DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 14 Sep) – The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) will employ proper “sports science” to support young Filipino talents and produce world-class athletes.
“For quite a long time, there’s no science in Philippine sports,” lamented PSC chair Butch Ramirez last Monday.
He said that had Manny Pacquiao not been able to receive care from physiologists, psychologists and good nutritionists, he “could have been a different Pacquiao.”
Ramirez added that the PSC will hire more physiologists, nutritionists, and psychologists to improve the performance of the athletes who will be competing in national or international games.
PSC commissioner Charles Raymond Maxey said that they will try to assess the mistakes in the past administrations to address better the complaints when it comes to handling the athletes.
“Through Philippine Sports Institute (PSI), we will monitor the nutrition of the athletes. We will have sports medicine,” he said. “How can you expect the athletes to perform well if you give this kind of food and facilities?”
Ramirez added that the PSI will be operational by October 1 to monitor how the trainees are performing, most especially those who are in the grassroots.
The PSC will fund the PSI with P25 million to start its operations, he said.
Ramirez added that the PSI is also tasked to coordinate with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Education, and local government units to tap the communities and scout for potential talents.
“There was no grassroots to speak of, because when we speak of grassroots, (it should be) the roots of the tree, and there is no roots to speak of,” he said.
Coordinators will be assigned to each region to collaborate with the local government units, Ramirez said.
Still ’50-50’
Maxey said that Davao City’s hosting the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games is still “50-50” for lack of proper sports facilities here but Manila will be the next option.
He added that they are not certain if the construction of the 20-hectare sports complex at University of the Philippines (UP) Mindanao in Mintal District will make it in time for the SEA Games.
He said that they are considering Davao del Norte, which has a world-class sports complex, but it lacks hotels to accommodate all the delegates and other guests. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)