I’m still sleepy and a bit little dazed. Barely had a three-hour sleep recovering from the euphoria of Alex Eala’s victory at the Miami Tennis Open.
I myself together with most of our countrymen who love tennis watched the live telecast of the match that started at 1am until the wee hours of Thursday morning. As I enter Eskina, the venue for the Davao Sports Council forum among sports stakeholders I felt the euphoria in the air among the people present as the rest of the country is still reeling from that spectacular feat.
“What else is new? We all know that government support will come in only after an athlete had made waves in international stage.” I overheard one participant from the other table blurted out as I sip my black coffee while inching myself to settle down and find a place in a vacant table.
Through the invitation of PSC Mindanao Coordinator Coach Noli Ayo. I joined other invited coaches, sports officials from the academe and sports association leaders in Davao City for a brainstorming cum discussion for the incoming sports summit. A summit whose goal is for the development of next generation leaders who will create a better future for Davao and country as a whole. Indeed, a little ambitious. Doable? Yes.
So what’s ailing Davao Sports? Is there really a need for a sports summit among stakeholders to determine what’s wrong with Davao sports? Everybody knows what’s wrong with the situation, and it is just a matter of doing something about it.
After a few more sip of coffee, I readied myself as the brainstorming began.
The discussion took off with participants cited wishful thinking for an ideal full government support in sports program. The lament goes lengthy as one by one each group cited issues like funding shortages, corruption and mismanagement, lack of Infrastructure, prioritization and focus on certain sports, politics, lack of sponsorship that all sum up to a need for a sound sports policy to address the problem.
A shot in the arm.
The string of Alexandra Eala’s recent victories is timely in a sense that it’s a shot in the arm for the country’s sports situation. We all knew Alex’s reached her current status solely because of her family and support from the private sector with an unheard support coming from the government. It is a wakeup call. It’s the reality.
Coach Noli Ayo in his message to the participants, emphasized the value of relationship among leaders in order to sustain a good sports program and framework. The challenge though is to keep a collective mindset in coming up with a plan, a unified stand for a sustainable sports program through a symbiotic relationship with various stakeholders and deviate from relying too much on the government support like the PSC. Government financial support is not the fool proof solution to the situation. It is more complex than that.
There’s an urgent need to build a healthy relationship with all stake holders.
“Relationship matters before you make a decision” said Coach Noli Ayo. It’s all a matter of sound decision making.
“Truth nowadays is so difficult to find”. That’s why it is so important to know the real truth before you decide and it’s vital since important decision depends on the right person whom you are with” he added.
The Philippines is a country gifted with great talent and persevering athletes who are eager to get better and represent the country. But it’s very evident also that the government has not placed sports development among its priority.
I remember Ms. Geraldine Go-Bernardo, president of Sports Management Council of the Philippines who shared her experience as an athlete during her prime. She encouraged the attendees to explore their limits as managers and don’t rely nor limit their role as per available resources provided by their respective LGUs, schools or entity where they belong. She expounds on the value of “diskarte” when put on a situation which is outside of your comfort zone.
And what Coach Ayo said and I quote “We need first to prepare first the soil before we start to plant the seeds, we need to cultivate and prepare the terrain. We need to create a culture; we need to invest on human development that will start first with the officials” .
As Dexter So Jr, president of the Davao Sports Council who presided the activities for the day extended his thanks once again to the participants for their worthy output, I inched my way out again unnoticed in the exit as I leave to attend a meeting with my colleague in the DSA.
Ambitious Goal as the convenor of the summit announced in its program , but is it doable? Yes of course.
