Hafa Adai!

Our sport has taught me a number of lessons from a very young age. I would say that one the most important lessons that I learned from the sport is that you must identify your goals and work towards achieving them everyday. In other words, we need to prepare for future competitions if we expect to perform. You can't fake it and get away, especially when all eyes in the stadium are on you as you run on the track or jump/throw on the field. As athletes, we should have 6-month goals, 1-year, 4-year, and for some people, 10-year goals.

We compete in a sport that has universal appeal. Our sport does not discriminate - the rich and the poor all compete on even terms. All athletes know that the critical ingredient to success does not involve fancy equipment or a superb facility. The key is proper preparation.

Of course, we all eventually experience setbacks. Injury, illness, an unforeseen life event - these can easily throw off one's preparation. Experienced athletes learn to adapt. You caught the flu, so you work on technique by studying some videos. You're experiencing some pain in the knee, so you aqua jog instead of running on land. A typhoon destroyed your home, so you readjust your training schedule a bit. You get the picture. We learn to adapt without giving up.

One quote I remember from my college Sociology professor is this: "There is one obvious trait that separates successful people from the rest of the crowd. It is that they prepare for the future."

Why do I bring up this topic? It is because of the recent news reporting the cancellation of 4th Quarter Interscholastic Sports due to financial problems in the government. Did these problems just happen overnight or were government leaders aware of what was coming months, or even years, ago? Did they not have any opportunities to identify the setbacks and make appropriate adjustments? What happened to the concept of adapting without giving up?

With the current situation, we now have a group of young athletes who will not be given the opportunity to perform in interscholastic competition. Many of these athletes have been preparing for months to compete in their events against their high school peers. The cancellation of sports also takes away from our society the opportunity to teach and reinforce the concept of goal-setting and proper planning with Guam's youth.

By coming to our Open Track Meets, government leaders can learn from our athletes that proper preparation can lead to better results.

Sincerely,

Fred R. Schumann

President, Guam Track & Field Association