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PSC vows stronger grassroots training for young Filipino athletes
Following the success of the recently concluded 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman Richard Bachmann expressed the agency’s aspiration to further nurture athletes that could bring glory to the country.
Bachmann laid out plans to intensify grassroots and to initiate programs in order to bring consciousness to sports that are not usually patronized by youngsters and the general public.
PHOTO COURTESY: PHILIPPINE SPORTSWRITERS ASSOCIATION
“Carlos Yulo’s double gold performance in gymnastics is basically creating awareness that we also have a lot of sports that can actually win medals for us,” Bachmann told the reporters during the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
“By winning an international competition like the Olympics, for gymnastics or boxing, gives you a little awareness that a lot of kids can actually support other sports and become a national athlete,”
Bachmann says he got the chance to take a look at competitions that were being exhibited during the Olympics and pondered the absence of certain sports, such as javelin throw, discus throw, speed climbing, in the Philippines.
In order to develop grassroots training, Bachmann emphasized the importance of having coaches that will pass down techniques and knowledge of sports that are not generally practiced by young athletes in this country.
Additionally, chairman Bachmann mentioned that the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) is planning to add gymnastics to their calendar of events.
“I've heard that now the UAAP is planning to put gymnastics in the UAAP. So, I am just asking that it shouldn't take to win a medal to actually introduce another sport for the UAAP. It is needed,” Bachmann implied.
The country’s sports chief says, planning to grow the popularity of a certain sport to locals will not be effective if there are no events and facilities provided for sporting organizations to parade their masteries.
"How can PSC and NSA grow the popularity of our sports where there are actually no events, there are no facilities? So, it is a collaboration again,” Brachmann stated.
“PSC cannot do this alone. As a Philippine nation, we should actually help each other and support sports. It takes the nation to have champions.”
With the milestones achieved by the Filipino Olympians during the Paris Olympics, it is evident that the country can haul medals from sports that are not hailed as mainstream.
Providing proper training facilities, participating in local and international tournaments, and even supplying skilled and amenable coaches, it is an undeniable truth that the Philippines can produce future athletes that can excel and bring honor to the nation on the world stage of sports.
