Peštek: No medals without coaches, but the law ignores them

(Patria) - Delegate in the House of Peoples of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Enes Peštek (Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina), stated regarding the adoption of the Law on the Valorization of Top Sports Results that, although the law was presented as a major step forward for athletes, it contains a serious injustice because sports coaches were completely excluded from the law.

- The adoption of the Law on the Valorization of Top Sports Results, at yesterday's session in the House of Peoples of the Parliament of the Federation of BiH, was presented as a major step forward for athletes and recognition of their successes at European and World Championships and the Olympic Games. However, behind the fanfare about the ‘historic law’ lies a great injustice! Sports coaches, people without whom no medal would exist, have been completely excluded from the law - said Peštek.

According to him, this law rewards the consequence but ignores the cause of success. 

- A medal does not appear on its own. Behind every top athlete are years of work, sacrifice, discipline, and expert guidance from a coach who is often much more than an ordinary sports worker. A coach is a pedagogue, a psychologist, an organizer, a manager, a motivator, and a second parent to the athlete. It is the coach who first recognizes a child's talent, guides them, develops their abilities, and leads them through the most difficult moments of their sports career - said Peštek.

He states that while politicians today are distributing awards for won medals, coaches remain forgotten and humiliated. 

- These are people who take care of the training process, sports equipment, travel to competitions, club finances, and the survival of sports clubs on a daily basis. In a large number of cases, the coach is also the project manager and financier of the club, the person who writes projects, seeks sponsors, secures rent for halls, and creates conditions for an athlete to train at all - he emphasized.

He adds that it is particularly devastating that the law does not recognize the long-term significance of coaches for the development of society and sports. 

- An athlete may end their career after one generation, but a coach remains in the hall, stadium, and arena, creating new champions. It is precisely coaches who build the continuity of a country's sports successes. Therefore, it is completely inhumane and unfair for the state to reward only those who stand on the podium, and to ignore the people who brought them to that place. With such a law, the authorities are sending a dangerous message that coaches are unimportant and a disposable category. This is not only an injustice to coaches but also a direct blow to the future of BiH sports - he stated.

It is a fact that this law must be urgently supplemented. 

- Coaches must be legally recognized and adequately valued along with the athletes whose results they have created over the years. Because a medal won without a coach does not exist. To ignore coaches means to ignore the foundations of top sports. The Federation of BiH must not allow people who create champions to remain invisible. Without coaches, there are no European, World, or Olympic medals - concluded Peštek.