Monday, April 26, 2010

Lack of creative ideas which further enhance the call to re-engineer and revamp NSC. Part 2 - "Issues relating to players".

My article on "Gossips that further enhance the call to re-engineer and revamp NSC. Part 1 - Issues relating to coaches", is about the lack of a formal employment pathway for local hockey coaches, thereby creating inconsistent policies that have significant bearing in the principles of excellence for the creation of world class players and for a highly ranked hockey nation. I have placed the burden on NSC, who is the ultimate paymaster and therefore for all purposes the "employer". Some may vehemently argue over this point but the fact that a significant nexus exists between the coaches and NSC, is itself the "proof of the pudding".

While i started on coaches, it must not be forgotten that the key to any hockey match is the players ie the core material. Traditionally, in the yesteryear, the "fertilising ground" for young talents in hockey came from the schools. As the country progressed economically with desirable distractions for the young kids and at the same time the good old dedicated hockey teachers or coaches retired, compounded with the fact that hockey itself transformed to be played at artificial fields thereby making the main equipment and accessories of the game expensive, it provided the much needed "catalyst" to commence the " self destructive" process of hindering grassroot development.

I will be the 1st to admit that many decision makers including the NSC realised this and were working on programmes to mitigate such consequences. The Government poured in the necessary funds but the issue like many other things is the aspect of implementation and sustaining it. The Sports Schools are supposed to be the "collection centre" to literally breed world class players. From the results that have emerged and the way things are progressing, it does not seem to provide that sort of platform. Then there was the Tunas Cemerlang, and Sukan Teras programmes, which appeared as a "flash in the frying pan" and got itself "fried". As fast as it appeared, it disappeared. Now we have the "Pelapis" programme and i wonder how long it would sustain itself. Programmes come and go like changing of "fashionable" clothes. At least there we can admire the beauty but here there is nothing much visible and then the programme disappears from the "radar screen".

The irony in all this is that monies are just being spent but the results do not seem to reflect the investments. The only question one can ask is WHY? Initially, people come up with good ideas and when the monies come things take a change. The programmes become administratively heavy which eats into significant part of the funds while the mobilisation at grassroot lacks the professional approach of planning, implementation, monitoring with feed back and continuous re-engineering. The programmes becomes so dogmatic and bureaucratic in approach that it turns the coaches into clerical officers. Fundamentally the coaches do not become "agents of change" to develop talents.

It would be interesting to see how the Ministry of Education's Development programme with Paul Lissek's involvement in talent scouting and MHF's "1 Mas" development programme would do in the maze of hockey development activities that are taking place. The notable aspect in these 2 programmes is that the same "old faces" are there and whether this is a good or bad omen can only be answered with time.

While the "roots" for development is trying to grow its "grass", at the high performance level, the situation remains stagnated ie bankrupt of ideas. The paymaster for national players is the NSC and their structure does not have any semblance of incentives for achievements. The salaries are not "capped" related rather based on a flat rate. It does not take account of levels of fitness and the aspect of performance. Even for injury rehabilitation they are continously paid even if they are not in training for 2 years or have not visited the ISN doctors. Yet! the player during that period can do the job of a mechanic. It is the failure of not having a creative incentive-based remuneration package on a "benefit-burden" rule that has made the players lazy to push that extra harder to achieve their best.

In effect the players are on a "gaji buta" scheme that does not provide any encouragement so as the players can achieve the set target goals. The reason why such creative thinking does not prevail in NSC is because nobody wants to wear the "thinking hat" to come up with an appropriate scheme. Ultimately it has to fall on NSC because they are the paymaster and such schemes would provide a monthly status position of all the players. It is an objective manner in determining the players performance based om tests and performance on set targets. The remuneration package itself becomes a key indicator of the player's overall condition. This makes the remuneration package for players a "check and balance" tool.

If the incentive driven remuneration package for players based on "benefit-burden " rule also incorporates discipline matters into the equation then issues such as players returning to camp in the wee hours of the morning after hefty consumption of alcohol or faking injuries or missing training and so forth would become events of the past. The scheme would hurt players where it matters ie money, their salary.

Time and time again we moan and groan when the hockey national teams do not perform. Yet no steps are taken to rectify matters. Post-mortems are done, reports are generated and circulated only to collect dust. Then, we start the same cycle over again. Strangely NSC as the Government authority on sports seems to have failed in creating a continuous monitoring system. This could easily be based on the matter that the national players consider as their "bread and butter" ie their monthly salary. If that is fundamental then it is imperative that schemes be developed around it so as to ensure that the players properly earn their salaries. These schemes can become the mechanism to monitor players all-round athletic condition and performance.

