Science is the answer

"Why do Filipino athletes come up short in international competition? Why have other countries overtaken us? What is missing?"

These probing and revealing questions were actually asked of the media at last Friday’s SCOOP sa Kamayan session by a group of sports scientists, led by Prof. Jimbo Saret, a former national tennis player who has a Master’s degree in Athletic Training from Brigham Young University.

Saret leads a group of highly educated and uniquely qualified sportsmen who seek to revolutionize the way sports is viewed in the Philippines. Accompanied by Dr. Willy Pieter, who has a Ph.D. in sports science from Oregon, Saret laid down his observations about how sports in the country has fallen behind, and how science can be the answer.

"In other countries, babies are targeted already for what sports they can participate in," Saret explains. "From then on, everything from their diet to their lifestyle is programmed to maximize their athletic performance."

Pieter adds that we do not really look at the sports that we could be successful in. Although basketball is a very appealing sports, we have not really discerned our thrust for other sports.

"There are a lot of tall Filipinos now, but they should be given the proper training," Pieter clarifies. "But generally, Filipinos are very quick and graceful. So you might want to concentrate on sports wherein quickness and agility are important, and stay away from sports where height is required. And there are many sports you can get into."

In the mid-1960’s, President Ferdinand Marcos ordered the Department of Education to study our decline in international sports. One of the findings showed that we were falling behind in learning new techniques for training. In the late 1980’s, then-Senator Joey Lina suggested that basketball players be tested from proficiency in other sports. A few years ago, Philippine Sports Commissioner Tisha Abundo crafted a Talent Identification Program to spot youngsters who could be potential national athletes.

"Other countries actually use muscle biopsy on their athletes to tell whether they have more fast-twitch or slow-twitch muscle," Saret says. "This makes a difference whether or not you should be in a sport that requires strength or speed. Here, we’ve never done that."

Saret and his colleagues have also done seminars for the Philippine Sports Commission. To his dismay, he discovered that many of our national coaches do not even know the basics of various fields of sports, including biomechanics and sports psychology. They didn’t even know how to use some of the machines in the Rizal Memorial Complex, which had gathered dust for years.

"Abroad, you need a certification to be a coach," declares Saret, who, like most of his colleagues, is the only one in the country possessed of such educational qualifications. "Here, anyone can just say he’s a coach, and he’s accepted. There is no science involved."

Saret adds that, at the elite level, it is already hard to train coaches, because they already have calcified views and methods. But anything and everything can be learned and updated, it’s just a matter of networking.

"And you also have to watch your diet," adds Pieter. "I’m not a nutritionist, and I love Filipino food. But there’s a lot of fat and sweets in the diet. If you want to excel in sports, you’ll have to sacrifice some of that."

Saret’s group, the National Athletic Training and Fitness Academy or NAFTA, is bent on bringing sports education to the Philippines, and establishing a pipeline by which the latest scientific information can flow into our sports community on a constant, inexpensive basis. They are already sought after as instructors and speakers. However, they have been encountering some resistance within the PSC, particularly with individuals who are uncomfortable with change.

"It’s very challenging to be constantly updated. Science is constantly discovering new things. I myself," Saret adds, "I earned my degree four years ago, and I find I also have to keep adding to what I know. But, one thing I can tell you is this: whatever the problems are in sports, science has an answer. It is based on research, always factual, and makes a difference."