By Atty. Howie Calleja
As a historic milestone, our country qualified for FIFA Women’s World Cup which is the first time the Philippines qualified for a FIFA World Cup of any gender or age level. They secured their place in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup when they beat Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals on penalties following a 1–1 draw. So, as we pay tribute to our Philippine World Cup Athletes who have sacrifice so much to give honor to our country, allow me give you some popular sports metaphor we too can use and live by:
CARRY THE BALL – commonly used in “basketball” this metaphor means to make forward progress with the ball without passing the responsibility to someone else. In life, it signifies taking charge of something and doing what is needed to get it done without leaning on someone else. It also implies “stepping up”. Don’t keep your head down or hide in the back of the conference room, no matter how introverted you feel. Modern leaders often choose workers specifically for their niche specialties, and everyone needs to hear from you in order to maximize group productivity.
ALWAYS HAVE A GAME PLAN – used in almost all team sport this metaphor asserts the need for a strategy for an individual game. The coach is responsible for researching the other team and planning how the game will be played. Everyone needs a GAME PLAN. We all have objectives we want to hit. This includes our personal goals and our goals for our companies. To do this we need to draw up a roadmap or plan for how we are going to reach our targets. Developing a game plan to follow can be motivating. Sometimes receiving many rejections can be disheartening, which can lower your morale. If you have a game plan to fulfill, it inspires you to steam ahead without dwelling on the challenges that may come your way.
COVERING ALL THE BASES – in “baseball” this implies keeping an in-fielder close to each base to make it difficult for the runners to reach them safely. In life, it is making sure things are safe by taking precautions for every contingency. Always have a Plan B or even a Plan C for everything. The contingency plan is a proactive strategy, different from a crisis management plan, which is more of a reaction to something that happened. A contingency plan is set up to account for those disruptive events, so you’re prepared if and when they arrive. It’s critical to stress the importance of a contingency plan. This will serve as a safeguard that helps facilitate success rather than hinder it. Therefore, it cannot be put on the backburner or given little thought, but rather, must be thoroughly followed through.
To conclude, allow me to congratulate our Philippine Team for their thrilling 1-0 triumph over New Zealand; and though Norway ended our historic attempt at the World Cup, this is still a sports feat we should be proud of — a true display of a Filipina’s Heart. So, let us thank our athletes not just with our cheers but with the need to prioritize Philippine sports in public policy in order to give them the competitive edge. And, may I humbly suggest that instead of pouring money on sports we don’t have a fighting chance in the world stage, why not allocate it in the athletic competitions we do have a chance. It is not true that we are poor country with no money for sports, we just don’t know how to spend it strategically.
