Developing talent

Due to other meetings and commitments, I only caught part of yesterday's Sports Summit held at the Social Hall of the Cebu City Hall Legislative Building.

Of the little that I caught, there was one thing that the guest speaker said that really struck a chord.

The speaker was Manila-based sportswriter and broadcaster Bill Velasco.

In Bill's talk to the participants, he tackled the matter of the provinces losing their best talents to the big schools in Manila.

While this practice really gets many of the coaches angry, Bill said that this is also a reality that we have to face.

Bill said that this practice of the schools from the Big City should not stop the coaches here from developing more talent.

Although I believe in giving back to those who gave to you, I also believe that the athletes can give back even more if they are allowed to fly the coop and return with the knowledge that they gained elsewhere.

We had many top athletes from Cebu, who left for the bigger schools and the bigger pay in the leagues in Manila, not all of them may have come back or made a mark there, but their stories continue to inspire many of our young athletes to strive harder.

This practice of 'pirating' the top talents from the provinces gives the National Capital Region Athletic Association, the edge in the battle for the overall title in the annual Palarong Pambansa.

This could be a major stumbling block in our goal for the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association to win the overall title in the Palaro, but many believe we can overcome this obstacle.

Bill was right when he said that let us continue developing more athletes here and concentrate on that task.

We can do this if we work together and I believe the summit was a good start.

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Last Saturday we had the orientation for the members of the Philippine Society for Industrial Security (PSIS)-7, who are taking part in the 1st Security Practitioners Shootfest next Monday.

The orientation was done by Franklin Horfilla along with Glenn Java.

Since many are not familiar with the International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) format, it was a good activity that would help the participants prepare for the event.

The competition will be held at the NS Outdoor Firing Range in Tawason, Mandaue City.

It took a while for this deadline beater to find the place last weekend, so if you plan to join the competition on November 29, go there early if you're not familiar with the place.

Entry fee is only P500 and you also get a free lunch with it.

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MILESTONES: Belated birthday greetings to Gerardo 'Jun' Yu, who turned a year older yesterday.

Today's greetings go to Renette Chua Casas and Ritchel Regina Castillo.

Advance happy birthday greetings go to my cousin Maru Lebumfacil, Pops del Rosario, Reggie Marie Barrientos, and Jimboy Tionko, who are all celebrating tomorrow. 

More power to all of you!