I would like to yield my space to a co-worker in the Sports for Peace Mindanao Movement and a great candidate to be Commissioner of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).
Enjoy reading and learning from the words of Professor Henry C. Daut:
“Reflecting on my Journey in Sports and Through Sports!
I have never imagined a life in sports and sports as my life. As a poor man’s son, It was far from my wildest dream to be where I am today. Sports paved the way in shaping my future and I am truly grateful.
My sporting career started at a very young age. I was exposed to training and conditioning from my daily lifting of about 10 kilos of water gallons as part of my daily chores of watering the vegetable plants of my father and flowers of my mother every morning and afternoon until I reached grade six. I gather wood and carry it on my head and shoulders walking about 5-7 km from our house on weekends. I now realized that I was doing strength training and conditioning long before I read about it in the books. When I was in elementary school, I used to skip and jump over patches of grass along the side of the road going to school at noon as the soil was too hot for my bare feet to take. I now realized that I was doing some form of plyometrics while protecting my feet from getting burned when my old slippers are decommissioned due to irreparable damage.
At school, play became an escape from not having something to eat during recess. I engaged myself together with similarly situated classmates by playing patintero under the old school building where the rooms are elevated just enough for us to run around without our heads hitting the beams of the floor. Or sometimes play agawan base at an open space in front of our classroom thus developing speed and agility in the process.
In high school, my leg power and arm strength were developed with the daily grind of scrubbing of the convent, the library, the school office and science laboratory for four years and cutting grasses during weekends that I won the championships in 110 mHH, Long Jump and High Jump during the City meet and played in the regional meet in Southern Mindanao. I also became a varsity in volleyball and softball in the process.
During College I enrolled in Agriculture hoping that I could be like my father with a green thumb. I played several sports during Intramurals – Athletics, Basketball, Badminton, Volleyball, and Softball where the College of Agriculture won the championships for several years. I later learned to play Tennis, Table Tennis, and Swimming. I was a Varsity athlete in Volleyball, Athletics, Softball/Baseball and Badminton. I graduated with a degree in Agriculture but ended up becoming a Physical educator. I have never practiced my degree in agriculture because I became a Sports Farmer instead. There was a dearth of PE teachers/graduates in the early 80’s that I was fortunate to be hired to teach physical education even without the professional preparation in 1981.
I taught PE and studied PE at the same time until I completed a Diploma in Physical Education in 1986. The absence of a degree in PE then was never an issue. I always believe in the saying that “you cannot give what you don’t have” and I know that I have so much to give with my skills and experiences in playing. Likewise, I know students learn faster and better if you can demonstrate or model the skills you are teaching. “To see is to Believe” is an adage that I keep reminding myself of in teaching physical education and in coaching sports.
In 1988, I pursued a Master of Science degree in Leadership and Management in Sports (now Sport Management) and Sport Psychology as my other area of specialization from the University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA on a Fulbright Hays Scholarship Grant and completed the degree in 1990. I was one year short for my PhD program, but I need to honor my contract with Fulbright to return and serve after finishing my MS degree. Studying in the US has opened my mind and views of the wide gap in Physical education and sports between advanced countries and a developing country like the Philippines. I challenged everyone to explore possibilities of studying outside the country to advance our profession. As English-speaking people, we have the advantage over other non-English speaking- countries when we go abroad. Do not let fear and doubt prevent you from taking the risk of applying for scholarships or admission.
In 2006, I was invited to become one of the sports consultants at the Philippine Sports Commission. I was specifically tasked to help revive the Philippines Sports Institute as the educational arm of the PSC. We have prepared the programs (grassroots sports development, coaching certification, coaching education, talent identification, among others), refurbished the facilities (PSI Building, Offices, Library, Classrooms, audio-visual hall, Internet café for students among others) at PhilSports (ULTRA) in Pasig City and had a grand launching in December, 2007. However, there was a change in the leadership at the PSC in February, 2008. The program was shelved as it was not part of the priority of the new administration. It was a sad realization of the influence of politics in sports. I returned to MSU and was elected Dean of the College of SPEAR for the second time in 2008-2011.
