I’m a sucker for feel-good stories, especially when these involve people in the world of sports. I’ve always been a believer that when treated and approached in the right way, sports is one of the best paths to develop a competent, mature and well-rounded human being. These past days I’ve had the chance to listen to two alumni of the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu who both played basketball for the school and have now moved on to pursue their respective careers, Mark Anthony Ynoc and Dave Wilson Yu. They addressed the school community at the recent honors assembly.
A first crucial approach to sports is not to see it as an end by itself or as a must-have career. Easier said than done. You’ll encounter many parents who think that their son or daughter is the next Michael Jordan or Lionel Messi and they’ll do everything to make sports the only way of life. Big mistake here my friends, and Mark and Dave showed us that there is more to life than sports and how it’s an excellent road to develop oneself. Mark is now a successful businessman (still single) and has grown his businesses while continuing to play and support the sport that he loves: basketball. He now runs a logistics company, a beach resort, a small hotel and a import-trading company. Dave is a fresh graduate of the National University where he played for the Bulldogs in the UAAP. They won a championship once in his five playing years and he also served as team captain in his senior year. He also represented the country as part of the Batang Gilas national youth basketball team. But more importantly, Dave recently passed the board exams for civil engineers and is now a practicing civil engineer.
Mark and Dave’s stories are different but have led them on paths to successful and proud achievements. Mark relates how their family situation didn’t stop them from dreaming and growing to become big in business. Referring to his father, “he showed and proved to me that poverty or any struggle is never a hindrance to success but a bad attitude is.” He then shared the three values that has steered him through life. “In business and in any profession, we definitely need three components: the COURAGE to take risks, the belief in our VISION, and the PASSION to pick ourselves up in times of trouble or when we reach a dead end.” He cited how he was near bankruptcy when a relative ran away with a bulk of his investments, and how two nuns visited him to ask for a donation for a charity project right around the same time. He gave whatever was in his wallet, not knowing that this was the turning point leading to a big business transaction that came his way after the visit of the nuns. The rest, as they say, is history. Appropriately citing his favorite parable of the talents from the gospel, Mark (name after the evangelist St. Mark) talks about the need to put one’s talents to use. “The reason why I draw inspiration from this parable is that we are all like those servants. God gave us gifts and abilities but not in equal denominations. It is our responsibility to make something out of these gifts, give back and live a life of purpose.”
On the other hand, Dave freshly remembers how being a student-athlete helped in making him what he is today. “Being a consistent student athlete from grade school to college has been very challenging but also fulfilling and inspiring. With discipline, hard work, and strong determination, things become easier.” In sports and academics, losing is a reality and failure is something that one has to face. But amidst setbacks, Dave highlighted how it can work for anyone. “Failure also made me strive more and consider it as my motivation. When these challenges occurred again whether in crucial games or during periodical exams, it felt like it was more manageable because I learned from my past experiences.” And there’s this thing called “Magis,” a term that students of Jesuit-run schools encounter 24/7. I couldn’t have said it in a better way than Dave, “As an Ateneo Hearter myself, one of the Ignatian values that has rooted in me is Magis. Doing more and being more at all cost has helped me become what I am right now. Pursuing to be a student athlete and at the same time taking up one of the difficult courses in college – civil engineering, one must truly live out the value of Magis.”
Mark and Dave are just two of many student-athletes who have made names for themselves not only in the field of sports, but in the more important phase in one’s life we’ll just call “life after sports.” They showed how sports isn’t the only thing that mattered but how this served as a way to prepare themselves for the tough life up ahead. May our dear sports parents learn from these examples and realize that sports can be a powerful tool for the total development of a person.