Head Coach, Kano
State Handball Association, Solomon Yola, has decried the “must win’’ syndrome at major tournaments, saying it had prevented trainers from monitoring athletes’ progress.
Yola told newsmen in Lagos that such attitude was responsible for various degrees of foul plays and irregularities in officiating.
“Athletes should be given the opportunity to show evidence of the training they have been receiving from technical officials. If per adventure they win, it will be justified.
“It is clear that the victory is as a result of their performances, rather than persuading them to win at all cost because it results to problems,’’ he said.
According to him, it is through such a platform that raw talents can be identified and other developmental programmes will be put on ground to groom them further.
“We are talking about talent discovery which is a welcome development, but we must create an environment that will enable us to really catch them young,’’ Yola said.
He urged state sports associations to pay more attention to age-grade championships, adding that it would go a long way to promote sports at the grassroots.
Yola said the growth of the sport should not be left to the national body, adding that states should do more for the progress of handball.
The coach called on technical officials to acquaint themselves with current rules of the sport which were available on the social network “to enable them to develop the athletes right’’.