Benchmarking

Benchmarking is a term often used in business when a product is evaluated up against other products, preferably those that are more superior. When one launches a product, this product is compared against the best in the market to assess its long-term viability. Will the product last? Does it have a chance against the competition in the market? In sports, benchmarking is also a common practice, albeit with a twist. Teams or athletes benchmark against others to discover what it needs to work on in terms of improvement or weakness areas, and to affirm areas where it may already be strong or competent.

This weekend is “benchmark” time for Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu as its basketball, football and volleyball teams face off against other teams from other areas in pocket tournaments being held at the school campus in Canduman, Mandaue City. In basketball, the Magis Eagles are facing off against two college teams in Colegio de Sta. Ana de Victorias (CSAV) and Western Leyte College of Ormoc (WLC). Also in town is its fellow Jesuit school, the Ateneo de Manila University High School team, also called Blue Eaglets, featuring the country’s tallest player in seven-foot tall Kai Sotto who’s only 15 years old, and ex-Batang Gilas players SJ Belangel, Dave Ildefonso and Rap Escalona. Facing off against college teams is an excellent way to assess one team’s strengths and weaknesses. By playing against older opposition, one is guaranteed to be up against players with experience and who can teach young ones a few things or two about the game. I’m sure that the Magis Eagles and Blue Eaglets will get to learn a lot in facing these college teams and against each other. So far, both teams won over WLC and bowed to CSAV. But Ateneo de Manila gave SHS-Ateneo a spanking through its 88-59 win before a full-house pro-Cebu crowd. From a benchmark perspective, the Magis Eagles discovered its major weakness areas by playing against both older teams and a team that was at the same level (but even younger in the case of the Blue Eaglets). It’s always said that for us in the probinsya, the best way to test oneself is to face off against teams from Manila. This is actually a win-win situation for all teams as they prepare for the major tournaments of the schoolyear. And for the visiting teams, they also get the added bonus of having the chance to get some team building/bonding done as they stay together for the whole trip.

Meanwhile, the Magis Eagles Boys Under 14 football team is hosting a tournament that has brought in teams from Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Bohol and Davao, including fellow Jesuit school Ateneo de Davao University. As we wrote this piece, SHS-Ateneo defeated Garcia Hernandez of Bohol, 5-0, and Don Bosco Victorias later in the day. With a wide variety of opposition, the team could end up facing different styles of play from the different areas. Some believe that by playing teams from other areas, one is exposed to a different style and unfamiliar players, thus the need to be on one’s toes and the need to stick to the game plan. There is also added excitement when you get to play new faces as compared to teams one already knows after playing against them so many times. In football, one plays against the same faces since their Under 10 and Under 8 days. One literally grows up in football with the same opponents until they reach college. The tournament resumes with the knock-out stage today, and leading up to the finals this afternoon. But while winning the tournament is always a target, the exposure, experience and playing time is already a big win for all teams.

The boys volleyball team is hosting a two-day tournament that includes a team from Taiwan, Yilan Senior High School. Yilan has made Cebu a regular destination for a little “R and R.” They’re here to play against Cebu teams and to also go on a vacation in Cebu. The tight two-day schedule gives the teams a lot of volleyball mileage through all the games that they play. One team is assured of playing at least two games per day with the playoffs set today. Aside from getting to know itself as a team, a team also gets the chance to know how much better (or weaker) the other team is. After seeing the Yilan team in practice and in yesterday’s games, the common reaction was how good they were and how they were like a well-oiled machine. Their plays were smooth and could be compared with those of older, college teams. I’m sure all coaches had their eyes wide open to learn new things after watching the Taiwanese play.

What all these teams are doing is nothing really new for any sports program. It’s all about gaining the needed mileage before the big tournaments roll in by August. It’s like preparing for a marathon or a triathlon. Preparation leading to the big race is essentially composed of building mileage in a structured practice program that can stretch to three to four months before the race. The big challenge though, is for all teams to get to know themselves better; improving on its weaknesses, maximizing its strengths and deepening team chemistry. When all these are in place, the team’s benchmarking can be considered successful and productive.