PBSI to give coaches a language lesson in upgrading skills
PBSI to give coaches a language lesson in upgrading skills
Bruce Emond and Moch. N. Kurniawan
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
National badminton coaches will no longer be able to mutter a
few words of English and expect it to pass muster.
The Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) is devising a
comprehensive plan for coaching standardization, with a major
emphasis on improving English-language proficiency so the coaches
understand can badminton terminology and communicate.
"It's not enough simply to have talent if we want to compete
today," PBSI head of research and development Tan Joe Hok said
during a meeting at PBSI's office in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on
Wednesday.
"And not least among the needed skills is English -- we can't
use 'Tarzan-speak' to get by."
The problem of language comprehension was underscored at a
coaches' workshop during last month's Asian Badminton
Confederation junior tournament in Jakarta.
With the materials in English, all of the local coaches failed
the final test for regional certification.
With badminton powerhouses China and Korea far ahead of
Indonesian in using sports science, PBSI secretary-general MF
Siregar said upgrading of skills was needed among all levels of
coaches.
"We are facing an extraordinary process of development ... If
we don't improve, we will continue to be left behind."
As well as English, the coaches will receive training in
nutrition, psychology, sports injuries, doping controls as well
as the rules of the sport and the association to improve the
performance of their athletes.
Unlike Tan, who went on to study science at Baylor University
in Texas after his career in the late 1950s, many coaches are
former players with a high school or junior high school
education.
Tan said the grounding in the subjects would be thorough but
simple enough for laypeople to understand.
"We eventually plan to collect all the materials into a
handbook for distribution to our provincial chapters, with
coaches able to take part in a certification test," Siregar said.
Retno Kustiyah, a former champion women's doubles player who
now coaches at Jaya Raya Club, said the plan would help coaches
get more from foreign coaching clinics and English-language
materials.
"Anatomy books are written in English. If our coaches
understand the books, they would gain more scientific methods to
select shuttlers."
Tan said coaches and players needed to overcome their
"inferiority complex" to converse in English.
"Perhaps it's part of our colonial legacy, but we still have
that mentality that, when we see a Westerner, we suddenly feel a
bit reticent if we have to say something in English."
Doping will be another focus of the training, with coaches
considered vital in educating their players about avoiding
medicine that may contain illegal substances.
At least three Indonesian players -- Hastomo Arbi, Minarti
Timur and Sigit Budiarto -- have been sanctioned after testing
positive for banned substances in the past 20 years.