The craze for sports is there. You only have to read the newspapers and Facebook posts to understand it. "Imminent arrival in Montpellier for 11 soccer players from Juventus", article published by the newspaper Le Pélican, on April 6, 2023 or "Back in pictures of the Guymargua U15 tournament" on the Facebook page of the North Islands Territorial Basketball Committee. Beach tennis is also making headlines with Amélie Thiant, double Guadeloupe champion and French U14 champion. Posts like these, there are many.
However, although the passion is there, the noose is tightening when it comes to access to high performance sport .
Why is access to high-level sport complicated for young St. Martiners?
Is going from first grade to senior year a normal evolution in your opinion? The answer is obviously NO! However, this is the reality that the budding athletes of the island are confronted with once they integrate the "pôles espoirs", the training centers or the international schools. They go from sports kindergarten to excellence.
In the island's clubs, young people train a maximum of three times a week. When they are lucky enough to be selected in the high level courses, the change of rhythm without any real transition makes the adaptation very difficult. In fact, in the "pôles espoirs", the athletes practice their discipline twice a day. On top of that, there is the school program. Excellence means knowing how to reconcile the two: sport and school. Rigor and discipline are the two watchwords to achieve this.
Many athletes who manage to reach the top level often give up at this stage. Not for lack of desire or motivation but simply for lack of preparation.
That's right! Rigor, discipline and organization can be learned.
Here is the whole point of the Centres de Perfectionnement Territoriaux (CPT): to prepare young people for the high level so that they have the tools to get there. The CPT is a foretaste of what awaits them.
A preparation that also concerns the parents
"It takes a village to raise a child"! This African proverb is a bit more true in the high level fields.
The entourage is essential in the accompaniment. Mr. Palvair, director of the CEES, likes to remind us that "there are no high level players without high level parents".
From a financial point of view, parents have to pay the costs of the high level courses. Costs that are not always anticipated and that they discover at the time of registration. Secondly, parental support is essential. The student-athlete needs to be encouraged, comforted and supported.
With CPT, parents are also put in condition at all levels: a financial participation is requested and their investment is essential .
The CPT are the solution for children who practice a sport in a club and who wish to reach the highest level. They deserve to have a quality accompaniment which includes school support, quality training, medical follow-up and the taking in charge of the selections in the poles. Saint-Martin can only benefit from the spin-offs.
On Saturday, April 22, 2023 will take place the day of selections and detections at the Jean-Louis Vanterpool stadium in order to integrate the CPT of basketball, soccer and athletics and that, from the beginning of next school year.
Requirements to pass selections and detections:
- Play soccer, basketball or track and field
- Have the desire to enter high performance sport
- Currently be in the 5th grade, 6ème, 5ème or 4ème.
You have until April 18 to register. The link is as follows: https://www.cees978.com/inscriptions-cpt
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