Moorosi Tsiane

I WATCHED the Lesotho Institutions Sports Association (LISA) ball games at the Lesotho High School Grounds from last Friday to Sunday and I must say I was not impressed by the level of competitiveness when it comes to school sports.

One would imagine such games are important for progression into senior national structures since there are no clear developmental structures but I was surprised to realise the country does not taking these games seriously.

Performing well on the international stage does not just happen from the simple act of calling up players a week or more before international competitions. It begins with grooming athletes over time and that can mean having a 15-year plan at the very least.

Yes, you heard me right. Grooming a successful national team takes 15 years or more! If you look at the best athletes in the world, you will realise that they would have been groomed from very early ages- some as young as five. Eight years is also a good time to start.

By the time the athlete turns 16, they should be accommodated in the national team set ups.

Sadly this is never the case locally, hence my disappointment with the performances I witnessed over the weekend.

All too often our athletes only receive professional training in their final years of school if at all, when they are at least 17 years old.

You cannot effectively master a sport at that age which really should be a time when you are only improving and not starting from scratch.

It has been said that foolishness is repeating the same thing and expecting different results. This must mean that we are fools because our approach to sport never changes and we keep hoping to win under those circumstances.

No wonder our athletes always produce dismal performances at international competitions.

One would have thought that since it is not easy to source funding for development programmes, our associations would take advantage and conduct as many coaching clinics as they can for school teachers. After all they spend more time with athletes in the schools.

Our associations and schools should take a leaf from Leqele High School girls netball coach Shanduka Munyaradzi.

He has shown time and again, his commitment to high schools sports and every team he coaches becomes a force to reckon with.

Leqele High School have successfully defended their netball title and this is hardly surprising given the amount of dedication and investment Munyaradzi makes to ensure they succeed.

During the winter holidays Munyaradzi went out of his way to secure sponsorship and took his team on a tour of South Africa where they played different teams as part of their preparations for the LISA Games.

We need more people like him who understand the importance of thorough preparations and dedication to sport.