JDM
November 10th, 2007, 07:41 AM
.Success is fleeting for young athletes pursuing dream of sports career
ARPON BASUFreelance
Saturday, November 10, 2007
These pages are usually filled with stories about the exploits of star athletes, their successes and failures, their controversies and moments of heroism.
But during the last six years, once a week, a small corner of this section has been devoted to our young aspiring stars, the ones still hoping to make the big time - the ones working tirelessly to have their stories chronicled here on a regular basis.
The Gazette and Global Television Amateur Athlete of the Week premiered on June 20, 2001, and since then we have introduced you to more than 300 of our brightest hopes in a wide variety of sports - ranging from archery to wrestling.
During the next five days, we will be bringing you up to date on seven former Amateur Athletes of the Week showcased during the past six-plus years, the ones who have already reached their goals or are on the verge of doing so.
But what strikes me the most is how many of the determined young people I have had the pleasure of meeting over the years haven't made it, which is a reflection of just how fleeting success can be in the world of sports.
Because if there is one thing I always come away with after speaking with these young athletes, it is just how hard every one of them works in the hope of separating themselves from the pack.
A typical day for these teenagers includes early morning training sessions, a full day of school, more training after school, homework, eating and sleeping. This routine is repeated five days a week, with games or competitions usually falling on weekends. If, somewhere in there, they can squeeze in some semblance of a social life, then they are in the minority.
A great many of them train in conditions that belie their status as members of our next wave of hopefuls, and they often have to pay huge amounts out of their families' budgets for the privilege.
These athletes sacrifice what many of us took for granted in our teen years - a carefree life. However, nine times out of 10, that sacrifice is not necessarily rewarded with the success they so doggedly seek.
But that term - success - is also a relative one that depends largely on your point of view, because for some of these kids, simply being able to compete in the sport they love is all they need.
Take the case of Alexandre Dupont, a St. Rémi native who lost his right leg in a motorcycle accident at age 17, but who credits that moment with turning around his life because he is now an elite wheelchair athlete, and one of the best in the country, no less.
Or consider Jean-Claude Nduwingoma, who used the 2003 IAAF World Youth Track and Field Championships in Sherbrooke as an opportunity to leave his war-torn home of Burundi.
He trains for his promising career as an elite long-distance runner amid the security of Montreal.
Each is happy simply doing what he loves.
But the pressure to succeed for many athletes can be a heavy burden to bear, one they must carry for years before even getting a sniff at glory.
So the next time you snicker when a Canadian finishes 32nd in an Olympic rowing event, or a fourth-line NHL player goes through a lengthy scoring drought, or a Canadian tennis player gets knocked out in the first round of a Grand Slam, try to remember this: Simply by playing on the stage where they always dreamed of performing, these athletes have succeeded where legions of others have failed.
And for those who didn't quite make it, it wasn't for a lack of trying.
arponb@videotron.ca
© The Gazette (Montreal) 2007
An important point of view we often forget.....
ARPON BASUFreelance
Saturday, November 10, 2007
These pages are usually filled with stories about the exploits of star athletes, their successes and failures, their controversies and moments of heroism.
But during the last six years, once a week, a small corner of this section has been devoted to our young aspiring stars, the ones still hoping to make the big time - the ones working tirelessly to have their stories chronicled here on a regular basis.
The Gazette and Global Television Amateur Athlete of the Week premiered on June 20, 2001, and since then we have introduced you to more than 300 of our brightest hopes in a wide variety of sports - ranging from archery to wrestling.
During the next five days, we will be bringing you up to date on seven former Amateur Athletes of the Week showcased during the past six-plus years, the ones who have already reached their goals or are on the verge of doing so.
But what strikes me the most is how many of the determined young people I have had the pleasure of meeting over the years haven't made it, which is a reflection of just how fleeting success can be in the world of sports.
Because if there is one thing I always come away with after speaking with these young athletes, it is just how hard every one of them works in the hope of separating themselves from the pack.
A typical day for these teenagers includes early morning training sessions, a full day of school, more training after school, homework, eating and sleeping. This routine is repeated five days a week, with games or competitions usually falling on weekends. If, somewhere in there, they can squeeze in some semblance of a social life, then they are in the minority.
A great many of them train in conditions that belie their status as members of our next wave of hopefuls, and they often have to pay huge amounts out of their families' budgets for the privilege.
These athletes sacrifice what many of us took for granted in our teen years - a carefree life. However, nine times out of 10, that sacrifice is not necessarily rewarded with the success they so doggedly seek.
But that term - success - is also a relative one that depends largely on your point of view, because for some of these kids, simply being able to compete in the sport they love is all they need.
Take the case of Alexandre Dupont, a St. Rémi native who lost his right leg in a motorcycle accident at age 17, but who credits that moment with turning around his life because he is now an elite wheelchair athlete, and one of the best in the country, no less.
Or consider Jean-Claude Nduwingoma, who used the 2003 IAAF World Youth Track and Field Championships in Sherbrooke as an opportunity to leave his war-torn home of Burundi.
He trains for his promising career as an elite long-distance runner amid the security of Montreal.
Each is happy simply doing what he loves.
But the pressure to succeed for many athletes can be a heavy burden to bear, one they must carry for years before even getting a sniff at glory.
So the next time you snicker when a Canadian finishes 32nd in an Olympic rowing event, or a fourth-line NHL player goes through a lengthy scoring drought, or a Canadian tennis player gets knocked out in the first round of a Grand Slam, try to remember this: Simply by playing on the stage where they always dreamed of performing, these athletes have succeeded where legions of others have failed.
And for those who didn't quite make it, it wasn't for a lack of trying.
arponb@videotron.ca
© The Gazette (Montreal) 2007
An important point of view we often forget.....