“If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six hours sharpening my axe” Abraham Lincoln
The best piece of advice given to Tony Fernandes, the group CEO of Air Asia, was, “Learn to take things slowly.” He went on to explain this by saying that “we have to take time to develop our personality and to be ready for the next job. There is no quick fix to experience.” Another businessman has said that “Overnight success takes fifteen years”. Having considered the question, “Why the Rush?” we should equally consider the question, “Why the Wait?”
When we rush something we are more prone to make mistakes; we do not take our time to consider what we are doing and we crash. We make a big mistake by rushing our pupils in their sporting careers, especially with no consideration for the individual. When a big store holds its annual sale there is a mad rush, as we think that we are getting a bargain. However in such sales, there is usually no guarantee, no insurance, no payback if something goes wrong. We think we are on to a bargain when we have the sports representation sales. But it is usually not such a bargain, after all.
Firstly we should wait as our youngsters need to work for it. They need to earn it over a period of time and not simply pick it up by being bigger than others, by pitching up and showing some talent.
Secondly we should wait so that our youngsters must be fully prepared for it, not just physically but mentally, emotionally, spiritually even. Many youngsters representing the country at Under 19 level are lacking basic skills – they need to spend more time practising instead of competing all the time. If
they complain of being bored by practice then they do not have the dedication deserving of a national honour.
Thirdly we should wait as we need to ensure their lives are balanced. We need to give them the Big Picture. They need to learn why sport is important and where it fits in. They need to balance skills with values. They need to balance academics and sport and culture and service. It is about Long Term Victory not Short-Term Success. It is about “Ease and Grace” (to use a sporting term), not rush and tumble. It should be about basic skills, not cheap thrills. It should be about development, not achievement at a young age.
Fourthly we should wait so that our youngsters will appreciate more the recognition and the responsibility that goes with it. They need to understand that it is not just an honour and privilege to represent the country but also a responsibility to continue, to ensure the investment is not wasted.
Fifthly we should wait so that they are more likely to continue with the sport. Education is for life and sport is integral to education so sport is for life – yet the vast majority of our youngsters do not continue with sport, even those who achieve national representation. We cannot braai our meat when the flames are high as it will burn the outside and be tasteless. So youngsters will burn out if we ‘cook’ them too soon, too quickly.
Sixthly we should wait so that their ability will be multiplied. If we pace them, they will go further and be stronger. We might be pleased with the rushed job but if we had only waited, nurturing and training carefully and slowly, they could and would have achieved so much more. It is not about rush but root. Trees in the Orkney Islands in the very north of Scotland have to put down deep roots before they can grow upwards so that they will be strong enough to face the strong winds and storms that come their way. The same is true for youngsters; they need to have deep roots in their sport so that they can withstand pressure when it eventually comes at a national level.
The last reason we should wait is that it is worth it. They will be worth their wait (as opposed to weight) in gold, even if it is not worth it for the envious parent or the boastful school. The reality is that, as with Charlie in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”, this is actually a morality test, for us as responsible adults. We teach values at school and at home – so what value are we placing on a youngster when we simply use them and push them? Will we pass that test? That is a far more important question than how many youngsters we get into age-group national teams.
