We love celebrating Filipino athletes when they win.
We cheer when they bring home medals, wave the Philippine flag, or make history on the international stage. We proudly claim them as our own.
But perhaps we should ask ourselves a more uncomfortable question:
Where were we before they became champions?
The recent success of Alex Eala is something every Filipino should celebrate. But her journey also reminds us that producing world-class athletes requires years of investment, exposure, coaching, competition, facilities, and, most importantly, people willing to believe in an athlete long before the spotlight finds them.
At the other end of the spectrum is the painful story of the late Rene Baterbonia, which reminds us that our responsibility to athletes should not begin only when they are winding down their careers — or, tragically, when they are already gone.
This has become a recurring story in Philippine sports.
We celebrate athletes when they win. We honor them when they retire. We mourn them when they are gone.
But what happens while they are still becoming?
True grassroots sports development is not simply about building courts, organizing tournaments, or handing out medals. It is about creating a pathway — from identifying talent and developing it at the grassroots level, to providing proper coaching, sports science, competition, scholarships, professional opportunities and, eventually, meaningful careers after sports.
That responsibility cannot rest solely on parents, schools, private clubs or individual benefactors.
Many private organizations and sports clubs have already shown that it is possible to identify young talent, nurture it and create pathways to elite competition. If they can do it, why can’t government agencies and national sports associations do the same systematically and sustainably?
We need a sports system that does not wait for an athlete to become famous before extending support.
We need national sports associations that know where their next generation of athletes is coming from. We need government agencies that invest not only in podium finishes, but also in the people, programs, and systems that produce them.
Alex Eala’s story should inspire us.
Rene Baterbonia’s story should remind us.
The challenge for Philippine sports is to make sure the next generation does not have to become either a success story or a sad story before we decide they are worth supporting.
Support the athlete while the dream is still being built.
That is what genuine grassroots sports development should mean.