What better way is there? NSC does not need "rocket scientists" to develop such schemes for the players' remuneration package. All you need is to identify the measurable facets from A to Z on players' related issues and attach monetary values. It is the gathering of the right minds and developing a practical, easily understandable scheme that is objectively measurable which can be simple in implementation.

It is this sort of creative thinking that is required because sports is dynamic while NSC is caught in a "time warp" where it is not keeping pace. The net result is that Malaysian sports lags behind in the world arena. Therefore the call to re-engineer and revamp NSC is not a figment of one's imagination but rather a "cry" of necessity for the future of Malaysian sports.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Quoting author:

"The paymaster for national players is the NSC and their structure does not have any semblance of incentives for achievements. The salaries are not "capped" related rather based on a flat rate. It does not take account of levels of fitness and the aspect of performance. Even for injury rehabilitation they are continously paid even if they are not in training for 2 years or have not visited the ISN doctors. Yet! the player during that period can do the job of a mechanic. It is the failure of not having a creative incentive-based remuneration package on a "benefit-burden" rule that has made the players lazy to push that extra harder to achieve their best."

.HISTORY IS REPEATING ITSELF TODAY....


"In effect the players are on a "gaji buta" scheme that does not provide any encouragement so as the players can achieve the set target goals."

. WHEN THEY CAN IMPROVE NO LONGER_ WHAT DO YOU EXPECT THEM TO DO

Strangely NSC as the Government authority on sports seems to have failed in creating a continuous monitoring system. This could easily be based on the matter that the national players consider as their "bread and butter" ie their monthly salary

When players receive "gaji" both ends- NSC + Corporate structure responsibility----it is a difficult process to monitor.

Worse still we have " people biting the hand that fed them and their family" We have people who think they know everything just because they have a piece of paper qualification that was given to them

How does one blend them with the young ones on the same platform with those who are trying their best to perform and earn their wages.

Revamp the system and make them on a common footing .....and watch them grow...

Anonymous said...

Personally, the lack of imagination and second rate thinking will sink Malaysian sports in general and hockey in particular. Greater nations with greater wealth and talent have come to accept that they will not be world beaters and why would and should Malaysia think otherwise. All the money in the world will never ever bring the country to be a world force except in individual events like badminton, squash. Games that required strong physique will be where Malaysia can be contended to be mere participants. It is not to say that it is a bad thing. Participation and being the best the participants can be is still a worthwhile and worthy achievements. We need not be world beaters but mere participation and being the best we can be are worthy achievements.

Anonymous said...

why still harping the old issues and didnt move on?? in any develop country..all done by clubs and private entity with or with out government funds. community program are run by passion people (like you maybe) and didn't ask much from the government. if you are seriously want to change the sports landscape in this beloved country do something. start your own program, find your own fund and prove you ca dot it. rather then yapping about NSC that NSC this and sit down at comfy chair telling people what they should do. maybe after this you will start telling our PM how to run this country since you are master of your own universe. (please publish this if you are truly sportsman- in a good sense la bro)

Anonymous said...

Hi Guys

Its unfair to say peerah 102 as I am one of the 102 signatories and the intention is to improve things. I signed the letter the moment I read the 102 letter and the presentations at Putrajaya was impressive. Well focused going ahead. Nothing got to do with personal agenda or going after someone's position. In the process one or two of the signatories may have joined the MHF and that is merely on merits or perhaps the organization feel they can do the job. If not time to phase them out as well. Nothing got to do with 102. Even our late Dato Ho signed the same. However, what is important is the individual himself i.e. whether the person can do the job. Trust me I am a hockey group of different era and its the individual whom we have to look at not on any efforts or suggestions. We need to see the big picture and see beyond the horizon. How to improve things? For a start maybe set up a working group committee and list down issues as we go along and address these issues on a long term basis instead of Adhoc resolutions. Being a director of a company this is what we usually do and trust me we manage more people and money than MHF does. In business we bring in deals and make money by effective cost measures. MHF is given grants to spend therefore its important to spend it wisely and be accountable. You are the safe keeper of the game. Let the system to do the job and not dependency on a personal. Wish you success in management. Read the messages and find ways to improve instead of making it a forum to hit.

