It may be because we live in an ‘instant’ society, whereby we want everything now, if not sooner, but it may also be because we live in Zimbabwe that we behave as we do, and for that we need look no further than the ‘noughties’, the 2000s. We do not need to be reminded how high inflation reached in 2008; we do not need to be reminded how those hard-earned pensions disappeared and left us with nothing. We remember only too well the empty shops and the desperate shortages of essentials, not least as we are experiencing them once again right now.
The experience should teach us many things, and no doubt develops our character, but apart from it being an extremely difficult time it also teaches us bad habits. One such bad habit is that people now are reluctant to put money towards a pension when there still remains the threat of a repeat performance; people will prefer to use hard-earned money to buy a plot or property now (instead of renting property) rather than put money aside for their retirement. More significantly, the way to survive that period was to buy now, to take what we can when we can; if an item was in the shop we should buy it today and not delay or think about it as either it will not be there tomorrow (as someone else will have bought it) or it will cost twice as much tomorrow. There was no point in saving. The state of instant-ment took the place of investment.
In a similar way, Zimbabwe went through a redistribution programme of natural and agricultural resources; what was taken was harvested but was not replanted. As a result, many farms and mines now lie stripped, fallow, wasted, with nothing left to offer. It was a matter of “take what we can, when we can, and do not worry about the future as we will simply take over more resources.”
The point of all the above comments, in an article about school sport, is to say that once again, we have a shortage in this country; we have no savings, no pension, no resources left as we have simply taken what we could and the ground is now left barren and bare. We have witnessed a ‘scorched earth’ policy and are left to pick up the pieces. However it is not money about which we speak. It is sporting talent, of which we have a serious shortage in our country due to a lack of investment.
When it comes to our schools, and especially our First teams, each year we have gone to the cupboard and taken out whatever was there. Each year we have dwindled away our savings until eventually we have gone to the cupboard and found it empty, devoid of real talent. We have taken whatever talent there is available because tomorrow it might not be there; we have taken whatever is there because we will not have the money for it tomorrow. In short, we have taken and harvested the sporting talent but we have not replanted it.
Our First teams do not have the same depth as they used to do; many players in First teams today would not have played in First teams in previous eras as the basic skills today are often lacking – we have taken what is available and simply used them the best that we can without a care for the future. We have looked only for the immediate, the instant, the short-term success as opposed to the long-term victory.
The way we have done this is simple to identify: we have put our best coaches in charge of the First teams instead of the youngest teams. Instead of investing in the younger players and getting their skills and values right at a young age (when learning is easier and longer-lasting), we have put our whole focus on the First team and tried to remedy the weaknesses and shortcomings found there. We have made making the First team, rather than mastering the skills and values, the goal by putting huge emphasis on First team results. If players were to master the basic skills and values in their young and formative years they could be built upon in succeeding years, rather than rely on the few naturally talented youngsters coming through. The biblical principle of “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth” applies equally to sport – we need to place greater emphasis on the young ones.
The bottom line is this: we must not return to those days of no investment. We must invest in our young people but we must do it in the long term. We must use our coaches wisely.
