This result is not only a symbolic boost for student sports but also a convincing demonstration of the great potential of the school sports model when invested in the right direction and operated with strategic thinking.
Rare bright spot
The story of Van Hien football team is a bright spot in a picture of many dark spots of school sports. From the "school yard" to the "professional playground", Van Hien players bring with them knowledge, skills and a well-established sports ecosystem within the school.
This is one of the few models in Vietnam today that shows that school sports can completely become a sustainable nursery for football, and more broadly, high-performance sports if invested seriously, with a long-term vision and effective connection betweeneducation , sports, and businesses. However, to turn from a "bright spot" into a "movement", from "individual" to "systemic", Vietnamese school sports still has a long way to go.
Realizing the importance of school sports, in 2019 a Conference to improve the quality of physical education and sports in schools was held.
Statistics at that time showed that the country had nearly 80,000 physical education teachers, of which about 74% were full-time teachers and 26% were part-time teachers. The physical education teaching staff in schools was still lacking in quantity and the structure did not meet the development requirements.
In particular, at the primary level, only 20% of schools have full-time teachers. Most schools teach the old curriculum issued in 2000, with few instructions, practical skills, and no extracurricular sports activities.
The teaching staff is lacking in quantity compared to requirements, and weak in knowledge and skills, especially in guiding and training sports movements, while society is very interested.
Not only do schools lack teachers, they also lack places to teach. Statistics also show that up to 85% of schools nationwide do not have sports fields; more than 99% of schools do not have swimming pools and only about 20% of schools have standard multi-purpose gyms.
In urban areas, the expansion of space for physical education is limited by land funds; in remote areas, limited economic conditions cause sports facilities to be "shelved" indefinitely.
In that context, many physical education classes become "extended recess"; students focus more on theory than practice; sports activities in schools are formal and lack vitality; some students even consider physical education classes as... an opportunity to skip school.
It is worth mentioning that in places where extracurricular sports activities are organized systematically, students not only develop physically but also practice life skills, build team spirit, and improve thinking and emotional capacity.
Lack of connectivity and talent nurturing policies
Unlike countries with developed school sports systems, in Vietnam, the connection between the education sector and the sports sector, between schools and training centers, between gifted students and specialized training environments is still very limited.
The discovery and selection of sports talents still mainly relies on the Phu Dong Sports Festival movement or seasonal student competitions, while lacking a regular, systematic, and continuous approach mechanism.
The story of Van Hien University Club stepping up to the First Division shows a model of cooperation worth learning. This place has built a deep sports ecosystem and the close connection between education, training and competition has helped the Club create a generation of players with both knowledge and expertise, capable of competing at a high level.
In reality, we do not lack talented students in sports. However, these “green shoots” are easily forgotten without the “sun” of a suitable policy system, the “good soil” of a standard training environment, and the “water” of the support of teachers, family, and society.
While the Van Hien Club is a successful model, in thousands of schools across the country, student sports teams still face difficulties in organizing training; tournaments are still considered mass activities; student athletes rarely receive scholarships or opportunities to develop their talents further like in many other developed countries.
In the US, with a good foundation of school sports, the majority of national athletes come from schools. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, up to 75% of US athletes have competed in university tournaments and at the Tokyo Olympics that number is 70%. Statistics also show that athletes from school sports in the US contribute 80% of the total Olympic medals for the country's sports delegation.
Need a synchronized strategy
In order for school sports to truly become the foundation for high-performance sports, a more comprehensive and synchronous strategy needs to be established. First of all, it is necessary to improve the capacity of physical education teachers through specialized training programs; supplement the team of semi-professional coaches in schools with strong movements; next is to invest in building minimum facilities such as playgrounds and gyms; build a diverse, attractive and flexible physical education program; integrate sports into extracurricular activities on a regular basis instead of seasonally.
In particular, there should be policies to encourage students with sports talents through scholarships; mechanisms to link schools, clubs, and training centers; and organize systematic tournaments so that students can compete, be recognized, and develop along a professional path. School sports are the “incubator” for professional sports.
But without proper planning and care, no matter how good the young shoots are, it will be difficult for them to become big trees. The story of the Van Hien Club is an example, a model worth replicating, but to have more Van Hien, we need a systematic change.
The problem of school sports, therefore, cannot be solved by a few competitions or a few short-term policies but requires consensus from many sides: the education sector, the sports sector, families, schools and businesses.
Only when all these factors are present will the “nursery” truly bear fruit. And the dream of bringing Vietnamese sports to the continental level will no longer be a distant dream.
Physical education results should be considered one of the compulsory conditions.
School sports play an important role, being the foundation for high-performance sports and health care for everyone. In the past, although the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has coordinated with the Department of Education and Training, People's Committees of provinces and cities to pay attention to investing and standardizing facilities, equipment, and teaching staff; investing in building swimming pools and multi-purpose gyms for general education facilities suitable for the specific conditions of each level and locality, due to many difficulties in funding, facilities, human resources, etc., the development of school sports has not been as expected.
In the coming time, the Department will continue to coordinate and promote the connection between schools and sports facilities in physical education activities. Organize extracurricular sports activities in a personalized direction, suitable for the interests, psychology and age of students, focusing on swimming, traditional martial arts, folk dance and some other suitable sports.
In addition to focusing on developing various types of school sports and physical education clubs and innovating physical education methods, the education and training sector should innovate in testing and evaluating physical education results and consider these results as one of the mandatory conditions for school admission and graduation of students at each level.
This is a breakthrough solution to change the awareness and actions of parents and the whole society about mobilizing and encouraging children and students to form the habit of daily physical exercise, avoiding the situation of considering physical education as a secondary subject.
(Ms. NGUYEN THI CHIEN, Deputy Head of Sports for All Department, Vietnam Sports Department)
Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/vuon-uom-con-bo-ngo-148329.html
Comment (0)