Anonymous said...

Malaysia is the WORLD Champion...

Possiable... Give SS RM80m, he will win the World Cup for Malaysia.

Anonymous said...

Datanglah beramai ramai menyaksikan permainan MJHL antara BJSS dan UNIKL pada 2/5/2010 AHAD waktu 5 petang di Stadium TunRAZAK.

Perlawanan antara BJSS Johan 4tahun berturutturut yang akan bermain dengan pasukan pendatang Baru UNIKL akan mementukan tiket ke Final hujung bulan ini.

Majulah sukan untuk negara.

Sayonara

Anonymous said...

ohh yes..promote the sports no just critic bro..bravo to anon May 1, 2010 5:53 PM

Anonymous said...

BJSS vs Unikl
= Budak Sekolah vs Budak Projek
= 1:1
= Budak Sekolah = Budak Projek??

Anonymous said...

is sports schools relevant anymore. ssbj should have beaten unikl by at least 5 goals. but they failed to. where is the error. further it looks like bpss and tnb are going to rely on one another to beat unikl. bravo TM. both tnb and ssbj are not confident to put their own team. we certainly are going backwards

Anonymous said...

My opinion, TNB@Thunderbolt should give opportunity to the new under development players rather than take a ready made team like SSBP.
Quite a waste as nothing to shout about if SSBP-Thunderbolt become a champion as they got the 1st rank Project 2013 players and supported technically + financially by MSN, TNB,KPM,etc.
But if SSBP-Thunderbolt 'fail' to become a champion, theres must be something wrong as Unikl and SSBJ only got the 2nd rank Project 2013 players.
Just wait and see the result..It should be interesting..

Anonymous said...

BJSS vs Unikl
= Budak Sekolah vs Budak Projek
= 1:1
= Budak Sekolah = Budak Projek??

ARE YOU STUPID, ABANG....

=BUDAK SEKOLAH SUKAN MALAYSIA VS BUDAK UNIKL

MESTILAH JAWAPAN
= 1-1

BUDAK SEKOLAH SUKAN MALAYSIA = BUDAK UNIKL.

BELAJAR TADIKA PUN TAHU JAWAPAN.
YOU BALIK BELAJAR TADIKA,OK.
YANG DI BAWAH INI BETUL DAN BENAR.

BJSS VS MBPJ

BUDAK SEKOLAH SUKAN MALAYSIA VS BUDAK SEKOLAH BIASA

= 2-2
BUDAK SEKOLAH SUKAN MALAYSIA= BUDAK SEKOLAH BIASA

BUDAK SEKOLAH SUKAN MALAYSIA BERLATIH 5 HARI SEMINGGU PAGI/PETANG,MAKAN FREE,TPT TINGGAL FREE,BELAJAR FREE,PENGANGKUTAN FREE TAPI MAIN MACAM FREE SCHOOL.

BERHARAP UNTUK BERHADAPAN DENGAN BJSS SEKALI LAGI, PASTI UNIKL AKAN MEMBELASAH BJSS. JAGA KAU BJSS DAN JURULATIH KEBANGSAAN NYE..

HARDCORE

Anonymous said...

The action begins.

The 19th edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup begins at 16:05 Malaysian time (08:05 GMT). For the first time there is an official website for the tournament that can be found at http://www.azlanshshcup.com where the action can be followed live. Live commentary will be provided via Twitter and relayed onto the site. If you want to follow the commentary on Twitter, please follow the user Azlancup.

In what is believed to be a world first for any major international sports tournament, the official site is going to be updated from Apple's new iPad!

Anonymous said...

Both MHF & NSC need to understand Human Resource Management. Their idea of HRM is more of Human Resource Manipulation. When dealing with people we need to understand their skills set and bridge their needs. In industrial age, people were manipulated and in knowledge based economy is to synergize. Human beings are not things that must be manipulated or controlled. Instead The Whole-Person Paradigm. We must recognize people are four dimensional -Body, Heart, Mind and Spirit. While maintaining their Health, people do what they Love and motivated to to Learn new things and in that process highly spirited to leave a legacy. Well my dear MHF & NSC, build a credible structure by Inspiring Trust and define a Clear Purpose. Then create systems to support these values and Unleash Talents. Leverage on people's unique talents and develop a winning team. ITS PEOPLE AND PROCESS. ELIMINATE THE "I FACTOR".