Taking the good with the bad

Lipa, Batangas — The last stop of the Detlef Schrempf’s tour proved eventful, in more ways than one. It was an occasion when Filipinos withdrew their best foot, and the young showed a certain lack of appreciation for the tremendous gift they were being given. It was also a snapshot of basketball in the Philippines, and how the influence of highlight shows has trickled down even into our very own provinces.

The young kids in the camp were very industrious, furrowing their brows in concentration, as the coaches, coming from all over the United States, drilled them in the fundamentals. Even the girls’ class was having fun. But the older boys were not taking the lessons seriously, prompting Basketball Coaches Association of the Philippines president Chito Narvasa to sternly remind them of how they were throwing away such a golden opportunity.

"These people came all the way from the United States, let’s not embarrass ourselves," Narvasa said in the vernacular. "How often will we get this opportunity?"

It was also an opportunity for the group to reflect how the game has changed so much since the mid-80’s. With the advent of cable and satellite television, it has permeated daily life everywhere, so much so that the more well-to-do take it for granted. They see the flash, but not the substance. They see the spectacular highlights, but not the thousands of hours of work that went into producing such talent.

"I think the good thing’s the game has gotten more international," said Schrempf, who saw the league bounce back from a malaise and grow into a global phenomenon in the sixteen years he was in the league. "I think people from all over the world can relate to it better. The bad things are... it was getting to individual. The hype was always on the individual, not the team."

Schrempf’s foundation is hoping to deconstruct all these myths foisted on children, to prevent exactly these kinds of jaded attitudes among the very young. Children and teens today miss out on so much of the beauty and simplicity of life by shielding their emotions with a "cool" attitude. This was very evident in Lipa, despite the presence of city officials, and officials of the sponsoring adidas.

"There’s been a concerted effort by everybody, the media, corporations, you know, to complicate kids’ lives," Schrempf explains seriously. "People build their marketing strategies into what kids like and what they don’t like. And I think we need to simplify their lives a little bit again and give them more of a support role instead of trying to put the hook into them for something."

In the afternoon session Saturday, there was a palpable improvement in attention and participation, save for a few exceptions. One female instructor had to resort to making the students squat and do running drills to get their attention. But she noticed the kids who were really working hard. In the end, basketball proved a sturdy bridge, something Schermpf’s group has worked to achieve for the last decade.

"I think what we’re kind of doing here is to find ways, not just for basketball, but for sports, for cultures, for religions, politics, to communicate better," the former NBA All-Star clarifies. "You might not like each other, but you get onto the basketball court and play, you’ll enjoy it anyway. And maybe that’s the way to approach all things."

And hopefully, this veteran of the biggest game in the world has woken up our youngsters from their stupor and given them the chance to look at life with the innocence they were blessed with in the first place.