KUALA LUMPUR – While it is important to guide young athletes as they transition into their adult lives, they should not be confined to a career in sports alone.
This is the view of Datuk Marina Chin, former head teacher of the Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) and a former national track and field athlete.
She believes that athletes should have the freedom to explore careers outside of sports after their secondary school education.
She said that BJSS brings in students at the age of 13 who excel in various sports, providing them with the right balance between sports training and academic education.
According to Marina, this system has proven effective and there is no need to alter a model that works well.
“Athletes have a life after sports, and they should not be limited to careers in sports alone,” she explained.
“I had students who excelled in many areas; I had straight-A students. Why do we want to stop them from becoming doctors, lawyers or even engineers?
“If they want a career in sports, that’s fine. Almost half of the coaches at BJSS were former athletes who were students there. They went to university, studied education and are back at the school; there’s nothing wrong with that.
“In a way, we want to try and help them, but let’s not limit their potential to just one path in life.”
Marina’s comments followed Malaysia Athletics Federation (MAF) president Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim’s statement in July, who proposed creating a specialised sports university in Malaysia to provide athletes with opportunities for higher education.
This proposal, discussed at the MAF annual general meeting, received support from state affiliates.
Marina, who now sits on the National Sports Institute board, was among the former national athletes present at a special Merdeka Day event, 2024 Jiwa Merdeka Subang Jaya Convoy, organised by Subang Jaya City Council and the National Athletes Welfare Foundation (Yakeb).
The other former internationals at the event were Datuk Rashid Sidek (badminton), Datuk Foo Kok Keong (badminton), Goh Liu Ying (badminton), Datuk Dollah Salleh (football), Datuk Malek Noor (bodybuilding) and Datuk Zaiton Othman (athletics). – August 31, 2024