Nicol acts. When will the rest follow?

DON’T let your learning lead to knowledge. Let your learning lead to action.

American Jim Rohn said it – and Nicol David is living it.

Malaysia’s beloved eight-time squash world champion is not just preaching about youth development, she is getting down to work about it.

This week, Nicol “went back to school” and completed her Mental Health First Aider (MHFA) course, and is now certified by MHFA England.

With this qualification, she is now equipped to identify, understand and respond to mental health challenges by building safer, more supportive spaces for her team and the children she guides through the Nicol David Organisation (NDO).

NDO works closely with B40 children, using education and sport to lift lives.

Nicol knows the stakes. Mental health issues among Malaysian youths are on the rise, yet conversations and most importantly, actions, remain limited.

But Nicol is not just talking. She is also acting. She is walking the talk, like she always has.

That is exactly what Malaysian sport needs – more Nicol Davids and mentors who strengthen junior programmes, build mental resilience, and produce athletes who can withstand pressure, not crumble under it.

Maybe, our football is the most in need of a Nicol.

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) are now facing a storm of criticism after the national Under-16 team suffered a humiliating 0-11 defeat to Croatia in a friendly. It was the worst result in the junior squad’s history.

Friendly or not, it was a chilling glimpse into the gaps in our system as the team head into the Under-17 Asian Cup qualifiers at the end of this month.

Has our talent pool dried up?

Does Javier Jorda Ribera’s programme need a major overhaul? The FAM have appointed former greats Datuk Dollah Salleh and Datuk Zainal Abidin Hassan to revive the junior programmes.

But do they have new ideas to turn things around? In an era where youngsters are glued to the digital world – how can we make sport appealing to them again?

Malaysians have discussed “strengthening grassroots football” for years, but the talk rarely turns to action.

The Akademi Mokhtar Dahari (AMD) once offered hope under Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, but the momentum fizzled out as leadership changed.

What we need are leaders who do, and not just discuss. Mentors who rebuild, revamp and restart.

Coaches who develop kids with strong fundamentals and even stronger minds.

A weak junior foundation means a weak senior team.

When mental resilience is missing, we start depending on foreign players to patch up holes we should have filled ourselves – and we all know where that has led us to.

Football is not alone.

Badminton is also struggling to produce successors in the men’s singles after Lee Chong Wei’s era.

The state programmes have been doing the same thing that they have done for decades.

Track and field is worse. One could say there are fewer talented athletes than administrators. Many associations talk about change but few actually move.

Selangor is hosting the Malaysia Games (Sukma) next year. How many new stars will come through this Games?

Are the states still planning on using their national athletes in a chase for more medals, or will they concentrate on grooming stars from the grassroots?

What Nicol is doing matters. She is stepping up for the next generation.

The question is – who else will step forward?

We do not need more statements or committees coming out with action plans or slogans. We need action and we need it urgently.