The Olympian is definitely right when he said focus should not only be on basketball but all other sports. I know where the fellow Bedan is coming from as he comes from the age when they play two sports at the same time.

I read accounts of Caloy playing softball and, thinking back, was not former Royal coach Ed Ocampo, a Mr. Football and Mr. Basketball at the same time—meaning he can play both sports with the same passion and excellence?

I’ve always said basketball may be the most popular sport in the country, but not all of us are gifted to play it. It would be a disservice to say that everyone can play competitive basketball, but to say that everyone can play basketball well enough to enjoy it and keep fit is all right.

There are probably around 30 to 40 sports in the country and most of them may fit a person’s skill or temperament. Basketball, volleyball, billiards and boxing may come to mind, but there are more sports where a boy or girl could shine in.

There’s martial arts to teach discipline and mental toughness. Football, as most have seen during the Azkals’ dream run, could develop footwork and playing as a team. Baseball and softball touch on hand-eye coordination. 

Basketball, volleyball, billiards and boxing may all touch on these, but the most important remains to be the values that kids get from it. And I believe Loyzaga believes in this, too.

Kids now are reared differently from us and even those during Loyzaga’s time. Technology permeates all their activities. Case in point: While most of us had to go to the library to research, one kid only needs Google or any search engine to search for information that he or she wants to know.

If everything is handed to our kids on a silver platter with no extra effort to speak of, sports may be the way to teach them discipline and value of working hard, although not the same way that we, our fathers or ancestors may have done it without the technology or the fancy shoes. 

Our generation didn’t have basketball schools to teach us fundamentals and had to rely on playing games and tips from varsity players who happened to stray in the neighborhood to play with us. We learned from experience and practiced hard until we learned everything by heart.

We may not make it to the Philippine Basketball Association or win the gold in the Olympics, but we have those values to guide us when we become adults. Although presidents hardly touch on sports whenever they make a State of the Nation Address, look at the Philippines some 30, 40 or 50 years ago and sports was at the very middle of nation-building.

source: Eric Altamirano -BusinessMirror