Standard facilities, consistent training secrets of our sports festival success – Overall winners

Alpha Bakam, proprietor of Vision High School, Nnewi, has attributed the success of the school at the just-concluded Anambra School Sports Festival to consistency in training and exposure to standard facilities.

Bakam made the revelation in an interview with our correspondent in Awka on Wednesday.

Vision High School won a total of 27 medals (13 gold, eight silver and six bronze) to emerge overall best performing school in the festival and cart home 1.5 million naira prize money for their effort.

Bakam said upon the establishment of the school, he made a vow that the school will not be a school of academic excellence alone but also a school of sports excellence.

He said sports was a major component of the academic activities because the school period ran from 7:30am to 2:30 pm while all sports boys and girls move to the field from 3pm for their regular training.

He said the school had been in existence for five years and had always held its inter-house sports since inception.

“I am encouraged by my background. I was a sportsman when I was younger but I had problems with my parents who wanted me to go to school without taking part in any sports.

“They used to scare me away whenever I went to the field and that stopped me from being who I wanted to be in sports.

“So when the Vision High School came, I made a vow that the school will not only be a school of academic excellence but also a school of sports excellence.

“We don’t do the inter-house sports in Nnewi where we are, we do it at Rojenny Stadium in Oba because I want to make sure that they practice and compete on standard facilities.

“When the opportunity of this festival came, it met me ready because we have been exposed to standard facilities and training by some coaches of Anambra Sports Commission,” he said.

Bakam, in his recommendation, said the primary school sports should be held separately from the secondary school events so that there could be Under-15 category.

According to him, I have children who are 13+ but they did fall into any group because the festival is for Under-13 and Under-17.

The School Sports Festival, first after a decade in Anambra, was organised by the Sports Development Commission under the Chairmanship of Patrick-Estate Onyedum between May 17 and June 24.