Young athletes need support on path to glory

Nurturing an athlete from an early age is not an easy task. Whether you are a parent or coach it is always a question of what your background is and what exactly you want from the sportsperson. 

Some parents may want their children to excel in sport, seeing it as a gateway to big pay packets and gold medal-laden glory. Others only allow their children to play to have fun, stay fit and enjoy a healthy lifestyle. 

This is what the parents, coach, or club want, but what about the athlete — what do they want? Do they even know? And when do they start to understand, recognize and work on their goal without the need for a push? 

Along the way athletes are under a lot of pressure trying to find their goal and purpose while also trying to cope with financial issues that can come with intensive training regimes. Many athletes come from families without much money, so cannot afford to train outside their club or school. It is also hard to find the right coach, not to mention the difficulty of getting approval from university lecturers to train or compete abroad. This makes it a real challenge as athletes plan to achieve their sporting dream and secure their future life. 

There are many athletes who went through all that and never gave up on their sport. I was honored to meet them when I first started working as a sports journalist in 2005, and am overwhelmed to have seen them become highly influential role models. I saw how they overcame difficulties and how they inspired their community. The one constant though was that there were always people behind the scenes who stood by them to make sure they achieved their goals. 

One example is the 2000 Sydney Olympics 400-meter hurdles silver medallist, Hadi Souan. He worked as a PE teacher and his run in Australia did much to promote athletics and inspire a generation. Bader Al-Alshaikh is another elite athlete who started very young and is now the Saudi Bowling Federation president promoting the game. 

When it comes to promoting sport and community work, we also need to mention rally driver Yazeed Al-Rajhi. It is fair to say the 37-year-old is the Saudi godfather of social media interaction with his followers, all 795,000 of them. Emad Al-Malki is another young social media pioneer. He is the Saudi version of the karate kid and is 2016 world champion in the men’s under 60 kilogram Kumite category. He shares his experience in schools and influences his 62,000 followers. Do not underestimate the importance of strong social media followings; I do not recall many athletes in disciplines excluding football with such a high number of followers in Saudi Arabia. It is an achievement for both Al-Rajhi and Al-Malki and a great way of promoting both sport and a healthy lifestyle. 

But they only got to that position of being able to encourage a new generation of sport stars because of the support they had around them. As much as we are proud of those who excelled, we need to question why many quit. In doing so we have to take care of young athletes and help them overcome the challenges they face, instilling in them the values we try to develop through sport, not just support them physically, financially and technically. 

• Dr. Razan Baker is a member of the board of directors at the Saudi Bowling Federation, a specialist in corporate social responsibility in sports, and a sports columnist/journalist. Twitter: @RazanBaker