After the opening of the new 2023-2024 school year, sports education in Pinar del Río takes on a colossal challenge. Reincorporating its more than 900 athletes into high competition and improving the efficiency indicators achieved last year are among the objectives they pursue.
To this end, the preparation of the specialized technical force, both in the teaching and sports areas, and improvement, stand out as strengths. The Eide Volverabajera today has teacher coverage of more than 95 percent, which guarantees the teaching-learning process.
Chayana Pereira is a sixth grade student, although she was already training softball a few years ago, from her native municipality of La Palma, the dream was always to be in an institution like this, where she could fulfill the desires that accompany her, integrate a team with the name of his province.
“I live in a town far from Pinar. My dream is to play softball. We have already represented the municipality in the little leagues against Bayamo, but seeing athletes from other sports up close, being in the Eide is a dream come true. I would like to be a great champion here,” comments the outstanding thrower from Pinar del Río, who already knows what it means to lift the crown and be the most valuable athlete among her team.
For his part, for the coach of this discipline, Yasser Hernández, returning to school, now with students, is great. Hence the routines of classes, methodological work, guarding and other athlete training tasks that he is so passionate about return.
“I tell you that we never left school because we were always here during vacations, as part of the workers’ guard to take care of the resources. Returning to the field, with the goal of surpassing the second place achieved in the school games, is a dream that I aspire to materialize with these girls, all of whom are very good,” he concluded.
THE SCHOOL
According to the director of the center, Ramón Luis García, it is a priority to improve sports results, since in teaching matters they have been the one with the best performance for several years in admission to Higher Education, with more than 90 percent passing.
“Another element is the vertical efficiency that seeks the permanence of those who begin their student life here. We have children from first grade to pre-university, which is why it is a challenge to face all these levels of education. We also have to involve the family with us, although a considerable part of the students are boarders. We cannot lose that parent-guardian and coach-teacher interaction, because it guarantees the results we aspire to achieve.
SPORTS SUCCESS GUARANTEE
Thiago Ramírez first began practicing Greco-Roman wrestling while at the Leopoldo Febles school. He and his family longed to see the colors of his province represented at national events. At first, the little boy says, his mother was hesitant about him going to Eide, but the sports commissioner was able to convince them and today he is super happy.
“I have won many medals in the pioneers, my mother was afraid that I would come here. To be a champion I must be at the school where the champions train,” comments the boy with that mischievous look of a schoolboy.
The wrestling commissioner Juan Tomás Corrales states that on many occasions the family fears that their children will not be able to develop both in teaching and in sports, hence they are deprived of the possibility of entering school.
“The logical concerns of the family are that the boys or girls neglect the part of the teacher, that is why they do not let them, and here we, the coaches, come to play a key role. We explained that this school has a lot of prestige earned, and if you are doing poorly academically, then you should abandon sports, we are rigorous in that. There is always an exception, because life is not perfect, but the peace of mind that we give to the family is that to be athletes, you have to study.”
This school, which today has some shelters repaired using the institution’s own resources, has its biggest problem with the water supply. Sometimes students have to carry the liquid to the upper floors of the dormitories. Lemailam Pedroso is one of those who knows how hard this can be.
“I’ve been here for more than two years, there are times when the situation with the water gets tense, but if you want to be a champion, you have to work hard. It’s hard to be away from the comforts of home, but in the end, if you train hard, you get the reward you deserve. This year I was national taekwondo champion in the 58 kilogram division, that means that, even if it is hard, one has to sacrifice.”
Recently, the Inder leadership in the country visited the province. The multidisciplinary commission recognized the enormous challenge that it implies today for Pinar del Río to start the school year with the deficiencies left by the passage of Hurricane Ian. The high performance specialist, Doctor of Science José Rodolfo Falero, assured that today this course constitutes a colossal challenge for Vueltabajo.
“We consider that we are in the presence of a territory that can improve the results of the national school exams and continue contributing. Let’s not forget that if Pinar del Río is doing badly in terms of sports, so is Cuba. Here is an important part of the result of high performance on our Island. That is why we can evaluate this beginning of the school year as very positive for sports in the westernmost of the provinces.”
A school that not only fulfills Martí’s preaching of turning its teachers into living gospels, but also forms future champions of conscience, with the conviction that only daily sacrifice can lead them to success.
