Deadlocked output for athletes

(Baonghean) - Talking about sports is talking about achievements and not all athletes in any sport can maintain their peak performance forever. At some point, when physical strength declines and age increases, retiring from a top-level athletic career is inevitable. However, after retiring, not all athletes can find a suitable path to success... The output for athletes after retirement is at a standstill.

To train a high-performance athlete requires a very long process. Therefore, usually when they are 7 or 8 years old, athletes have to live in concentrated training centers and spend most of their time practicing and participating in tournaments. Meanwhile, the peak competition period of an athlete is often short. Normally, except for sports that are not physically demanding such as shooting, chess, etc., an athlete's competition age can last from 40 to 50 years old. In other sports such as wrestling, whusu, martial arts, shuttlecock, rattan, etc., athletes only finish their career after the age of 25. Retiring at such a young age, when people in other fields are just starting to finish their studies and start working, athletes have encountered many difficulties in finding other jobs to maintain their lives.

The path chosen by many athletes is to study for a coaching degree to continue pursuing sports as a teacher and some have achieved success. A typical example is athlete Nguyen Van Hue - who won the gold medal at the National Wushu Championship in 1998. After finishing his athletic career, he studied for a coaching degree at Tu Son University of Sports (Bac Ninh) and has contributed to training key national athletes such as Nguyen Van Tai (won the world silver medal)... Currently, he is the Head of Training Department, Head of Martial Arts Department - Provincial Sports Training and Coaching Center.

At the same age as Nguyen Van Hue, there is Bui Duy Vinh (Golden medal in traditional martial arts in 1996) who is currently a coach in traditional martial arts and boxing (Provincial Sports Training Center), Deputy of the Professional Board of the Vietnam Traditional Martial Arts Federation, Deputy General Secretary of the Provincial Martial Arts Federation, who led the province's traditional martial arts team to win many medals at national tournaments. In addition, there is the couple Trinh Thi Mui - Tran Trong Cuong in pencak silat, who are very successful as coaches, having trained famous athletes such as Truong Van Mao, Nguyen Van Hao, etc.

Coach Tran Trong Cuong (left, pencak silat) - one of the few athletes who have succeeded in a new position after retiring

However, the number of athletes studying at universities and colleges specializing in sports to obtain professional degrees is not much. At the Sports Training and Coaching Center, there are currently only 32/300 athletes studying at universities. Mr. Nguyen Nhu Tam, Director of the center, said: "The athletes who are given the opportunity to study are usually those with high achievements, in order to "create a source" of coaches for the center". However, according to him, whether these athletes will be able to return to the center after graduation or retirement is "not yet confirmed because the current quota from the province is limited. As for "raising" them under contract, the center faces many financial difficulties".

Currently, the Provincial Sports Training Center still has nearly 10 coaches working under contract, although they were all athletes with many high achievements and had university degrees. Coach Ho Minh Thuan of the Sepak Takraw team is one of them. Talking about Thuan's achievements as both an athlete and a coach, many people "respect" her because although she is a female athlete, Thuan has won many Gold, Silver, Bronze medals at the National Championships, Cups of Strong Clubs and National Sepak Takraw Youth Championship.

Also since 2007, when he became the coach of the provincial sepak takraw team, Thuan has trained many generations of students with high achievements such as Dinh Thi Thuy Hang, Nguyen Thi Quyen, Nguyen Thuy Ha - SEA Games Silver Medal, Silver Medal, World Championship Bronze Medal... Thuan has also been associated with the Sports Training and Coaching Center for 15 years, from when he was an athlete until now he is a veteran coach.

Although he has contributed a lot to the province's sports, has a university degree and is studying for a master's degree, but now after nearly 7 years as a coach, Thuan is still working under a contract with a starting salary of 2.34, self-paid insurance. After deducting all expenses, Thuan's current monthly income is 1,300,000 VND. Talking to us, Thuan said in frustration: "My salary is only 1/4 of that of my students. Sometimes I think, if I am a coach and I am still "poor" like this, then looking at me, what is there for my students to strive for?"

To raise his children and pay for his studies, Thuan had to teach physical education at the city's sports center. But Thuan is still lucky compared to many other high-achieving athletes. Cases include Bui Cong Tuyen, who won many gold medals at national traditional martial arts competitions but now has to work as a security guard at a state-owned enterprise; Kha Hoai An, who won a gold medal at a national boxing competition, is now a bus driver...

In a conversation, when asked what he felt most satisfied with when pursuing a football career, Ton Anh Hoa - Head Coach of the Provincial Sepak Takraw Team answered: "The happiest thing is not when standing on the victory podium, winning a medal, but because now I am also on the payroll, a state employee and have a stable income...". That answer is very real, but reflects the simple dream of today's athletes, which is to have a stable job after retirement.

For many high-performance sports, when training professional athletes to compete and win achievements for a certain unit, coaches often only focus on how to help the athlete achieve the highest performance when competing. In the face of new requirements in today's life, it is necessary for an athlete to be equipped with cultural and scientific knowledge about sports and many other fields because it not only helps athletes to be more confident when communicating with the community, but also helps them to easily adapt to the new environment after retirement. The Sports Training and Coaching Center as well as each athlete themselves need to be aware of this.

In addition, the sports sector also needs to have appropriate policies on vocational training and job creation for athletes who have won many achievements for the province's sports after they retire, to motivate future generations of athletes. For example, there should be a mechanism to coordinate with universities and colleges that provide specialized training in sports, creating conditions for athletes in the selection process; giving priority to selecting athletes with sports degrees to work as physical education teachers in schools...

Minh Quan - My Ha