Real sports development
I can’t help but feel like throwing up each time I hear candidates in the coming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections talk about how sports development is a very important component in the development of our villages and what they plan to do about it.
Their plans are not really something that would take several geniuses to make – they want to hold basketball and volleyball tournaments and that’s it.
Well, to be fair, some have talked about trying to do other sporting events like chess and tabletennis, but obviously these people trying to talk about sports development don’t have an idea what they are talking about.
For the sake of the ill-informed or those who think they know too much, sports development is not merely holding events, but it takes a lot more effort to really make it happen.
There has to be a real plan and by a real plan, that means having to go beyond just providing balls, trophies, cash prizes and uniforms so the youth would be encouraged to play.
For a program to be put in place, they must start by putting people who really know what to do about it. They must assess the available facilities and equipment in the barangay and also check what else they can do aside from the usual sports that are being held in the place.
Funding is important for any program to be successful, but depending on the government alone for the money means you are not really serious about sports development. Government alone cannot shoulder everything and the private sector has to be tapped to make things happen.
There are still so many things that have to be done for an honest to goodness sports development program, but one thing that is most doable and I hope to see from whoever would win in Monday’s elections, is holding the events so that they would finish before 10 pm.
The reason why I’d like to see this happen is simple. The earlier the youth are home, the lesser prone they are to become victims of violence and also the lesser chance for them to be tempted to do drugs or other vices.
Also, if the events finish early, people in the barangay can become healthier since they can also sleep early and would not be bothered by the sounds blaring from basketball or volleyball courts.
Vote wisely on Monday!
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The person I admire most among the team owners in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) was in town last Sunday to grace the opening of the Sotogrande Condotel inside the Vista Mar Resort and Country Club.
I am referring to Sta. Lucia Realty’s Exequiel Robles or Excy, who was with his daughter Michelle, the new VP for advertising of their company.
My brother sportswriters from the
My friends from Sta. Lucia also tell me that he is the only person who owns so many golf courses, but doesn’t play golf. James Balagtas, who once was the GM of Alta Vista in Cebu told me that probably the only way Excy would try golf is if they put a small basketball ring right above the hole.
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MILESTONE: Happy birthday to my good friend Luisito ‘Chito’ Ramos, who turns a year older today.
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