another.

At school, students are urged to strive to be the first in class; children sometimes race to see who first enters or exits the classroom.

They also have competitions to see who first completes a task.

So from the get go, children are always engaged in competition, programmed with winning as their goal.

Then, why change that thinking when it comes to sports, and on the other hand, promote participation as foremost?

In some ways though, they have been forced to change that approach when they get into formal coaching.

With the population of St Vincent and the Grenadines relatively small, the rush is to get the available talents, thus filling the numbers, allowing participation to take precedence over being highly competitive in the respective sporting disciplines.

Too, most of our national associations are being fed by their parent bodies about promoting participation through the over emphasising of Grassroots programmes.

Whilst, Grassroots programmes have their purpose and some merit in this, having our young sportsmen and women developed at a faster rate should be paramount.

Our sports is at a juncture that only the fittest of the fittest would survive, as day after day, most disciplines are being negatively affected because of a lack of resources.

It therefore won’t hurt for coaches to poach for the best players in order that others too would join the line, or be left by the wayside.

This type of recruiting can begin at the secondary school level, whereby schools would seek out the tops in every sporting discipline to fill their various rosters.

Physical education teachers and coaches should not be ashamed to woo other student- athletes to their institutions to strengthen their sports programme.

This though, must be coupled with other support structures, to which the hierarchy of the schools and fellow teachers, must be signatories as well. But getting that winning culture in train in Vincentian sports, would not be an overnight sell, not an instant buy into.

First the passion for sports must be again top of the list, as we should see those who are engaged in the competitive aspects of sports and those at the leadership and management positions also acknowledging that we are not where we ought to be in sports.

In conclusion, this column would venture to say, that we should all change that mindset and instead of repeating: “ Winning is not the everything”, we should be bellowing, “it is the ONLY thing”.