EUREKA!
The athlete is also a scholar
By Queena Lee-Chua
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 08:24:00 10/13/2008
Filed Under: Education, Sports Events
Mens sana en corpore sano. A healthy mind in a healthy body. Nowhere is this more evident than in varsity athletes who also excel academically.
Blue Eagle Chris Tiu, in my calculus class, listened attentively and never asked for special treatment. Lady Eagle Carolyn Tan-Chi, my research advisee, graduated summa cum laude the year her team won the championship in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. My sister Portia, a Management Engineering cum laude, was part of the UAAP second-placer Lady Eagles team in 1989. Last semester, track-and-fielder Joy Valenton was among the top ten in my psychology class.
Of course, there are athletes who struggle in school, but there are also many who balance sports and studies. Excellence in all fields is an Ateneo tradition, and Asterio “Boy” Favis Jr. is living proof.
Favis graduated salutatorian from the Ateneo de Manila High School in 1971. A member of the Eaglets since his sophomore year, he became captain during his senior year. He believes that excelling in basketball and academics (and in the corporate world) requires the same things. He is now head of treasury at Sterling Bank of Asia.
Preparation
“Practice makes perfect,” says Favis. “I started playing basketball in grade school on the dirt grounds in front of our classrooms, using the bulb-less lampposts as goals. Since they did not have backboards, we had to be very (precise) when shooting. But I was determined to improve my game, no matter the cost.”
In junior varsity, training was tough. The Eaglets would do drills and physical conditioning several times a week, including Saturdays. They did hundreds of dribbles, lay-ups, foul shots. But Favis says, “By the start of each season, our movements were so reflexive and grooved that we were all ready to compete.”
As for school, he says, “From my academic awards, I might have been mistaken for a nerd. I did industriously attend to schoolwork, but I never pressured myself with long-range objectives such as graduation honors. I just gave equal importance to all quizzes as I did to quarterly exams. The thought of not being able to answer correctly the simple quizzes, when all it took was to understand the previous day’s lessons, would frustrate me and this drove me to do well. After all, quizzes were just reviews of the lessons.”
When Favis told his children he loved quizzes, they were shocked. “Only weird people liked quizzes, they said. But because I diligently paid attention to the near-term, success in quarterly exams became much easier. After four years of just focusing on the day-to-day, knowing that each day’s successful output would generate good results in the end, I graduated with honors. I hope Ateneo still gives daily quizzes.”
Commitment, teamwork
Favis trained under Fr. Joseph Conroy, a former Marine, and learned about mental toughness. “When one joins a team, or any organization, one must bring with him, as a representative of the school, a determination and commitment to improve himself and improve those around him.
“How can you or a teammate get better if only a few show up for practice? How can the Hi-Lites get the newspaper out if you, the sportswriter, do not finish your article? How can the Dulaang Sibol turn out a meaningful play if the actors do not test each other’s abilities?”
With commitment comes teamwork. Boy recalls that during the tryouts, 120 people competed for only three available slots. Everyone, including current players, had to try out again. “As our numbers started to dwindle, those who remained were the ones who showed a keen sense of team play. Some had better individual skills, but a grandstanding player never had a chance. Basketball, after all, is a team sport, and the team is only as strong as its weakest member.”
Ateneans strive to be men and women for others, and Favis says, “Unconsciously, I began practicing this when classmates would ask for my help with the lessons. This was reciprocated when others helped me. We would get together during breaks and study Latin conjugations, memorize ‘Ibong Adarna’ stanzas, or solve algebra equations. It was very fulfilling when everyone passed the tests.”
Basketball can also be an act of service. “Volunteering to play at the Punta tenement housing and in Sapang Palay on dirt courts, under the Student Catholic Action and the Summer of Service programs, exposed me to the needs of the people living there. Their self-worth improved when they saw that they were treated as equals.”
Humility
For Favis, humility is the basis of true success. “I tried out for other sports, believing that making it to the basketball team meant I had extraordinary athletic abilities. But when I tried out for the 400-meter (race), I was quickly brought back to reality as I ate the dust of fleeter runners. But the coach’s encouragement helped me recover.”
“I was also not always first on the honor roll,” says Favis. “I seldom was, in fact. But that never deterred me. There were, and will always be, someone better in some area of expertise. That’s how the world is. God is fair and distributes talents. What we need to do, however, is try our best. Giving our best is easy if we accept our shortcomings with humility.”
Favis recounts a memorable experience. “Once, Ateneo had a chance to capture the first round flag. But a week before a crucial match against round-leader Mapua, two of our standout players were suspended due to low grades. The student body was in an uproar. In the late 1960s leading up to the First Quarter Storm, students demonstrated and walked out of their classes in protest. There was much anxiety and tension. In the end, however, we were firmly reminded by director Father Murphy that we were first students in a school, before athletes. They (players) were not allowed to play, and the Ateneo and I lost what was probably my best shot at a championship.”
“Was that championship important to me?” Favis continues. “Yes, but not enough to make me think that the school failed me. The experience helped me build a healthy and moral character. There must be balance. Athletes must manage their time between studies and sports and other activities.”
Today, in the corporate world, Favis lives by these values. “Up to now, I scribble a small cross on the top of each paper I write on. The cross is a shortcut for what we used to do in school. It stands for A.M.D.G, Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam. For the greater glory of God. It is easier to sacrifice and improve ourselves through daily regimen, to be determined and committed to a cause, to be others-oriented and to be humble, if we offer our words, thoughts and actions to the Lord.”
E-mail Queena N. Lee-Chua at blessbook@yahoo.com.
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