A job for experts!
The Minister of Sports addressed the media midweek to announce the launch of the High Performance Plan for national athletes who are being earmarked to represent Sri Lanka at major international events, notably the Commonwealth and Asian Games in 2022 and the Olympic Games in 2024, including the Para segments.
A very precise agenda indeed, with the terms of reference favouring medal prospects! Expanding the investment in athletes from 6% to 20% from the Sports Ministry budget, the Minister has very clearly signalled where the thrust is and that in itself is laudable and futuristic! The eye is single-minded; the task of producing a crop of world class athletes, period! And providing the resources to make that task, a reality!
Quite intelligently, this formidable challenge has been placed squarely with the National Sports Council (NSC) headed by no less a personality than Mahela Jayawardene (MJ) himself. So while the fortunes of Sri Lanka cricket after its recent debacles, have been left to lesser mortals, MJ has been entrusted this unenviable national priority; to bring back the glory!
The team assembled to support MJ is impressive, packed with top past sportsmen and successful business leaders. But there is no doubt that MJ knows better than most, that a team is as good as its leader and vice versa. This is a time for a long innings on a wicket that is sure to take turn as the years unfold.
Under the guidance of Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa, NSC Chairman Mahela Jayawardene and his team implemented what should have been done many moons ago
So all who are going to bat for Sri Lanka sports must know that a cohesive game plan delivered in unision, is of paramount importance. Grand standing and verbose claims will take us nowhere. An honest to goodness, diligent and bold landscape must be created leaving no room for deceit by both the athletes and their managers. Clinical reviews that throw up the order of the day and the evolution of best standards required to compete at the highest levels must be monitored closely, with no compromise, if one is to reach the promised land!
And so political expediency at all levels must take a back seat. The focus should be on identifying the best talent in each sport and putting the best human resource in terms of managers and coaches behind the masterplan. The High Performance Unit (HPU), if and when it is formally assembled, must remain accountable at all times. Transparency and sound thought process must be a quantified KPI that the top brass at NSC must evaluate time and again, so that no room for starry eyes and band wagons are allowed to join the party, just for the ride! A top-down performance must permeate throughout the programme with the ambitious minister kept properly informed of the status quo at all times.
It is learnt that while the Ministry of Sports (MoS) will provide the much required resources, the onus of training and development (T&D) will rest with the National Sports Associations (NSA). The idiom that ‘a chain is as strong as its weakest link’, rings true here. This is where a tripartite covenant between the NSC, the athlete and the NSA must be forged. The actual persons involved in the T&D of the athlete at the NSA, must be identified and charged with the roadmap. Professional planning, executional mandates and accurate reporting are fundamental; something rarely seen in most NSAs, let alone the MoS. Computerised database management is a must with quick recalls and checks available, in order to call the bluff when necessary and keep the caravan on track. If desired, the NSC must not hesitate to introduce management disciplines to underwrite the whole process, leaving no room for error or distraction!
When all is said and done, it is the athlete that must be committed and focused. Merely doling out a stipend however noble it appears, will not work. Deploying these funds at an individual level will demand close and honest supervision. Sportspeople who will have to step up from basic training to a more advanced regimen will not transform easily and willingly. They must be counselled and guided on a daily basis and this is a most sensitive area of sports management. Thus the NSC must identify the best, most knowledgeable people at the apex to oversee these aspects and ensure that all athletes are brought under that umbrella. Most athletes are concerned about their future, the interdependence with their families, residential and living costs, transport, medical and nutrition, training and general welfare. How are these elements going to be curated to bring out the best in these chosen people? An independent HR signpost within the HPU may be a veritable necessity.
High Performance must not be a ploy to go from the mediocre to average. It must produce the highest yield and therefore, there is no room for compromise. It is a job for genuine experts, not those who think they are! It is a job for genuine reformers, not those who sing alleluia! High Performance must yield tall results.