Coach draws from past fear to instill courage in boxers
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
As the 2003 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games approach, the head coach of the national boxing squad hopes to fill his charges with courage.
"They (the boxers) are physically ready. In terms of skill, they are generally prepared for the competition. What they need is this," Wiem Gomies said, pointing at his chest.
"It's only human to feel fear when in the ring. But they must learn to be determined and fearless against their opponents," said the two-time Asian Games gold medalist and Asian champion.
With the departure of Cuban Carlos Penate Torre, who left after the 2002 Asian Games in South Korea, Wiem has taken on the responsibility of preparing the national squad for the mission in Vietnam, the site of the 22nd SEA Games.
The Indonesian Amateur Boxing Association (Pertina) is currently grooming 19 boxers, who will move from Jakarta to Kutai in East Kalimantan at the end of this month to continue their training.
The boxers are under the supervision of four trainers, with Wiem being the head coach.
Wiem said he regularly invited the boxers to open discussions in an effort to encourage them to focus on their training.
"It's not easy because today's lifestyle is different from in my day. Today's boxers might be easily distracted by the delights of city lifestyle," he said, adding that Kutai had been chosen as a training site due to such considerations.
Wiem was a gold medalist at the 1970 Asian Games in Bangkok. He became an Asian champion in 1972, and won another Asian Games gold in 1978, also in Bangkok.
Speaking of past experience in garnering the courage that enabled him to beat his foes in the ring, Wiem emphasized that only with strong determination could boxers come into their own.
"I used to be afraid of bees. But one day I was watching people taking honey from a hive, and I asked myself, if they could do it with such determination, why couldn't I?" he said.
"That's what I always say to the boxers, that they must have determination in a fight," he said.
Meanwhile, Pertina secretary-general Bambang Asmanu said the boxers were expected to gather by the end of this month to resume working out after the Jakarta phase.
With the Arafura Games in Sydney and the Pakistan outing being canceled due to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak, the World Amateur Boxing Championship and a tournament in Mongolia are the only remaining international tournaments the Indonesian boxers are likely to participate in.
The world meet is scheduled to be held in July while the Mongolian tournament will be in September.
"I have received a release from the world amateur boxing managing body, AIBA, advising that the world championship will proceed because Bangkok is not in the SARS danger zone," Bambang said.