DEPED's Tryouts

Call it whatever you want: tryouts, performance evaluation, performance review or training update. The DEPED officially calls it a “Performance Evaluation.” But what’s the real score? Much has been said about the controversial DEPED Tryouts, a.k.a. Performance Evaluation, and while things have somewhat died down, I’m sure this is just the calm before the storm. We can expect things to get worse unless a common solution is found.

Let’s see if I can dissect this. When the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVIRAA) was held last November, the region’s best athletes slugged it out for the right to represent the Central Visayas (CV) in the Palarong Pambansa which will be held in May. This, after all, was the ticket to the Palaro. Win a gold and you’re assured to make the CV team. Simple lang, di ba? Well not quite. By the end of December, texts, calls and talks swirled that the DEPED was about to issue a memo to hold another round of tryouts for the CV team. Dates were set and the CVIRAA’s top athletes were to report to a Performance Evaluation which really was nothing but another round of tryouts. The main confusion here is why there would need to be another round of tryouts when the members of the team were already known and determined when they won the gold medals at the CVIRAA? Ergo, gold medalists felt that all their efforts were in vain.

I’d like to cite the case of the grade school basketball team with which I’m very familiar to have a live case study for review. (Do feel free to make your comments on this.) Mandaue City won the CVIRAA gold medal in basketball, using the solid unit of the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC). When the team returned to Cebu, the coaching staff reviewed and analyzed what needed to be done in order to put up a strong CV team at the Palaro. Since it was common practice to merge with other teams that played in the CVIRAA, the coaches identified players from Cebu Eastern College (CEC), University of San Carlos (USC) South and Don Bosco who they felt would fit into the system being applied by the team. Another factor considered was the fact that these other players were also familiar with the SHS-AdC team since they’ve played each other for the past three years at the Milo BEST and Cebu Youth Basketball League (CYBL) tournaments. The CVIRAA team practices at least once a week with the goal of jelling early for the Palaro. And they’re doing this sans the monitoring, guidance and attention of the DEPED. As I write, they’re all playing for their mother school teams in the 13-Under Division A of the ML Kwarta Padala Cup 2011. They’re also playing as a CVIRAA team, but in the higher 16-Under Division-B of the league in order to get more exposure and better challenges; and to jell and achieve chemistry among all the players. Did the DEPED even bother to check this out? I doubt it.

Then comes the memo calling for the Performance Evaluation. The DEPED, acting as “team manager” for the team, put up a list of six SHS-AdC players to be fused with other players of the region. The DEPED has suddenly taken over the coaching chores of the SHS-AdC coaches, all through a simple memo and a one-day training camp. While we can’t question their authority as the team’s managers, since when did they become the team’s chief scouts and try-out directors? Where were they when the boys were practicing daily in school? Where were they when the likes of SHS-AdC, CEC, USC South and Don Bosco were playing in the Milo BEST tournament? I don’t even remember seeing them drop by the games of the ML Kwarta Padala Cup 2011, a project of the CYBL. The irony is that I’ve seen more Manila-based scouts watching the games than DEPED officials.

The sad part about all this is that the DEPED is playing sports god and dictating who should compose the team without giving the coaching staff the prerogative to form a team based on what they see is needed for the squad. The DEPED is stepping in and saying that they are the team managers, but they can be hardly seen visiting the boys or even bothering to take care of the team. I even doubt that they know the first names of the players. And they call themselves managers?

But all is not lost. If the DEPED is dead serious in putting up the best basketball team for CV, then they should first respect the current coaching staff of the team. They should work with the coaching staff and not take a memo and leave approach. They should join the practices so they can monitor the progress of the boys. They should also assure the presence at practice of the players who they recommend be included in the team. On top of all these, they should watch the boys play at tournament and tune-up games.

It’s only fair. The SHS-AdC coaching staff is working its butts off to form a competitive team (without compensation from the DEPED), and it’s only proper that both sides work hand in hand to manage the team. Let’s not form a team based on a one-day try-out. Let’s form the team together (as a team) over a period of time, monitoring their progress and helping them improve as a unit.

Are you game, DEPED? See you tomorrow at practice.

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Time-out: Happy birthday to Galimar Largo of USC North and Nestor Catarina of PAREF Springdale! >>> You can reach me at [email protected].