Allure of professional sport comes with plenty of pressure
Years ago, there was not a lot of money involved in professional sport, and for those who wanted to become a mega sport star and shine in the glittery limelight, they experienced far less pressure to constantly perform.
Indeed, how times have changed.
The world of sport is now a one way ticket to riches and stardom, even for those who don’t reach the zenith of success.
However, because of the changing times, where passion has been engulfed by the green wave of cash, children from a young age are groomed (sometimes through excessive and rigorous training) in the hope of turning them into a “star”.
Soccer players in the modern era are regularly transferred for millions of pounds.
Think about former Liverpool striker Suarez and former Tottenham Hotspur striker Gareth Bale, who signed with Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively for way more than a R1-billion each.
In South Africa, playing Super 15 and Test rugby means signing contracts that ensure payouts of more than R1-million a year, depending on endorsements.
Professional soccer and cricket players also earn ridiculous amounts annually, with some local players applying their trade overseas to rake in even bigger bucks.
It is also in individual sporting codes where the “big” money waits like a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Just think of golf, where guys like Ernie Els have cashed in close to the R1-billion mark, while local tennis player Kevin Anderson (top 20) has earned over R60-m.
We will not even talk about Formula One drivers whose bank accounts could fund the governing of small countries.
It is a near impossible task to provide accurate summaries of wealth accumulated, but the point is that sport is a means of driving Lamborghinis, travelling the world, living in sprawling mansions and eating lobster every day.
Even cricket, soccer or rugby players who play for provinces, clubs or franchises (not national squads) are smiling all the way to the bank, proving you don’t have to be an Els or Anderson to take a ride on the gravy train.
Children have posters of their sport stars plastered on the walls and role play them with game consoles, so it is understandable that everything and anything will be done by some youth, no matter the cost, to become like these “stars”.
But this lofty quest to become famous comes with all kinds of stress, which some may deem to be unnatural or undesirable to a healthy childhood. Others will disagree.
The fact remains, sport is huge in South Africa, and because of the professionalism of our time, kids simply have to perform better, faster and stronger than their counterparts in the hope of succeeding on the big stage.
A classic case of pushing children too quick and too hard is Jennifer Capriati, who is an American former professional tennis player.
Capriati made her professional debut in 1990 at the age of 13 years and 11 months. She became the youngest ever player to crack the top 10 at age 14 years and 235 days.
Following a first round loss at the 1993 US Open, Capriati took a 14-month break from competitive pro tennis, citing personal struggles during this time (including arrests for shoplifting and possession of marijuana) that was well-documented.
There are many such stories of children, of all sporting codes, being pushed into the limelight early on, having to deal with enormous pressure of pleasing fans and management while juggling fame, success and simply being a human being.
Recently, right here in Boksburg, the arrests of two boys at a prominent high school for being in possession of steroids caused quite an outcry from the community.
Fingers were pointed at the school, some at the pupils, and some blamed general lack of discipline in parenting. The real culprit is, however, the allure of professional sport.
As an ambitious rugby player in high school, your road to success hinges on being selected for the first team and then hopefully Craven Week, to possibly be scouted by the bigger rugby unions.
Once you are drawn into the union fold, you progress through the ranks to senior rugby, where you hopefully make the Vodacom, then Currie Cup, then Super 15 and then Springbok squads.
The journey is thus tough and brutal, and it demands a lot of time, sweat, tears, blood, discipline and even heartache.
So it is understandable that sometimes children need to resort to any means possible to give them the edge.
And then you also have numerous sport celebrities, who are role models to many future stars, who have been caught using performance enhancing drugs like steroids.
But again, even these seasoned competitors at times have to resort to extra means because of the pressure of staying on top.
Just ask cyclists Lance Armstrong, who admitted he will probably use performance enhancing drugs again if given the option.
Why? Because this is the era we live in.
Using “drugs” in sport is not right, but millions of dollars are at stake.
This idealistic world of professional sport is encoded into the wiring of children from a young age, who soon realise that you have to adopt a do-or-die attitude if you want to end up riding the gravy train.
So don’t be surprised at school children using steroids.
It doesn’t speak so much about moral corruption but rather about the temptations of a materialistic world.
Rock band AC/DC sings that it is a long way to the top to become a rock and roll star.
This might as well apply to professional sport where the big dogs go home will all the treats.
