SENATOR Pia Cayetano urged student-athletes to apply the same passion they have for sports to their academics.

“Not every child is academically inclined. Not all can be honor students. So there are students who will shine not in the classroom, but outside. We need to harness and encourage that talent,” the senator said at the opening ceremony of the Palarong Pambansa Pre-Qualifying Meet in Cebu City.

Cayetano, herself a former student-athlete who competed in volleyball in the Palarong Pambansa and was once a member of the national women’s volleyball team, said sports is one of the ways to determine a student’s special talent.

She urged the student-athletes not to limit themselves, and to apply the discipline they develop as athletes in their studies.

“I would always tell the athletes, the attitude that you show in the court and in the field, apply that same passion in the classroom,” said the senator, adding that it is possible for students to excel in both fields.

“The dream of your parents and your teachers is for you to have a good future, and to be given opportunities, whether it’s in academics, in an office, in a company, or to one day become an Olympian,” she added.

Cayetano also appealed to school superintendents to help cultivate the students’ other talents.

“Let’s have an open mind, let’s give extra effort to help the child find the place and time where they will shine. And today, obviously, the ones who are here are athletes. Let’s use this talent and interest they have in sports to develop their interest in other things,” she said.

The senator told the athletes to continually improve themselves.

“There will be winners and losers. If you win, congratulations. If you lose, don’t lose focus and go immediately back to training the next day. You should never give up,” she told over 1,000 student-athletes from Western, Central and Eastern Visayas and Zamboanga Peninsula.