Nurturing talent from school sports

School sports are an indispensable part of comprehensive education, contributing to improving physical fitness, training the will, and thereby discovering future talents.

School sports are given attention and development at Thuan Chau High School (Son La).

To promote the development of the young generation in general and build a solid foundation for high-performance sports in particular, there needs to be a systematic school sports system, closely linked to the educational program and properly invested.

The stories of overcoming difficulties of young athletes, typical school models and strategic directions from managers, show the key role of school sports in nurturing Vietnamese sports talent.

Where professionalism begins

Every day of Dang Tam Binh, an 11th grade student at Thuan Chau High School ( Son La ), begins with studying in class, then in the evening, he maintains the habit of practicing badminton until 8 p.m. For many years, he has always had his father, a physical education teacher, who introduced him to badminton at the age of 5, accompanying him on every competition journey. From grassroots to national level tournaments, the name Tam Binh has been associated with a dense list of achievements: more than 10 gold medals at all levels, excellent student awards, and certificates of merit from the Provincial People's Committee. Behind those medals is Binh's unwavering perseverance and the silent support from the school.

Sharing about the efforts to overcome difficulties to develop school sports in a mountainous school, Mr. Giang Thai Hung, Principal of Thuan Chau High School, said: The school makes the most of the available facilities for badminton, volleyball, and soccer, and coordinates with local sports clubs to organize exchanges and competitions. Experienced teachers are assigned to monitor and detect talented students from grade 10, grasp the abilities of students from secondary schools and develop specific training plans. The school creates conditions for gifted students to participate in tournaments to practice, gain experience and affirm their talents. According to Mr. Hung, no matter the conditions, if there is determination and a suitable plan, it is still possible to nurture students' passion for sports.

Phan Dinh Phung High School (Hanoi) is one of the typical examples of building a professional and systematic school sports movement. The school currently has 23 clubs operating in many fields, in which sports are especially focused, especially basketball which has developed over the past 20 years and achieved high results in youth tournaments and the National Phu Dong Sports Festival. The biggest challenge is balancing between studying and sports training, so the school always tries to coordinate with parents and students to build a reasonable schedule, making the most of the summer for students to compete and exchange.

Ms. Do Thi Bay, Principal of Phan Dinh Phung High School, suggested: The State needs to have a mechanism to detect and select gifted students right from school, policies to support expertise, coaches and facilities, along with flexible curriculum adjustments for gifted students to avoid overload. In addition, clear policies to encourage, reward and guide their careers are very important so that students and parents can confidently invest in a long-term, professional sports career.

The cases of famous names in the Vietnamese high-performance sports community such as: Do Thi Anh Nguyet (archery), Nguyen Thi Oanh (athletics), Nguyen Thi Anh Vien (swimming), Nguyen Thuy Linh (badminton), Nguyen Huy Hoang (swimming), Ly Hoang Nam (tennis), Chau Tuyet Van (tekwondo), Pham Thi Hue (rowing) ... further clarify the role of school sports in discovering and nurturing talent. According to the leader of the Vietnam Sports and Physical Training Department, if there were no physical education classes, selection rounds or attention from teachers, many young people would not know which sport they are suitable for...

Comprehensive development platform

Director of the Vietnam Sports Department Nguyen Danh Hoang Viet affirmed that school sports are the first foundation, playing an important role in discovering and nurturing talent. The industry's orientation in the coming period is to coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training to improve the quality of physical education, expand extracurricular sports activities and incorporate appropriate sports into the official curriculum.

Director Nguyen Danh Hoang Viet also pointed out that the biggest current difficulty is the lack of uniformity in facilities and a team of physical education teachers with in-depth expertise. Many schools lack playgrounds and standard training equipment, physical education teachers are in charge of multiple subjects, and have not received in-depth training in discovering and nurturing talents. Coordination between the education and sports sectors in many localities is still loose. To overcome this problem, there needs to be specific investment policies from the state budget and socialization, along with unified inter-sectoral guidelines clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of each level and each sector.

The Vietnam Sports and Physical Training Department has been and is continuing to implement the Project on developing physical strength and stature of students in the period of 2021-2030, which focuses on early detection of sports talents. The Department coordinates to guide localities in building sports club models in schools, combining the system of training centers and gifted schools for training and fostering. School sports competitions such as the Phu Dong Sports Festival and the National Student Sports Competition are important assessment channels to select potential faces and include them in intensive training programs.

The Department also coordinates the development of guidance documents, organizes training, proposes policies for investment in facilities in disadvantaged areas, encourages the "one school - one sport" model and supports the organization of student sports competitions. In the context of digital transformation, the Vietnam Sports Department encourages localities to digitize school sports talent data, helping to better connect schools, the sports industry and athlete training facilities.

Dr. Tran Van Lam, Deputy Director of the Department of Students (Ministry of Education and Training) said that the cooperation between the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has achieved many positive results in building a school sports system, discovering and nurturing talents. This cooperation has contributed to improving the quality of physical education and creating a foundation for developing high-performance sports, aiming at the goal of training Vietnamese people to develop comprehensively in knowledge, physical fitness and life skills.

The strategic orientation of the cooperation is based on important documents such as the Strategy for the Development of Physical Education and Sports in Vietnam to 2030, with a vision to 2045, and the stature of Vietnamese people. The two ministries also coordinate to innovate the physical education program according to the 2018 General Education Program, focusing on individualizing sports activities, suitable for students' interests, psychology and conditions, increasing investment and taking advantage of available facilities in localities. The two ministries also encourage the establishment and maintenance of intra-school and inter-school sports clubs, creating healthy playgrounds and opportunities to discover talents. To date, 100% of schools from primary to high school nationwide have established sports clubs.

Currently, the Ministry of Education and Training is developing a Project to innovate physical education and school sports for the period 2026-2035, with a vision to 2045. Key orientations include: Building a long-term school sports development strategy, increasing investment in facilities, developing teaching staff, innovating the content and methods of organizing sports activities, closely combining sports and physical education with moral training assessment, strengthening inter-sectoral coordination and socialization, promoting communication, and raising awareness.

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/uom-mam-tai-nang-tu-the-thao-hoc-duong-20250729143957465.htm