In 2011, Typhoon Sendong struck the country and Iligan City and Cagayan de Oro City were hardly hit. I was a survivor of Typhoon Sendong having to climb to the roof of my friend’s house just to escape the flood that ravaged the city. It was a very traumatic experience seeing cars, houses and even humans being swept by the strong current that I turned to sport as a form of intervention for healing and recovery. I established Project HOPE (Helping Overcome Psycho-Social Effects of Disasters) through Sports to provide healing and recovery among children and youth affected by disasters both natural and man-made. We continue to conduct Project HOPE through Sports for communities affected by both natural disasters and armed conflicts in Mindanao until today.
In 2013, I was invited as visiting professor at the College of Physical Education, University of Suwon, South Korea. The two years of experience teaching physical education and sports in a foreign land was truly memorable as language differences were not a barrier in teaching, understanding, and learning sports. Indeed, sports is a universal language that everyone understands and communicates. I gained not only valuable experience but also many friends among students who were under me in various courses as well as colleagues in the College. It opened new opportunities to link and collaborate in research and community programs.
In 2016, I was again invited as Consultant of PSC and served as Deputy National Director of the Philippine Sports Institute. I was also designated as consultant for the National Grassroots Sports Development where I proposed the Pathway to Grassroots Sports Development – Grassroots to Greatness, Playground to Podium program, the SMART ID Program for Talent Identification and the SMART ID Train the Trainers Program for physical education teachers training on how to accurately conduct fitness and performance testing for Talent Identification in the schools.
I also served as Consultant to PSC on the Indigenous Peoples’ Games with the aim of protecting, preserving, and promoting the rich intangible cultural heritage of the Filipinos. I was designated Dean of the PSI and established the Multi-level National Coaching Certification Course of the PSC and successfully conducted level 1, 2 and 3 among coaches in the country. We were able to establish linkages with the Korea Institute of Sports where they conducted a series of Sports Science Seminar-workshop for elite and tertiary coaches. Likewise, we were able to gain the recognition of UNESCO for the highly successful PSC flagship grassroots program Children’s Games. PSC through the PSI also inked an MOU with the United States Sports Academy the world’s leading Sports University based in Mobile, Alabama, USA. With the new President of the Philippines, a new Chairman and set of commissioners were appointed leaving the programs we started in limbo.
Working with PSC has brought many benefits not only to my professional growth but also to the Mindanao State University. In 2006, PSC gifted the University with brand-new fiberglass basketball standards replacing the old, heavy and outdated board, rings and stand we have been using since the completion of the Gym in 1981. In 2019, PSC funded the rehabilitation of the MSU Track oval transforming it into an internationally standard rubberized track and field facility for MSU, Marawi, Lanao and BARMM. The Covid-19 pandemic stalled the construction in 2020 but was finally completed in December, 2021.
I retired from service on January 1, 2022 after 40 years and 6 months of teaching physical education at the College of SPEAR, MSU main campus in Marawi City. The only institution I have served for the whole duration of my government service. Presently, I am unemployed but still busy doing community service particularly among the Indigenous Peoples communities. I have been travelling in Mindanao and the Visayas doing lectures and strategic planning in sports for LGUs. I was contracted by an international organization in April, 2022 as Lead Researcher for the Study of ASEAN Traditional Sports and Games and presented the output in Cambodia in August, 2022. I also worked with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) as a member of the TWG of the Unified Tertiary Sports Development Program. Since I retired, I was invited as Resource Speaker in various national and international webinars in sports and physical education. I am also the Philippine Representative to the Scientific Committee on Exercise Medicine based in Malaysia. Just recently, I was elected as Vice President of the Asian Traditional Sports and Games Association (ATSGA).
I just turned 64 years old last November 1, 2022. I may have aged but the number of years will not put a limit to what I can do and where I can go. I may have retired but I am not tired. I shall continue to be a Sports Farmer and a Sports Missionary. Sports helped me become who, what, and where I am today. I owe sports a debt of gratitude and I shall pay it forward as long as I can move!
Sports is Life and Life is Sports. Most of the things I learned in life, I learned in sports and through sports. My character was shaped not just by my family, community, and school but most significantly, by sports. Discipline, Hard work, Teamwork, Cooperation, Sacrifice, Integrity, Honesty, Respect, Resilience, Empathy, Leadership, Service, Sharing, Giving, Volunteerism, Humility, Pride, Honor, Tolerance, Obedience, Courtesy, and many more are just some of the values that sports taught me. Values that are important not just in sports but more significantly in life!
This is my Journey. This is my story! What about yours?”
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