RP executive pushes for youth program

SINGAPORE – RP chef de mission Mark Joseph yesterday pushed for the development of the country’s youth sports program and batted for more government support in the wake of Team RP’s debacle in the ongoing first Youth Olympic Games here.

“We must develop a National Youth Sports Development policy, put Batang PNoy in place as talent ID ladder and improve the technical capability of coaches and management capacity of the various NSAs (national sports associations),” said Joseph.

He also stressed the need to expand the country’s sporting structure and tap the assistance of foreign experts while developing linkages with academies and institutes abroad.

“The Philippine Olympic Committee is already working with the IOC (International Olympic Committee) on this,” said Joseph. “But we also have to re-think our obsession with China. Yes, they are now a sports power but they have a system that is different from ours and billions of dollars to spend on sports.

“We must study and learn from them but the ‘how to do it in the Philippines’ synthesis will have to come from greater minds than just the Chinese coaches we hire or the coaches that handle our athletes when we send them there. We have to think wholistically about our national sporting structure. No band-aid solutions. And we can’t keep starting from scratch,” said Joseph.

But with the stinging defeats suffered by the lean Team RP in various fronts just after four days of the two-week long meet here, there could be no other recourse but to get back to the drawing board and strategize ahead for the 2014 Games in Nanjing, China.

Two gained a crack at a medal but swimmer Jessie Lacuna could do no better than eighth in his pet 200m free and Patricia Llena settled for fifth in the 63kg division in weightlifting.

The other individual bets – taekwondo jin Kirk Barbosa and netter Jeson Patrombon – fared no better, bowing right in the first round of their respective events and swimmer Jasmin Alkhaldi made it to the semis of the 100m free but missed the finals.

The 3-on-3 team of Bobby Ray Parks, Jeron Teng, Cris Tolomia and Michael Pate, on the other hand, dropped its first three elims games and bowed out of the quarterfinal race in a sport so dear to the Filipinos.

Alkhaldi also failed in her bid in the 200m free elims, turning in a 2:07.37 clocking, over three seconds behind the last swimmer in the eight-girl finals to be led by Kiera Janzen of the US, who clocked an impressive 2:02.09.

She is also set to compete in today’s (Thursday) 50m free heats while Lacuna vies in tomorrow’s 200m fly.

By next year, according to Joseph, the POC and the Philippine Sports Commission have agreed to launch the Batang PNoy games, which will be the program for 12-16 year olds in anticipation of future YOGs.

“Naturally, the NSAs must have their own programs at the club level and schools at the primary level to anticipate the future AYG (Asian Youth Games) and YOGs. So it’s necessary to align the country’s sporting structure horizontally and vertically. And this is the job of PSC in coordination with the POC and the NSAs as per RA (Republic Act) 6847,” said Joseph.

 He added: “But Congress also needs to get its act together and start appropriating more money for sports. As do local governments. No money, no honey.”

 Despite the setbacks, Joseph said the RP youths participation here is historic and momentous.

 “We are blazing the trail for generations of Filipino children/youths to follow. It’s a learning experience that will mold our development policy,” he said.