Ragunan school trains RI's best as athletes

Ragunan school trains RI's best as athletes

JAKARTA (JP): The joy greeting gold badminton medalists Rexy
Mainaky and Ricky Subagja who beat the Malaysians in Atlanta was
marred by disappointment that the women's single team only
managed to bring home a silver.

Emotions run high in badminton because it is the only hope for
medals in international events, while other sports are left far
behind.

At the center of criticism of this chronic problem is the
training system.

The impression is that high standards stop at the junior level
-- largely limited to one institution, the Ragunan Sports School
in South Jakarta.

The Ragunan Junior and Senior High School, set up in 1977 by
former Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin, provides academic education,
sports training and dormitory facilities to students.

Ragunan presently has over 135 students from all over the
country, recruited through what the management claims to be
objective selection criteria.

The school is designed to provide training for talented
athletes in athletics, gymnastics, diving, archery, soccer,
basketball, volleyball, tennis, table tennis and badminton.

Students train between 6 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to
6 p.m. every school day. Regular classes are held from 8:30 a.m.
to noon, or to 11:30 a.m. on Fridays.

"The Ragunan Sports School is still the best for polishing
young, talented athletes," Kussairi, the school principal said.

They need to foster academic skills, he says, because
"Indonesian athletes cannot expect to rely entirely on their
sports skills as a source of income."

He recalled a trip to Italy where the students trained at
Sampdoria Football Club.

"The teachers, with financial support from the government,
came to the Italian club's headquarters to hold an examination,"
Kussairi said.

He says he cannot understand why promising soccer players, for
instance, fail to perform at the same level by the time they
enter senior soccer clubs.

"There must be something wrong with the training system," he
said.

Kussairi, who ends his term later this month, points to
Ragunan's success with the Indonesian Student Football Team. The
team has won the Asian Student Football Tournament four times,
and often ends up a finalist.

Given the contrast with the performance of the senior soccer
players, the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) should discuss
the problem and study it thoroughly to come up with a solution,
Kussairi suggested.

Similarly, the junior volleyball team educated in Ragunan made
it to the semifinals in Asia, but the senior team flunked the
Southeast Asia Games.

Sri Sudono Sumarto, the director of sports under the
Directorate General of informal Education at the Ministry of
Education and Culture, also stresses that the failure of
graduates is not the responsibility of either the Ragunan School
and the country's students' sports training centers.

"We suggest sports organizations like PSSI work together with
the student training centers," Sudono said.

Apart from the lack of training centers, support for those
academics and sports training is rarely found outside Ragunan
school. After graduating, athletes face the twin dilemma of
finding a job and improving their performance. Only a lucky few
get jobs where the management allows them enough time off for
training and competition.

In the last few years, a few academic institution have started
to provide scholarships for athletes, meeting both needs.

Meanwhile Ragunan itself is set on improving and expanding its
facilities.

The government has promised the school Rp 11 billion (US$4.6
million) for renovation. The 13.5-hectare plot will be expanded
to accommodate educational, training and dormitory facilities for
up to 600 students.

To build on Ragunan's success, repeated calls from concerned
sports fans and athletes have urged greater contribution by the
private sector to grooming athletes.

Mentality

Business tycoon Probosutedjo conveyed his views to Raket
tennis magazine recently.

He said he wants to send tennis players overseas, where
facilities and training are better.

"However, so far there are no young players who have the
mentality to become professionals. We sent players to the United
States but they were more interested in academic studies,"
Probosutedjo said.

Still, private clubs should be founded to support the
government schools and centers.

An official of the Indonesian Chess Association, Eka Putra
Wirya, has established the first private chess school, Enerpac,
to train the younger generation.

Another private center, the Detex tennis school has produced a
number of champions from the lower income group -- Feby Widyanto
was one of the members who made it to the eight-person-strong
national team this year.

Ragunan's exceptional graduates also owe their advanced
training to private clubs. Among these are badminton queen Mia's
senior Susi Susanti, gold medalists Ricky and Rexy, and tennis
player Yayuk Basuki.

In tennis and badminton, prizes worth millions of rupiah from
serial tournaments help to motivate them.

Discussions on the provision of more facilities to groom
athletes are underway.

But Kussairi insists that at the high-school level, the
Ragunan model must be spread elsewhere.

"Potential athletes come from the regions," he said, "So more
schools like Ragunan must be established at the regional level,"
he said. (imn/yan)