Guaranteeing the Future of Behind-the-Scenes Figures

KOMPAS/Adrian Fajriansyah

Indonesia\'s mainstay female hurdler Emilia Nova is practicing weights under the supervision of her coach, Fitri "Ongky" Haryadi at the Madya Senayan Stadium, Jakarta, Tuesday (17/9/2019).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Behind our athletes’ astounding achievements in the sports arena, the role of their coaches cannot be ignored. Coaches play a very important role in shaping and facilitating athletes, from preparing the training programs, building their physical condition, diets, technical skills, and competition mentality, to nontechnical matters beyond competing.

When athletes do very well, especially at major events, their coaches are usually showered with bonuses and awards as well. However, most coaches at the national and regional training centers depend on a monthly salary, and club coaches rely on the modest income they receive from the club. Not a few have side businesses to support their families.

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They cannot always rely on bonuses from the government and the private sector when their athletes make good achievements. Coaches badly need old age insurance and pensions, especially because their contracts can be terminated at any time.

Coaches also need certainty over their future, for example through the recruitment of outstanding instructors as state civil servants.

Athletics coach Fitri "Ongky" Haryadi, who helped female hurdler Emilia Nova win a silver medal at the 2018 Asian Games, said last week that athletes and coaches should be equally rewarded because a coach\'s struggle was no less difficult. Coaches also need certainty over their future, for example through the recruitment of outstanding instructors as state civil servants.

"Old age guarantee for coaches is important, because coaches cannot work forever. It could be that an athlete can no longer make achievements due to injury [while] it takes a long time to produce new high-achieving athletes, while coaches can be dropped at any time,” said Onky.

A similar remark was made by Lukman, the weightlifting coach of the 2000-2014 PB PABSI National Training Center, who contributed to the tradition of Olympic medal contributions from weightlifting and is now training Thailand’s weightlifting team. He expressed hope that outstanding national coaches would receive old age insurance, at least health insurance and a pension fund.

KOMPAS/ADRIAN FAJRIANSYAH

Weightlifting coach Lukman massages Deni\'s aching back after training at the Empire Fit Club, Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, Friday (25/6/2021).

With these assurances, coaches would not hesitate to return to their home regions to nurture new athletes if they were dismissed from national or regional training centers.

"So there would be no need for a coach like me to go abroad to continue earning a living," he said.

Protecting coaches

Mixed doubles badminton coach Richard Mainaky, who decided to retire at the end of this month after 26 years as a coach on the national training team of the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI), is pushing for a system that regulates the retirement age for coaches.

"Perhaps sports organizations such as PBSI should actively convey this to the government," he said.

Meanwhile, women\'s doubles coach Eng Hian, who accompanied Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu in winning the gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, proposed regulations to protect coaches’ future.

“Coaching must be categorized as a profession. If the retirement age of coaches is not clear, it is feared that only a few people will want to become sports coaches," he said.

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Meanwhile, national sports observer Fritz E. Simanjuntak said that coaches\' welfare was inseparable from the number of available matches. A coach could be successful only when their athlete wins.

AP PHOTO/DITA ALANGKARA

Indonesia\'s Greysia Polii, right, and Apriyani Rahayu celebrate with their coach Eng Hian after defeating China\'s Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan during their women\'s doubles gold medal match at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 2, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan.

Regarding this issue, Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali said the central government was attentive to the welfare of outstanding athletes and national coaches, which was included as a combined package and expanded further in the Grand Design of National Sports (DBON) launched on 9 Sept. Old age insurance is provided by recruiting them as civil servants, members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) or National Police (Polri), employees of state-owned enterprises (SOE), and other solutions.

"The athlete and coach welfare is not just the responsibility of the Youth and Sports Ministry, but the responsibility of all parties," Zainudin said. (DRI/KEL/SAN/IYA)

(This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo).