A judo coach from Delta State, Emmanuel Sani has disclosed that he recently attended a seminar in Lagos because he is always in the hunt for more knowledge, and he wants to create a better impact on young talents, but faulted what he referred to as lukewarm roles currently being played by government agencies.
While charging officials of the National Sports Commission (NSC) and all stakeholders to give better attention to developmental policies in the sector, Coach Sani stressed that he never shies away from any opportunity to regularly learn new techniques that he can impact on young talents.
Sani, who is also currently attending a regular course at the National Institute for Sports (NIS), added that he gives a lot of attention to learning new skills in coaching, management, and officiating; hence his decision to be part of the recent seminar.
Emmanuel Sani stated this at Lagos National Stadium in Surulere, “The seminar was all about training the trainers. It helped us to gain more knowledge of present techniques and learn about the world impact of judo. That’s what we went there to do.
“It was organised so that we can get more skills, more ideas, and to know more about the current techniques of judo on the ground. It was a partnership arranged by one of our former judokats, who is based abroad, with the Dubai Foundation and Lagos State government.”
Sani then revealed details of the course content and singled out the biggest gains he got from it, which he believes will come in handy for him during his ongoing course at the NIS and still remain very relevant for him when he returns to practise fully at his base in Delta State.
He expatiated, “One of the most important things that I got during the seminar were the latest techniques of judo. I also learnt new ideas about techniques that had already been propounded before and are now introduced into the new system. That’s part of what brought me to the NIS in the first place.
“So, when I go back to my home state, I can easily impact these new ideas on my athletes. I also learnt about current officiating rules, styles, and approaches in judo practice. In fact, there was a lot more that I gained there than I can just talk about.”
He went further with his summary of the course content by shedding more light on issues of youth development in judo, then charged the federal government and stakeholders to show the way in turning things around right from the grassroots level.
“One very important thing to note from the seminar is the issue of grassroots and youth development on judo. This aspect refers to how we can get younger ones to prepare for the future by giving them everything that they need. It entails giving them all the necessary support and by not ignoring important things. We need to give them social amenities, welfare packages and more training.
“To achieve this, we need more of government support; so that the children can grow up to the expected standard. Without all kinds of support from the government, we can’t get to the top, and we can’t build a future champion. For now, judo is not being given the attention it deserves. That’s why we need the support of government, full backing from the National Sports Commission and all stakeholders to come in.
“That will help us get more judo engagements now and in the future. For me, my short-term is to learn more about coaching so that I can practice more with the youths, impact better skills and become a well-organized judo advocate,” Sani concluded.
