Zhao jian hua-part 2

I don't know much about Singapore. But based on terence's comments, I feel that Singapore is more a communist country than China.

 

Wow!! This is quite a thread and so many opinions which is really good. It's interesting to learn Terence view on Singapore badminton scene. But not sure if I agree with his opinion on Zhao.

I believe in the bigger the pool the more chances you'll have in finding the future champion. But that does not necessarilly mean that you have THE future champion. Having a player with great international experience as coach could be a first step. The country's system itself is also important, actually more important than the coach, in my opinion. What's good is if you have the best coach in the world but do not have the right candidates? Looks like you have a great chef in the kitchen but no food for him to prepare his dishes.

Going a little bit off track, allow me to speak a little bit about football (soccer). Portugal is a small country with a population of about 15 million. Actually Portugal is ranked among the top 10 in FIFA rankings which is considered excellent regarding the pool of players it can choose from. Also many players in the team are considered to be among the best in the world - say Figo, FIFA Footballer of the Year 2001. What I'm trying to say is that Portugal did not achieve this by chance. It was many years of hard work and above all, a man's organizational skills. This man was able to setup a network where the best talents from the country were picked up and then brought to a center and developed when young. A team of 22/30 players chosen from over 10,000 candidates. These kids then won the Youth World Cup U16 and U20. Considering that Portugal is not as powerful football country as Brazil, Argentina, Germany, England and others, this was an extraordinary feat.

A coach who has been a player, specially those who made to the international scene can surely help. For once, they know what it takes to get up there. Amateur coaches can be good coaches, some are exceptional, but how many know enough to guide the potential candidates to reach the desired objectives? There are many things that escape us the common mortals and that's why we use professionals' advice. Keeping an open mind help you learn more and improve. A saying I read somewhere today - Asking questions will make you a fool for 5 minutes, if not asking you'll be a fool forever. Having an experienced coach is good, but in order to learn you'll also have to make that 'little' effort to ask the questions.

Anyways, just my opinion.

 

Yup! Looks more like a HOrnets Nest! Not The one in NC state!

 

Excellent discussions although we can do less with the "racist"-type & "personal" comments. I am a Canadian citizen although not local born but was raised in S.E. Asia. I gotta agree with Viver. Having the best international coach would not gurantee anything if the ingredients are not there (not just the talent pool but also the support infrastructure). What I mean by infrastructure is the supporting cast, the people to help identify and further develop potential players, the folks to work on the mental game, the folks to provide a venue for the players to develop to the next level.

Having a coach who has been an international elite player helps in providing the extra bit of experience but nothing beats practical experience. Opportunity have to be provided to the players to play in international tournaments against better players in order for these players to develop further. It takes time to reach a certain level.

The other thing is that it takes more than just skills to be an elite player. For example, in Canada, I have seen so many kids who are talented and skilled in ice hockey but could not make the pros. Why? A lot of them got burned out or do not have the mental mind to get to the next level. They also lacked the support required (family, friends, coaches, etc) where they were pushed to the limit without any periods for recovery.

What I could gather from Terence was that the expectations for Zhao was very high but Zhao himself has already indicated that the level of talent in Singapore is not there yet. Maybe instead of blaming Zhao, the microscope should be focused on the SBA for their role and strategy in pursuing "paid" players.

Anyhow, just my 2 cents worth